NASA announced that Curiosity's team members have cancelled the plans to drill a potential target, Bonanza King. Curiosity has crossed that target and continued trekking to a mountain on the red planet.

The team had to drop the idea of drilling after pre-drilling activity suggested the stone was not stable enough. "We have decided that the rocks under consideration for drilling, based on the tests we did, are not good candidates for drilling", said Curiosity project manager Jim Erickson from ASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Therefore, they decided to resume tracking towards Mount Sharp. From the center of Mars' Gale Crater, Mount Sharp rises more than 3 miles into the sky. Scientists involved in the mission wants that Curiosity should move upwards through the mountain's foothills. Researchers working on the mission aim to study changing environmental conditions of the Red Planet.

Since July 2013, Curiosity is moving towards Mount Sharp. The one-ton robot has to travel around two miles more before it reaches its targeted area. As per mission officials, Curiosity should reach at the target's entry point near the mountain's base by the end of this year.

Road to Mount Sharp is quite rough. The uneven area has proved taxing for Curiosity's metal wheels. After realizing the same, the six-wheeled robot's handler had to find an alternate way that is smoother and now, it is passing though a better route through Hidden Valley.

Experts said that the second route does not have sharp, wheel-damaging rocks. But there also Curiosity faced a problem, as its wheels found the area to be very sandy. The rover has left the area and will now try to find a new way to reach Mount Sharp. Curiosity touched down on Mars in August 2012. Since then, it has drilled three rocks.