On Launch Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, workers supervise the lowering of the second stage of the Delta II launch vehicle toward the Delta's first stage below. Phoenix is scheduled to launch Aug. 3. 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. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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