Curiosity Rover Skids Away from Unexpected Sand Trap

Treacherous sands became an unexpected obstacle for NASA's Curiosity rover in July, and now the Mars traveler has been forced to change course, targeting a new geological formation for the next stage of its survey mission.

Photos released by NASA reveal exactly what you might have expected. Rover tracks mar the wavy and sun-bleached sands of the Red Planet, with deep, back-and-forth patterns reminiscent of a car stuck in the mud.

"We need to gain a better understanding of the interaction between the wheels and Martian sand ripples, and Hidden Valley is not a good location for experimenting," Curiosity Project Manager Jim Erickson said in a recent statement.

NASA's Curiosity mission team from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) had reportedly expected that the rover would have some difficulty crossing the sandy-floored "Hidden Valley" on its way to Pahrump Hills - its next planned site for geological work.

However, upon entering the valley, Curiosity's wheels began to slip far more than expected. Past work with the rover prior to its 2011 launch in the sand dunes of California had showed experts that the rover was capable of trudging through difficult terrain. Still, as this terrain was far more treacherous than thought and the football field-sized valley has only two viable exits, the team elected to turn around. They certainly didn't want Curiosity to get stuck two years into its mission.

Leaving Hidden Valley at its rear, Curiosity headed northwest instead, passing over a pale paving stone that has been chosen as the mission's new fourth drilling target.

They are calling it "Bonanza King," possibly named after the historic mining town that can be found in the Mojave Desert.

"Geologically speaking, we can tie the Bonanza King rocks to those at Pahrump Hills. Studying them here will give us a head start in understanding how they fit into the bigger picture of Gale Crater and Mount Sharp," said Curiosity Deputy Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's JPL.

Mount Sharp is the mission's ultimate destination, and the scientists hope to have a great wealth of information on the Red Planet's geology even before arriving at this impressive formation.