WEBVTT

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Intro music.

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NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, or MRO spacecraft, has arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a C-17 cargo plane

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to prepare it for an exciting journey to Mars.

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The MRO mission will give researchers an unprecedented look at the red planet's atmosphere and subterranean environment

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in greater detail than any previous orbiter.

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It is the next major step in Mars exploration.

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The spacecraft was delivered to Kennedy's Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility and gingerly unpacked from its protective crate.

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It was carefully lowered onto a specially designed processing table for assembly and testing.

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"Bunny-suited" technicians, dressed to keep the environment and craft incredibly clean, carefully install the solar arrays and instrumentation.

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Testing this month will verify the MRO's ability to communicate through NASA's Deep Space Network tracking stations.

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It will also undergo mechanical assembly operations and electrical tests for flight readiness.

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The spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, and is scheduled for launch later this year

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from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, aboard an Atlas V rocket.

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NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission is an important step in fulfilling the Vision for Space Exploration,

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ultimately sending human explorers to Mars and beyond.

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