Stellary Starry Universe

The Atlantic Ocean provides a backdrop as the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket clears the tower at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Sealed inside the rocket’s protective payload fairing is NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft, beginning a 9-month interplanetary cruise to Mars. Liftoff was at 10:02 a.m. EST Nov. 26. MSL’s components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane, and help determine if the gas is from a biological or geological source. Image Credit: NASA/Darrell L. McCall

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians inspect under NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission aeroshell, where the wheels of the rover Curiosity can be seen. MSL’s components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gases so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 26 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Image credit: NASA and Glenn Benson

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians inspect under NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission aeroshell, where the wheels of the rover Curiosity can be seen. MSL’s components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gases so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 26 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Image credit: NASA and Glenn Benson

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians inspect under NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission aeroshell, where the wheels of the rover Curiosity can be seen. MSL’s components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gases so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 26 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Image credit: NASA and Glenn Benson

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians inspect under NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission aeroshell, where the wheels of the rover Curiosity can be seen. MSL’s components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gases so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 26 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Image credit: NASA and Glenn Benson