KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vertical Integration Facility on Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Hal Weaver, New Horizons project scientist with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, signs the fairing enclosing the New Horizons spacecraft. The fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. The compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe carries seven scientific instruments that will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, University of Colorado Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, discusses the upcoming launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, at a press conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington on Monday, Oct. 28th, 2013. MAVEN is the agency's next mission to Mars and the first devoted to understanding the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet. (Photo credit: NASA/Jay Westcott)

Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, University of Colorado Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, discusses the upcoming launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, at a press conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington on Monday, Oct. 28th, 2013. MAVEN is the agency's next mission to Mars and the first devoted to understanding the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet. (Photo credit: NASA/Jay Westcott)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In bay 2 of the Orbiter processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the payload bay doors are about to be closed on the space shuttle Atlantis, locking in the primary payload for its upcoming flight -- the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-1. The payload features many elements of the spacelab modular laboratory system designed for the space shuttle program by the European Space Agency. The pallets are outfitted with an array of experiments spanning four disciplines: solar physics, atmospheric science, space plasma physics and astronomy. Atlantis is nearly ready for transfer to the Vehicle Assembly Building for mating with the external tank and solid rocket boosters. Liftoff on STS-45 is targeted for spring of 1992 from Launch Pad 39A. Photo Credit: NASA

Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, left, and David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland are seen during a media briefing where they and other panelist outlined activities around the Sunday, Sept. 21 orbital insertion at Mars of the agency’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. (Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, left, and David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland are seen during a media briefing where they and other panelist outlined activities around the Sunday, Sept. 21 orbital insertion at Mars of the agency’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. (Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Dr. Carlos Calle, lead scientist in the Kennedy Space Center's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory, left, and Jay Phillips, a research physicist, are modifying an electrostatic precipitator to help remove dust from a simulated Martian atmosphere. NASA's Journey to Mars requires cutting-edge technologies to solve the problems explorers will face on the Red Planet. Scientists are developing some of the needed solutions by adapting a device to remove the ever-present dust from valuable elements in the Martian atmosphere. Those commodities include oxygen, water and methane.

Lisa May, lead program executive, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters, and Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, are seen during a media briefing where they and other panelist outlined activities around the Sunday, Sept. 21 orbital insertion at Mars of the agency’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. (Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Jay Phillips, a research physicist in the Kennedy Space Center's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory, left, and Dr. Carlos Calle, lead scientist in the lab, are modifying an electrostatic precipitator to help remove dust from simulated Martian atmosphere. NASA's Journey to Mars requires cutting-edge technologies to solve the problems explorers will face on the Red Planet. Scientists are developing some of the needed solutions by adapting a device to remove the ever-present dust from valuable elements in the Martian atmosphere. Those commodities include oxygen, water and methane.

Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, is seen during a media briefing where he and other panelist outlined activities around the Sunday, Sept. 21 orbital insertion at Mars of the agency’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. (Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, is seen during a media briefing where he and other panelist outlined activities around the Sunday, Sept. 21 orbital insertion at Mars of the agency’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. (Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Dr. Carlos Calle, lead scientist in the Kennedy Space Center's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory, left, and Jay Phillips, a research physicist, are modifying an electrostatic precipitator to help remove dust from simulated Martian atmosphere. NASA's Journey to Mars requires cutting-edge technologies to solve the problems explorers will face on the Red Planet. Scientists are developing some of the needed solutions by adapting a device to remove the ever-present dust from valuable elements in the Martian atmosphere. Those commodities include oxygen, water and methane.

S92-27865 (23 Sept 1991) --- In test stand 3 of the Operations and Checkout Building high bay, workers complete mating of the Atmosphere Laboratory for Applications and Science-1 (ATLAS-1) pallet and Igloo power unit. Closeout activities on the ATLAS-1 payload are under way, with a systems test scheduled for later in October. The ATLAS series of missions will study solar and atmospheric physics. ATLAS-1 is scheduled to fly on Space Shuttle Mission STS-45 in 1992.

This is an STS-66 mission onboard photo of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis showing the payload of the third Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) mission. During the ATLAS missions, international teams of scientists representing many disciplines combined their expertise to seek answers to complex questions about the atmospheric and solar conditions that sustain life on Earth. The ATLAS program specifically investigated how Earth's middle and upper atmospheres and climate are affected by by the sun and by products of industrial and agricultural activities on Earth. Thirteen ATLAS instruments supported experiments in atmospheric sciences, solar physics, space plasma physics, and astronomy. The instruments were mounted on two Spacelab pallets in the Space Shuttle payload bay. The ATLAS-3 mission continued a variety of atmospheric and solar studies to improve understanding of the Earth's atmosphere and its energy input from the sun. A key scientific objective was to refine existing data on variations in the fragile ozone layer of the atmosphere. The Orbiter Atlantis was launched on November 3, 1994 for the ATLAS-3 mission (STS-66).

This is an STS-66 mission onboard photo showing the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) moving toward one of the solar science instruments for the third Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) mission in the cargo bay of the Orbiter Atlantis. During the ATLAS missions, international teams of scientists representing many disciplines combined their expertise to seek answers to complex questions about the atmospheric and solar conditions that sustain life on Earth. The ATLAS program specifically investigated how Earth's middle and upper atmospheres and climate are affected by by the sun and by products of industrial and agricultural activities on Earth. Thirteen ATLAS instruments supported experiments in atmospheric sciences, solar physics, space plasma physics, and astronomy. The instruments were mounted on two Spacelab pallets in the Space Shuttle payload bay. The ATLAS-3 mission continued a variety of atmospheric and solar studies, to improve understanding of the Earth's atmosphere and its energy input from the sun. A key scientific objective was to refine existing data on variations in the fragile ozone layer of the atmosphere. The Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis was launched on November 3, 1994 for the ATLAS-3 mission (STS-66). The ATLAS program was managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center.

This photograph shows the Spacelab 1 module and pallet ready to be installed in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia at the Kennedy Space Center. The overall goal of the first Spacelab mission was to verify its Space performance through a variety of scientific experiments. The investigation selected for this mission tested the Spacelab hardware, flight and ground systems, and crew to demonstrate their capabilities for advanced research in space. However, Spacelab 1 was not merely a checkout flight or a trial run. Important research problems that required a laboratory in space were scheduled for the mission. Spacelab 1 was a multidisciplinary mission; that is, investigations were performed in several different fields of scientific research. These fields were Astronomy and Solar Physics, Space Plasma Physics, Atmospheric Physics and Earth Observations, Life Sciences, and Materials Science. Spacelab 1 was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-9 mission) on November 28, 1983.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers prepare to remove a Pegasus XL Expendable Launch Vehicle from the underside of an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft. The aircraft, with the launch vehicle attached, arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip on Dec. 17. The Pegasus XL will undergo three flight simulations prior to its scheduled launch in late January 2003. It will carry NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft into orbit. Built by Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group, SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere with instruments built by the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers prepare a Pegasus XL Expendable Launch Vehicle for detachment from the underside of an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft. The aircraft, with the launch vehicle nestled beneath, arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip on Dec. 17. The Pegasus XL will undergo three flight simulations prior to its scheduled launch in late January 2003. It will carry NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft into orbit. Built by Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group, SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere with instruments built by the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A transporter is positioned below a Pegasus XL Expendable Launch Vehicle before its detachment from the underside of an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft. The aircraft, with the launch vehicle nestled beneath, arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip on Dec. 17. The Pegasus XL will undergo three flight simulations prior to its scheduled launch in late January 2003. It will carry NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft into orbit. Built by Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group, SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere with instruments built by the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A transporter is repositioned below a Pegasus XL Expendable Launch Vehicle before it is detached from the underside of an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft. The aircraft, with the launch vehicle nestled beneath, arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip on Dec. 17. The Pegasus XL will undergo three flight simulations prior to its scheduled launch in late January 2003. It will carry NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft into orbit. Built by Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group, SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere with instruments built by the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A Pegasus XL Expendable Launch Vehicle is moments away from being removed from the underside of an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft. The aircraft, with the launch vehicle attached, arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip on Dec. 17. The Pegasus XL will undergo three flight simulations prior to its scheduled launch in late January 2003. It will carry NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft into orbit. Built by Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group, SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere with instruments built by the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers begin the process to remove a Pegasus XL Expendable Launch Vehicle from the underside of an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft. The aircraft, with the launch vehicle attached, arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip on Dec. 17. The Pegasus XL will undergo three flight simulations prior to its scheduled launch in late January 2003. It will carry NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft into orbit. Built by Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group, SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere with instruments built by the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A Pegasus XL Expendable Launch Vehicle is prepared for towing to the Multi-Purpose Payload Facility (MPPF) where it will undergo testing, verification, and three flight simulations prior to its scheduled launch. The vehicle, nestled beneath an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft, arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip on Dec. 17. It is commissioned to carry NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft into orbit in late January 2003. Built by Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group, SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere with instruments built by the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A Pegasus XL Expendable Launch Vehicle is prepared for towing to the Multi-Purpose Payload Facility (MPPF) where it will undergo testing, verification, and three flight simulations prior to its scheduled launch. The vehicle, nestled beneath an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft, arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip on Dec. 17. It is commissioned to carry NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft into orbit in late January 2003. Built by Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group, SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere with instruments built by the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Workers complete the final steps to detach a Pegasus XL Expendable Launch Vehicle from the underside of an Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft. The aircraft, with the launch vehicle nestled beneath, arrived at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Skid Strip on Dec. 17. The Pegasus XL will undergo three flight simulations prior to its scheduled launch in late January 2003. It will carry NASA's Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) spacecraft into orbit. Built by Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group, SORCE will study and measure solar irradiance as a source of energy in the Earth's atmosphere with instruments built by the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).

In the Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Support Building II, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, members of the media participate in a prelaunch mission briefing on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. Speaking to the media is Nicky Fox, Parker Solar Probe project scientist, Johnson Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The Parker Solar Probe will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, a technician from the Applied Physics Laboratory adjusts the blanket that is being installed as a heat shield around the New Horizons spacecraft. Carrying seven scientific instruments, the compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, a technician from the Applied Physics Laboratory adjusts part of the blanket that is being installed as a heat shield around the New Horizons spacecraft. Carrying seven scientific instruments, the compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, technicians from the Applied Physics Laboratory are installing blankets that serve as heat shields around the New Horizons spacecraft. Carrying seven scientific instruments, the compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, a technician from the Applied Physics Laboratory adjusts part of the blanket that it is being installed as a heat shield around the New Horizons spacecraft. Carrying seven scientific instruments, the compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, on Friday, July 20, 2018, Nicky Fox, project scientist with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, speaks to members of the media during a prelaunch mission briefing for the Parker Solar Probe mission. The Parker Solar Probe will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel in Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

In the Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Support Building II, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, members of the media participate in a prelaunch mission briefing on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. Speaking to the media is Andy Driesman, Parker Solar Proble project manager, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The Parker Solar Probe will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, on Friday, July 20, 2018, Betsy Congdon, Thermal Protection System engineer with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, right, demonstrates the ability of the Parker Solar Probe's heat shield to protect the spacecraft. The presentation for the media took place during a prelaunch mission briefing for the Parker Solar Probe mission. The Parker Solar Probe will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel in Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, a technician from the Applied Physics Laboratory adjusts the blanket that is being installed as a heat shield around the New Horizons spacecraft. Carrying seven scientific instruments, the compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

In the Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Support Building II, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, members of the media participate in a prelaunch mission briefing on NASA's Parker Solar Probe. Moderating the science briefing are Karen Fox, far left, Goddard Space Flight Center; and Dwaye Brown, far right, NASA Communications. Briefers are Andy Driesman, Parker Solar Probe project manager, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory; Nicky Fox, Parker Solar Probe project scientist, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory; and Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Parker Solar Probe will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

Tom Woods, (second from right), principal investigator, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment instrument, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado in Boulder speaks during a briefing to discuss recent images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, Wednesday, April 21, 2010, at the Newseum in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

Philip H. Scherrer (left) principal investigator, Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument, Stanford University in Palo Alto, speaks during a briefing to discuss recent images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, while colleagues Tom Woods, principal investigator, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment instrument, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado in Boulder and Madhulika Guhathakurta, SDO program scientist, NASA Headquarters (right) look on Wednesday, April 21, 2010, at the Newseum in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

Greg Kopp, from the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder, Colo., talks about the launch of the GLORY mission during a news conference at NASA Headquarters, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011, in Washington. NASA's newest Earth-observing research mission is scheduled for launch form Vandenburg Air Force Base in California on Feb. 23. The mission will improve our understanding of how the sun and tiny atmosppheric particles called aerosols affect Earth's climate. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Parker Solar Probe, lifts off at 3:31 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel, Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize our understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.

61C-05-026 (14 Jan. 1986) --- Astronaut George D. Nelson smiles for a fellow crew man's 35mm camera exposure while participating in the Comet Halley active monitoring program (CHAMP). Camera equipment and a protective shroud used to eliminate all cabin light interference surround the mission specialist. This is the first of three 1986 missions which are scheduled to monitor the rare visit by the comet. The principal investigators for CHAMP are S. Alan Stern of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado; and Dr. Stephen Mende of Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory.

Scientists involved in NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission attend a press conference to discuss recent images captured by the SDO spacecraft Wednesday, April 21, 2010, at the Newseum in Washington. Pictured right to left are: Madhulika Guhathakurta, SDO program scientist, NASA Headquarters in Washington; Tom Woods, principal investigator, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment instrument, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado in Boulder; Philip H. Scherrer, principal investigator, Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument, Stanford University in Palo Alto; Alan Title, principal investigator, Atmospheric Imaging Assembly instrument, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto and Dean Pesnell, SDO project scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Scientists involved in NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) mission attend a press conference to discuss recent images captured by the SDO spacecraft Wednesday, April 21, 2010, at the Newseum in Washington. On Feb. 11, 2010, NASA launched the SDO spacecraft, which is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun. Seated left to right are: Dean Pesnell, SDO project scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Alan Title, principal investigator, Atmospheric Imaging Assembly instrument, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto; Philip H. Scherrer, principal investigator, Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument, Stanford University in Palo Alto; Tom Woods, principal investigator, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment Instrument, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado in Boulder and Madhulika Guhathakurta, SDO program scientist, NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Madhulika Guhathakurta, far right, SDO Program Scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, speaks during a briefing to discuss recent images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, Wednesday, April 21, 2010, at the Newseum in Washington. Pictured from left of Dr. Guhathakurta's are: Tom Woods, principal investigator, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment instrument, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado in Boulder; Philip H. Scherrer, principal investigator, Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument, Stanford University in Palo Alto; Alan Title, principal investigator, Atmospheric Imaging Assembly instrument, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto and Dean Pesnell, SDO project scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

L-R: Dwayne Brown, NASA Public Affairs Officer, Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Lisa May, MAVEN program executive, NASA Headquarters, Kelly Fast, MAVEN program scientist, NASA Headquarters, Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, University of Colorado Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, and David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. discuss the upcoming launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, at a press conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington on Monday, Oct. 28th, 2013. MAVEN is the agency's next mission to Mars and the first devoted to understanding the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet. (Photo credit: NASA/Jay Westcott)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dr. Ellen Stofan, NASA's chief scientist, talks with Bruck Jakosky, left, of the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. He is the principal investigator for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, mission. On the right is Chuck Tatro of NASA's Launch Services Program who is the MAVEN mission manager. The MAVEN spacecraft can be seen through the window following encapsulation in its payload fairing. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dr. Ellen Stofan, NASA's chief scientist, talks with Bruck Jakosky, left, of the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. He is the principal investigator for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, mission. On the right is Chuck Tatro of NASA's Launch Services Program who is the MAVEN mission manager. The MAVEN spacecraft can be seen through the window following encapsulation in its payload fairing. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

L-R: Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Lisa May, MAVEN program executive, NASA Headquarters, Kelly Fast, MAVEN program scientist, NASA Headquarters, Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, University of Colorado Boulder Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, and David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. are applauded at the end of a panel discussion on the upcoming launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, at a press conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington on Monday, Oct. 28th, 2013. MAVEN is the agency's next mission to Mars and the first devoted to understanding the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet. (Photo credit: NASA/Jay Westcott)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dr. Ellen Stofan, NASA's chief scientist, talks with Bruck Jakosky of the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics is the principal investigator for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, mission. The MAVEN spacecraft can be seen through the window following encapsulation in its payload fairing. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dr. Ellen Stofan, NASA's chief scientist, poses with Bruck Jakosky of the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. He is the principal investigator for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, mission. The MAVEN spacecraft can be seen through the window following encapsulation in its payload fairing. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – During a news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and university investigators outlined science plans for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission. Briefing participants included Nick Schneider, MAVEN Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, or IUVS, instrument lead at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For information on the MAVEN mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – During a news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and university investigators outlined science plans for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission. Briefing participants included Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For information on the MAVEN mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – During a news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and university investigators outlined science plans for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission. Briefing participants included Nick Schneider, holding a model of the MAVEN spacecraft. He is the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, or IUVS, instrument lead at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For information on the MAVEN mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – During a news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and university investigators outlined science plans for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission. Briefing participants included Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For information on the MAVEN mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the clean room at KSC’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility is NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft that is scheduled to be launched to Pluto and its moon Charon in January 2006. Seen here is the Radio Science Experiment (REX) that will measure atmospheric composition and temperature. The spacecraft is being prepared for a media event. Photographers and reporters will be able to photograph the New Horizons spacecraft and talk with project management and test team members from NASA and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Carrying seven scientific instruments, the compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the New Horizons spacecraft waits for encapsulation within the fairing sections waiting nearby. The fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. The compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe carries seven scientific instruments that will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, clean-suit garbed workers prepare the first fairing section (in the background) that will encapsulate the New Horizons spacecraft at left for flight. The fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. The compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe carries seven scientific instruments that will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, clean-suit garbed workers secure the fairing sections around the New Horizons spacecraft for encapsulation. The fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. The compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe carries seven scientific instruments that will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the two fairing sections close in around the New Horizons spacecraft to encapsulate it. The fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. The compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe carries seven scientific instruments that will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the two fairing sections are ready to be moved in place around the New Horizons spacecraft (in center) for encapsulation. The fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. The compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe carries seven scientific instruments that will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, participates in a post-launch news conference in NASA's Press Site TV auditorium following the successful launch of NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, spacecraft. Launch was on schedule at 1:28 p.m. EST Nov. 18 at the opening of a two-hour launch window. After a 10-month journey to the Red Planet, MAVEN will study its upper atmosphere in unprecedented detail from orbit above the planet. Built by Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colo., MAVEN will arrive at Mars in September 2014 and will be inserted into an elliptical orbit with a high point of 3,900 miles, swooping down to as close as 93 miles above the planet's surface. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the two fairing sections move into place around the New Horizons spacecraft for encapsulation. The fairing protects the spacecraft during launch and flight through the atmosphere. Once out of the atmosphere, the fairing is jettisoned. The compact 1,060-pound New Horizons probe carries seven scientific instruments that will characterize the global geology and geomorphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map their surface compositions and temperatures, and examine Pluto's complex atmosphere. After that, flybys of Kuiper Belt objects from even farther in the solar system may be undertaken in an extended mission. New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium-class planetary missions. The spacecraft, designed for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., will fly by Pluto and Charon as early as summer 2015.

In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, on Friday, July 20, 2018, Karen Fox of NASA Communications, speaks to members of the media during a prelaunch mission briefing for the Parker Solar Probe mission. The Parker Solar Probe will lift off on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft was built by Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University in Laurel in Maryland. The mission will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's atmosphere, called the corona. The probe will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionize understanding of the corona and the Sun-Earth connection.