well the latest news on Mars Vehicle Curiosity from NASA says
Mars Soil Sample Delivered for Analysis Inside Rover
Three bite marks left in the Martian ground by the scoop on the robotic arm of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity are visible in this image taken by the rover's right Navigation Camera during the mission's 69th Martian day, or sol (Oct. 15, 2012). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Hmm.
that looks like wet sand with some pebbles in it..
Bright Particle in Hole Dug by Scooping of Martian Soil
This image shows part of the small pit or bite created when NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected its second scoop of Martian soil at a sandy patch called "Rocknest." The bright particle near the center of this image, and similar ones elsewhere in the pit, prompted concern because a small, light-toned shred of debris from the spacecraft had been observed previously nearby (PIA16230). However, the mission's science team assessed the bright particles in this scooped pit to be native Martian material rather than spacecraft debris.
This image was taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on Curiosity's arm during the 69th Martian day, or sol, of the mission (Oct. 15, 2012), about a week after the scoop dug this hole. The view here covers an area of ground about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) across.
PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has ingested its first solid sample into an analytical instrument inside the rover, a capability at the core of the two-year mission. The rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument is analyzing this sample to determine what minerals it contains.
"We are crossing a significant threshold for this mission by using CheMin on its first sample," said Curiosity's project scientist, John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "This instrument gives us a more definitive mineral-identifying method than ever before used on Mars: X-ray diffraction. Confidently identifying minerals is important because minerals record the environmental conditions under which they form." mages taken after Curiosity collected its second scoop of Rocknest material on Oct. 12 showed smaller bits of light-toned material in the hole dug by the scooping action. This led to discarding that scoopful rather than using it to scrub the processing mechanisms. Scientists assess these smaller, bright particles to be native Martian material, not from the spacecraft.
Well that is the news from Mars.. Well I don't know what these guys are looking for.. THE BRIGHT BRIGHT STUFF.. may be they are looking for diamonds and gold in the mars dust.. For me amount of water water.. from the dust and carbon from it would have been more exciting..
well, More than that for general public they would have sent a small RC PLANE with camera attached like this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e320VYx9RFMSo it flies 2 or 3 miles around rover taking pictures and beaming them back to earth.. that would have been more exciting to public which helps funding such projects.. Only those geek chemists care about what is there in that mars Dust.. unless they come up with new element say with Atomic number some 150..
Topic: So the Mars Vehicle Curiosity Closes in on its New 'Home' "MARS"