Rollback of the mobile service tower, or gantry, from around the Delta II 7925 rocket is complete on Launch Pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Equipped with three stages and nine strap-on solid rocket motors, the Delta II rocket packs plenty of punch for sending the Phoenix spacecraft on its way toward Mars. Launch is targeted for Aug. 4 during one of two opportunities for liftoff: 5:26 or 6:02 a.m. EDT. 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.
NASA/Jim Grossmann
2007-08-03
<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://images.nasa.gov/details/KSC-07pd2168">https://images.nasa.gov/details/KSC-07pd2168</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=33154">http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=33154</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template"><span style="white-space: nowrap;">[<span style="font-style:italic;"><span title="" class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot">dead link</a></span></span>]</span></sup></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/large/07pd2168.jpg">http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/images/large/07pd2168.jpg</a><sup class="noprint Inline-Template"><span style="white-space: nowrap;">[<span style="font-style:italic;"><span title="" class="plainlinks"><a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot">dead link</a></span></span>]</span></sup></li></ul>