WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

Workers prepare to lift the second stage of a Delta II rocket up the launch tower on Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It will be mated to the Delta first stage already at the pad in preparation for the launch of the Mars Exploration Rover-1 (MER-B) on June 25. NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers are designed to study the history of water on Mars. These robotic geologists are equipped with a robotic arm, a drilling tool, three spectrometers, and four pairs of cameras that allow them to have a human-like, 3D view of the terrain. Each rover could travel as far as 100 meters in one day to act as Mars scientists' eyes and hands, exploring an environment where humans are not yet able to go. The launch of MER-2 (MER-A) is tentatively set for June 8.