WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

The four identical observatories comprising NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS), stacked one atop the other, are the center of attention for media representatives in a clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, where the spacecraft are being processed for launch. MMS is an unprecedented NASA mission to study magnetic reconnection, a fundamental process that occurs throughout the universe. MMS is a NASA mission led by the Goddard Space Flight Center. The instrument payload science team consists of researchers from a number of institutions and is led by the Southwest Research Institute. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is managed by Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Services Program. Liftoff is targeted for 10:44 p.m. EDT March 12. To learn more about MMS, visit www.nasa.gov/mms.