
Spotlights capture the Boeing Delta II rocket waiting on Launch Complex 17, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, to launch the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft into space on its 7-month journey to Mars. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:02 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will orbit Mars, mapping the surface looking for geological features that could indicate the presence of water, now or in the past. Science gathered by three science instruments on board will be key to future missions to Mars, including orbital reconnaissance, lander and human missions
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NASA ID
01padig190
Date Created
April 7, 2001
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
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