Curiosity will explore Sharp Mountain on Mars

In an attempt to decipher the Red Planet's secret, the US space agency (NASA) on June 5 said that the Curiosity self-propelled probe currently on Mars will move toward detective targets. The main danger is Mount Sharp.

On June 3, scientists sent a command to divert to Curiosity, asking the probe to begin its journey to Sharp Mountain about 8km southwest of its current location.

The Curiosity probe opposite Sharp Mountain, 5 km high, has sedimentary layers dating back about 1 billion years.(Source: radioaustralia.net.au)

Planning director Jim Erickson said it would be a long journey and the Curiosity will move slowly.

Experts have planned at least three research stops on the way of Curiosity. It is expected that the journey to Sharp Mountain will take 10-12 months to complete.

Earlier exploration satellites sent a lot of geological information to the Sharp Mountain area, so NASA created a mineral map of the area, showing that chemical matter gradually changed from the foot to Mountain peek.

Scientists believe that this change reflects the changes of the Martian environment, from the warm and humid climate of the past to the current dry and cold desert form.

NASA hopes to rely on this research to determine the climate at Mars at the time of this rock formation.

The Curiosity, which landed on Mars in August 2012, has previously found many signs that the Red Planet once existed and a supportive environment for microbiology.