KSC-01PP-0653

In the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility 2, workers attach the upper canister to lower panels that surround the Mars Odyssey orbiter. The canister will protect the spacecraft during transfer to Launch Pad 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Mars Odyssey is scheduled for launch at 11:02 a.m. EDT April 7, 2001, aboard a Delta II rocket from Pad 17-A. The spacecraft will map the Martian surface in search of geological features that could indicate the presence of water, now or in the past, and may contribute significantly toward understanding what will be necessary for a more sophisticated exploration of Mars