The Atlas V first stage right and Centaur upper stage are offloaded from the Delta Mariner ship.

The Atlas V first stage (right) and Centaur upper stage to support the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission are offloaded from the Delta Mariner transport ship at Port Canaveral in Florida.

MSL's components include a compact car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for evidence on whether Mars has had environments favorable to microbial life, including chemical ingredients for life. The unique rover will use a laser to look inside rocks and release its gasses so that the rover’s spectrometer can analyze and send the data back to Earth. Launch of MSL aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for Nov. 25 from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis