NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is inspecting a possible new drilling site this weekend, according to a NASA statement.

The possible drilling site is a sandstone slab nicknamed “Windjana” after a gorge in Australia.

The scientists behind the project hope to study the cement that holds the small grains of rock together in this sandstone.

“We want to learn more about the wet process that turned sand deposits into sandstone here,” said Curiosity Project Scientist John Grotzinger, of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. “What was the composition of the fluids that bound the grains together? That aqueous chemistry is part of the habitability story we’re investigating.”

The answer could help scientists learn more about conditions in the red planet’s past, understand what shapes Mars’ landscape, and even answer questions about whether Mars once had an environment that could support life.

Before deciding whether or not to drill at Windjana, Curiosity will observe the site with a camera and X-ray spectrometer, brush dust from a patch on the rock, and use laser shots to read the composition of the rock.

If the site turns out to be suitable for drilling, the rover will use a hammering drill to collect powdered sample material from inside the sandstone, which will then be analyzed by onboard laboratory instruments.

This will be the project’s third Mars drilling. Curiosity’s first two drilling sites were mudstone slabs. Analysis of those rocks showed evidence of an ancient lakebed that may once have been able to host life.

The Curiosity rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration program. Controlled by a team on Earth, the rover is being used to study conditions on Mars and find out of the planet was ever able to support microbial life.