The Mars Curiosity rover will once again set out to Mount Sharp, the rover's ultimate destination, Space.com reported.

About a month ago, Curiosity began a five-mile trip to the Martian mountain because the site is believed to hold many secrets behind the red planet's history. The rover was set to make stops at points called "Shaler" and "Point Lake" on its way to Mount Sharp.

Curiosity just finished exploring Shaler on July 4 and headed about 40 meters away toward another site. On July 7, it made another 40-meter trip toward the lower layers of the mountain.

"Mount Sharp, in the middle of Gale Crater, exposes many layers where scientists anticipate finding evidence about how the ancient Martian environment changed and evolved," NASA officials said in a statement.

Curiosity was dropped off in the Gale Crater in August of 2012, making it just over 11 months old. The journey to Mount Sharp will take it about a year's time because it must maneuver the terrain and will stop for an interesting find. However, another rover, Opportunity, has been in commission since July 2003.

Mars Science Laboratory project manager Jim Erickson, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said Curiosity would take its time.

"This truly is a mission of exploration, so just because our end goal is Mount Sharp doesn't mean we're not going to investigate interesting features along the way" Erickson said in a press release last month.

It is for this reason that there is no rigid timeline for Curiosity's arrival, officials said. Curiosity showed no wear and tear on its wheels in a March inspection and with so much of the planet undiscovered, the scientists do not want to miss anything.

Despite everything, the one-ton, car-sized Curiosity rover's top speed across flat ground is just 0.09 mph. The terrain it must travel will be rocky, so the trip could be as quick as nine months and as long as more than a year.

The rover is now in a "drive, drive, drive mentality," mission deputy scientist Ashwin Vasavada told the Associated Press on Monday. "We really want to get there."