{CaptionsBy}    Information Dynamics, Inc.

{LastEditor}    Anita Barrett

{ScannedBy}     NASA/KSC Public Affairs Office

{author}        NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration

{date}          30-Nov-1998

{description}   Wrapped in a protective covering, the Mars Climate Orbiter with
                its upper stage booster is lifted up at Launch Complex 17, Pad A,
                Cape Canaveral Air Station, in preparation for mating to the
                second stage of a Boeing Delta II (7425) rocket. Targeted for
                liftoff on Dec. 10, 1998, the orbiter will be the first
                spacecraft to be launched in the pair of Mars '98 missions. After
                its arrival at the red planet, the Mars Climate Orbiter will be
                used primarily to support its companion Mars Polar Lander
                spacecraft, scheduled for launch on Jan. 3, 1999. The orbiter
                will then monitor the Martian atmosphere and image the planet's
                surface on a daily basis for one Martian year, the equivalent of
                about two Earth years. The spacecraft will observe the appearance
                and movement of atmospheric dust and water vapor, and
                characterize seasonal changes on the planet's surface.

{highres}       1722 x 2617

{highsize}      1022984

{hightype}      JPEG

{lowres}        158 x 240

{lowsize}       54425

{lowtype}       GIF

{mediumres}     505 x 768

{mediumsize}    100182

{mediumtype}    JPEG

{number}        KSC-98PC-1765

{slideres}      110 x 156

{slidesize}     24880

{slidetype}     GIF

{tinyres}       66 x 100

{tinysize}      10072

{tinytype}      GIF

{title}         The Mars Climate Orbiter is lifted up the Pad 17A gantry

{type}          Image

{end}