Reservists clear a path to Mars
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The crew of a 920th Rescue Wing HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter conducts post-flight operations after supporting a NASA Delta II rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center just before 5:30 a.m. today.
Reservists from the 920th are responsible for clearing the Eastern range before all Space Shuttle and rocket launches -- flying off the coast of Kennedy Space Center to ensure no boats are in the launch path.
The lazy twist of smoke in the early-morning sky is all that remains from the trail left by the rocket, which carried the Phoenix spacecraft on the first leg of its trip to Mars' arctic plain, where a landing craft will dig through the Martian soil and ice to analyze the samples it retrieves. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Paul Flipse)