International Launch Services is in final preparations for what will be the first Atlas 5 launch for the U.S. government. The company will be sending NASA‘s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter into space on Aug. 10. The launch window opens at 7:45 a.m. EDT, and will remain open until 9:30 a.m. The orbiter is being launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The orbiter’s mission is to search for evidence of water on Mars. It will use extreme close-up photography; analyze materials; examine the martian subsurface with radar; and monitor daily weather. The orbiter also will establish a data link and seek suitable landing sites for future spacecraft.
