KSC-2011-7641

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission logo begins to take shape as technicians install it on the exterior of an Atlas V rocket's payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Tucked inside the fairing is the MSL spacecraft, including a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including the chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is planned for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. For more information, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_msl. Photo credit: NASA_Jim Grossmann