After two delays for a combination of weather and technical reasons, NASA‘s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was successfully launched Aug. 12 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The spacecraft was launched on an Atlas 5 by International Launch Services (ILS) and Lockheed Martin. It was the first time an Atlas 5 was used to launch a government payload and for an interplanetary mission.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, according to ILS, is the largest spacecraft to be launched to Mars since the 1980s. After it arrives at Mars, it will orbit the planet for four years in a near-polar orbit at altitudes ranging from 255 kilometers to 320 kilometers. The spacecraft will conduct various missions, including surveying the planet for water- related minerals, monitoring atmospheric changes, and probing below the surface to find and map underground layers of ice, rock and if present, liquid water. The spacecraft also will be used to identify and evaluate potential landing sites for future surface missions, including a human mission to Mars.