The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Mars Atmosphere spacecraft is secured on the pad.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, spacecraft is secured on the pad at 10:35 a.m. EST at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The 20-minute journey from the Vertical Integration Facility began on schedule with first motion at 9:57 a.m. Launch is scheduled for Nov. 18 during a window that extends from 1:28 to 3:28 p.m. Once positioned in orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study its upper atmosphere in unprecedented detail. For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett