KSC technicians maneuver the backshell a protective covering to be placed over the Mars Polar Lander sitting on the workstand.

In the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility-2 (SAEF-2), KSC technicians maneuver the backshell, a protective covering, to be placed over the Mars Polar Lander, sitting on the workstand. The solar-powered spacecraft, targeted for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station aboard a Delta II rocket on Jan. 3, 1999, is designed to touch down on the Martian surface near the northern-most boundary of the south pole in order to study the water cycle there. The lander also will help scientists learn more about climate change and current resources on Mars, studying such things as frost, dust, water vapor and condensates in the Martian atmosphere