Photos: NASA's MAVEN Mission to Mars

NASA MAVEN at Mars

An artist's view of NASA's MAVEN spacecraft in orbit around Mars. Read our full MAVEN Mars arrival story.

NASA Celebrates MAVEN Probe's Mars Arrival

The mood was jubilant during a press conference following the successful MAVEN orbiter arrival at Mars on Sept. 21, 2014. Here, NASA and MAVEN mission officials celebrate the atmosphere-studying Mars probe's success with reporters.

Read our full MAVEN Mars arrival story.

MAVEN Team Celebrates Mars Arrival

Members of the MAVEN team at Lockheed Martin's operations center in Littleton, Colorado celebrate the NASA's probe arrival in Mars orbit on Sept. 21, 2014.

Read our full MAVEN Mars arrival story.

NASA MAVEN Mars Orbit Arrival

This NASA graphic shows how MAVEN entered orbit around the Red Planet on Sept. 21, 2014.

Read our full MAVEN Mars arrival story.

Transporter Moves MAVEN to Launch Complex

A transporter moves NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, to the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 where it will be hoisted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will lift it into space and on to Mars. MAVEN is short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution.

MAVEN Hoisted Atop Atlas V Rocket

NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, is hoisted to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41. The Atlas V will lift MAVEN into space and on to Mars.

Atlas 5 Rocket and MAVEN on Launch Pad

NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, is hoisted to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41. The Atlas V will lift MAVEN into space and on to Mars. MAVEN is short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution.

Atlas 5 Rocket and MAVEN: NASA's Chief Scientist Speaks to Press

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dr. Ellen Stofan, NASA's chief scientist, speaks to members of the news media. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft is in the background following encapsulation in its payload fairing.

Engineers Move MAVEN Inside Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility

Engineers and technicians move NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, inside payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, or PHSF, into the airlock for mounting to a trailer for transport to Space Launch Complex 41 where it will be hoisted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will lift it into space and on to Mars.

Technicians Perform MAVEN Spin Test

Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers and technicians perform a spin test of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft. The operation is designed to verify that MAVEN is properly balanced as it spins during the initial mission activities.