bild
Surrounded by smoke and steam, the Delta II rocket with its Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A) payload hurtles through it into the blue sky to begin its journey to Marsat 1:58 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 17-A, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 10 June 2003. MER-A, known as 'Spirit,' is the first of two rovers being launched to Mars. When the two rovers arrive at the red planet in 2004, they will bounce to airbag-cushioned landings at sites offering a balance of favorable conditions for safe landings and interesting science. The rovers see sharper images, can explore farther and examine rocks better than anything that has ever landed on Mars. The designated site for the MER-A mission is Gusev Crater, which appears to have been a crater lake. (KEYSTONE/EPA PHOTO/NASA)