
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft, sealed inside its payload fairing atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, blazes a trail into the skies above Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. MSL lifted off on the first opportunity at 10:02 a.m. EST Nov. 26, beginning a 9-month interplanetary cruise to Mars. 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. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Darrell L. McCall
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NASA ID
KSC-2011-7973
Date Created
November 26, 2011
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Location
Cape Canaveral, FL
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Medium
960px