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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, several scientists and researchers participate in a “Looking for Signs of Life in the Universe” news conference, Nov. 22, as part of preflight activities for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. From left, are NASA Astrobiology Director Mary Voytek; Professor Jamie Foster from the Department of Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida in Gainesville; MSL Deputy Principal Investigator Pan Conrad; Director of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution Steven Benner; and NASA Planetary Protection Officer Catharine Conley. 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. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is targeted for Nov. 26 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett