The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution or MAVEN spacecraft has been encapsulated inside its payload fairing prior to being transported to Launch Complex 41.

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft has been encapsulated inside its payload fairing prior to being transported to Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

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 more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett