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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 towers above the payload fairing containing NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft as activities begin to lift and mate the fairing to the Atlas V rocket already in place. The fairing will protect the payload from heat and aerodynamic pressure generated during ascent. MSL was prepared for launch in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. MSL's components include a compact 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 the chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses 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 planned for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett