Martian Soil #2

The Mars Rover scooped up and analyzed some soil.

Here is the article explaining what it is has found so far.

They are still trying to figure out what the rover can do, the analysis the rover has done so far is pretty cool. The first selection they sampled is at a location called Rocknest.

"We have no definitive detection of Martian organics at this point, but we will keep looking in the diverse environments of Gale Crater," said SAM Principal Investigator Paul Mahaffy of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md."

 "CheMin's examination of Rocknest samples found the composition is about half common volcanic minerals and half non-crystalline materials such as glass. SAM added information about ingredients present in much lower concentrations and about ratios of isotopes. Isotopes are different forms of the same element and can provide clues about environmental changes."