Science · Photo

Msl capsule cruiseStage.jpg

The major components of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft—cruise stage atop the aeroshell, which has the descent stage and rover inside—were connected together in October 2008 for several weeks of system testing, including simulation of launch vibrations and deep-space environmental conditions. These components will be taken apart again, for further work on each of them, after the environmental testing. The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is being assembled and tested for launch in 2011.

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Author: NASA
Attribution: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11437
License: Public domain
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Msl_capsule_cruiseStage.jpg