( CNN ) -- After roving across more than five miles of the Red Planet 's sometimes rough terrain , NASA 's Mars rover Curiosity has reached its primary destination : the base of a Martian mountain in the middle of a vast , deep crater . Curiosity 's Twitter feed blared news of this triumphant arrival with the post , `` I 'm all about that base . Reached the base layer of Mt Sharp . New science ahead ! '' in a riff on Meghan Trainor 's ear worm . Scientists chose Mount Sharp as the rover 's destination long before the roving lab launched from Cape Canaveral in November 2011 and touched down in August 2012 . The mountain 's layers are essentially records of the different chapters in the environmental evolution of Mars . Mars exploration fast facts . Living up to its name , Curiosity explored the crater floor as it made its way to the base of Mount Sharp . It 's already solved its primary mission objective , which is to determine whether the Martian environment could have been habitable to microorganisms . That answer is yes . NASA says Curiosity found evidence on Gale Crater 's floor that a lake bed existed billions of years ago that offered fresh water , key ingredients for life and a source of energy for microbes . Like all great journeys , the trip to this mountain was not without unexpected twists and turns . Earlier this year , Curiosity 's team members had to change the rover 's route because sharp rocks were poking holes into four of the rover 's six wheels .
NASA 's Mars rover Curiosity has traversed more than five miles . Mount Sharp sits in the middle of a vast , deep crater . The area is covered with layers of dust and rocks that are billions of years old.