The Delta II first stage is rolling back to the mobile service tower for mating with the solid rocket boosters waiting there.

On Pad 17-A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the Delta II first stage is rolling back to the mobile service tower for mating with the solid rocket boosters waiting there. The Delta is the launch vehicle for the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft. 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. Phoenix is scheduled to launch Aug. 3. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett