Evening With The Stars - 2019

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Kevin Burke, with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., checks the closure of the lander petals and rover egress hardware around the Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-A). The lander and rover will subsequently be enclosed within an aeroshell for launch. The MER Mission consists of two identical rovers designed to cover roughly 110 yards each Martian day over various terrain. Each rover will carry five scientific instruments that will allow it to search for evidence of liquid water that may have been present in the planet's past. Identical to each other, the rovers will land at different regions of Mars. Launch date for this first of NASA's two Mars Exploration Rover missions is scheduled no earlier than June 6.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Kevin Burke, with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., checks the closure of the lander petals and rover egress hardware around the Mars Exploration Rover 2 (MER-A). Visible now are the airbags that will inflate to cushion the landing on Mars. The lander and rover will subsequently be enclosed within an aeroshell for launch. The MER Mission consists of two identical rovers designed to cover roughly 110 yards each Martian day over various terrain. Each rover will carry five scientific instruments that will allow it to search for evidence of liquid water that may have been present in the planet's past. Identical to each other, the rovers will land at different regions of Mars. Launch date for this first of NASA's two Mars Exploration Rover missions is scheduled no earlier than June 6.

The Dryden Aeronautical Test Range staff at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California monitor all aircraft flights from the center as well as supporting the International Space Station and Russian Soyuz missions. Sitting from left to right are Bailey Cook, Lucio Ortiz, Matt Kearns, Sonja Belcher, John Batchelor, Jeff Koenig, Will Peters, Russ Franz, Zack Springer and Mike Webb. Standing left to right are Joy Bland, Doug Boston, April Norcross, Randy Torres, Robert Racicot, Jesus Vazquez, Jim Abercromby, Steve Simison, Tracy Ackeret, Chris Birkinbine, Darryl Burkes, Joe Innis, Bruce Lipe, Pat Ray, Kevin Knutson, Greg Strombo, Bart Rusnak, Tim Burt, Al Guajardo, Feras, Abu-Issa and Hector Rodriquez.