KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a third solid rocket booster is raised from its transporter to be lifted into the mobile service tower, where two others wait. The SRBs will be mated with the Delta II first stage. The Delta is the launch vehicle for the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft. Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing on Mars is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil. Phoenix is scheduled to launch Aug. 3. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett KSC-07pd1563
Summary
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a third solid rocket booster is raised from its transporter to be lifted into the mobile service tower, where two others wait. The SRBs will be mated with the Delta II first stage. The Delta is the launch vehicle for the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft. Phoenix will land in icy soils near the north polar permanent ice cap of Mars and explore the history of the water in these soils and any associated rocks, while monitoring polar climate. Landing on Mars is planned in May 2008 on arctic ground where a mission currently in orbit, Mars Odyssey, has detected high concentrations of ice just beneath the top layer of soil. Phoenix is scheduled to launch Aug. 3. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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