Timelapse: Watch the MAVEN Spacecraft Being Built Before Your Eyes

Watch a year of incredibly detailed work in building the MAVEN spacecraft — sped up to take just 10 minutes. It’s the dance known as ATLO: Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations, set to a jazzy beat. The next spacecraft to Mars, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN or MAVEN began ATLO procedures a year ago on Sept. 11, 2012. It was shipped to Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on Aug. 2, 2013 to begin preparations for its scheduled launch on Nov. 18, 2013.

Find out more about MAVEN in one of our previous articles about preparations for the mission, or at NASA’s MAVEN website.