Mars Rover Curiosity Completes An Incredible Journey, Reaches Mount Sharp

The US space agency NASA’s rover Curiosity reached its destination Mount Sharp after wandering in the Martian desert for about 25 months. The arrival of the rover at Mount Sharp starts the original mission of the Mars Science Laboratory rover--to read the mountain's clay-rich lower layers like pages in a history book.

According to scientists, the analysis of these layers could expose the presence of life-affable environments on the Red Planet.

"We have finally arrived at the far frontier that we have sought for so long," said John Grotzinger, a project scientist and Caltech geologist.

The trip to Mount Sharp was delayed for few months as the rover took a diversion at a hopeful spot named Yellowknife Bay. Although it charge the team at Jet Propulsion Laboratory on half a year, the venture finally paid off. The drilling of the rocks there exposed a smorgasbord of chemical elements that would have been appropriate for microbial life, if it ever survived.

"Now that the scientists know livable environments did survive on the Red Planet, part of the next step will be seeking those fastidious environments that have a most probability of protecting organic molecules," stated Grotzinger. (Image: NASA)