When it comes to climate and ecology, geology may be the closest we ever get to a time machine. By analyzing rock samples, geologists can tell a great deal about what was going on at the time the rocks were formed. Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena California are hoping to be able to do just that with a sample collected this week from the “Windjana” sandstone on Mars.

Last week the Curiosity rover did a test drill to give researchers a preview of what might be in the rock. After NASA personnel were satisfied the rover did a full test on Monday evening, drilling a hole .63 inches in diameter and 2.6 inches deep.

In a slow process, the sample collected by Curiosity will now be sieved and delivered to the rovers on board laboratories for analysis. Those are the Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin) and the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument (SAM). Analysis of the “Windjana” will continue as the rover makes its way toward Mount Sharp.

“The drill tailings from this rock are darker-toned and less red than we saw at the two previous drill sites. This suggests that the detailed chemical and mineral analysis that will be coming from Curiosity’s other instruments could reveal different materials than we’ve seen before. We can’t wait to find out!” said Jim Bell of Arizona State University, Tempe, deputy principal investigator for Curiosity’s Mast Camera (Mastcam) in a statement.

At two previous drilling sites, both involving mudstone rock, Curiosity found evade of an ancient lakebed. Analysis of the rocks showed that key chemical elements and a chemical energy source would have provided conditions that would have supported microbial life.

Now NASA is hoping that the Windjana sandstone site, 2.5 miles southwest of the “Yellowknife Bay” where the first samples were collected, will tell them more. In particular researchers are interested in the cementing material that holds the grains of sand in the sandstone together.