NASA's Curiosity Mars rover will search for a smoother path by climbing what could be a treacherous sand dune in order to better preserve its tires.

According to BBC News, the dune is in between Curiosity and a path through a small valley with much less of the sharp rocks that have been antagonizing the rover's wheels. Curiosity has already approached the dune's base and tested its sand for consistency.

The three-foot incline of the dune does not worry NASA mission managers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. What is concerning is hidden rocks that could worsen dents and tears in Curiosity's aluminum wheels.

"The decision hasn't been made yet, but it is prudent to go check," JPL's Jim Erickson, Curiosity project manager, said in a news release.

If the rover can successfully get over the dune, its route to multiple destinations would become much smoother, BBC News reported. The next target is a spot where Curiosity would perform more drilling experiments. It will look for traces of complex carbon chemistry, which could be more evidence that the Gale Crater could have once supported microbial life.

Since its landing in Aug. 2012, Curiosity has traveled three miles, 865 feet of which coming since Jan. 1. In the back of mission control's mind has to be the Spirit rover that was lost in a sand trap in 2009. Also, the Opportunity rover nearly met the same fate in 2005, when it almost became stuck in what became known as the "Purgatory Dune."

Opportunity is in its 10th year on Mars, so Curiosity will certainly take its time to reach its ultimate goal of reaching Mount Sharp. The mountain at the center of the Gale Crater is believed to contain evidence for several environmental mysteries about Mars.

The dune is also viewed as a preview for how Curiosity will handle the slopes of Mount Sharp.