NASA's Curiosity Mars rover reroutes from hazards on path

An unexpected terrain change - wind-sharpened rocks - has prompted NASA's Mars rover to reroute away from those hazards to continue up Mount Sharp, NASA said on Thursday.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover spent most of March climbing the "Greenheugh Pediment", a gentle slope capped by rubbly sandstone.

But on March 18, the mission team saw an unexpected terrain change ahead and realized they would have to turn around the rover from its path, which was carpeted with more wind-sharpened rocks than they have ever seen in the rover's nearly 10 years on the Red Planet.

To avoid patches of knife-edged rocks, the mission has taken an alternative path up Mount Sharp, said NASA.