Members of the news media ask questions during a news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Members of the news media ask questions during a news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Officials outlined the agency’s plans for future human spaceflight, including an expedition to Mars. The briefing took place the day prior to launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission.

MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch on Nov 18, 2013 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of Mars in unprecedented detail. For information on the MAVEN mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html. For more on NASA Human Spaceflight, visit: http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/home/index.html. For information on the international Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett