KSC-2011-7970

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Press Site in Florida, a U.S. flag flaps in the breeze next to the countdown clock at the turn basin. Overhead, the contrail of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, carrying the agency's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) into space, dissects the clouds over Space Launch Complex-41 on neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff came at 10:02 a.m. EST at the opening of the launch window. 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/Frankie Martin