NASA has shown off the first high-resolution, colour portrait images taken by the Mars rover, Curiosity.

They detail a mound of layered rock where scientists plan to focus their search for the chemical ingredients of life on the Red Planet.

The stunning images reveal distinct tiers near the base of the 5km-high mountain that rises from the floor of the ancient impact basin known as Gale Crater.

Curiosity landed there on 6 August to begin its two-year mission.

Scientists estimate it will be a year before the six-wheeled, nuclear-powered rover physically reaches the layers of interest at the foot of the mountain 10km away from the landing site.

From earlier orbital imagery, the layers appear to contain clays and other hydrated minerals that form in the presence of water.

Previous missions to Mars have uncovered strong evidence for vast amounts of water flowing over its surface in the past.

Curiosity was dispatched to hunt for organic materials and other chemistry thought necessary for microbial life.

The $2.5bn project is the first to bring all the tools of a state-of-the-art geochemistry laboratory to the surface of a distant planet.

But the latest images from Curiosity, taken at a distance from its primary target of exploration, already have given scientists a new view of the formation's structure.

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NASA shows off first colour images from Mars

ScienceDaily (Aug. 27, 2012) NASA's Mars Curiosity has debuted the first recorded human voice that traveled from Earth to another planet and back.

In spoken words radioed to the rover on Mars and back to NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) on Earth, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden noted the difficulty of landing a rover on Mars, congratulated NASA employees and the agency's commercial and government partners on the successful landing of Curiosity earlier this month, and said curiosity is what drives humans to explore.

"The knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet. Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future," Bolden said in the recorded message.

The voice playback was released along with new telephoto camera views of the varied Martian landscape during a news conference today at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

"With this voice, another small step is taken in extending human presence beyond Earth, and the experience of exploring remote worlds is brought a little closer to us all," said Dave Lavery, NASA Curiosity program executive. "As Curiosity continues its mission, we hope these words will be an inspiration to someone alive today who will become the first to stand upon the surface of Mars. And like the great Neil Armstrong, they will speak aloud of that next giant leap in human exploration."

The telephoto images beamed back to Earth show a scene of eroded knobs and gulches on a mountainside, with geological layering clearly exposed. The new views were taken by the 100-millimeter telephoto lens and the 34-milllimeter wide angle lens of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument. Mastcam has photographed the lower slope of the nearby mountain called Mount Sharp.

"This is an area on Mount Sharp where Curiosity will go," said Mastcam principal investigator Michael Malin, of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. "Those layers are our ultimate objective. The dark dune field is between us and those layers. In front of the dark sand you see redder sand, with a different composition suggested by its different color. The rocks in the foreground show diversity -- some rounded, some angular, with different histories. This is a very rich geological site to look at and eventually to drive through."

A drive early Monday placed Curiosity directly over a patch where one of the spacecraft's landing engines scoured away a few inches of gravelly soil and exposed underlying rock. Researchers plan to use a neutron-shooting instrument on the rover to check for water molecules bound into minerals at this partially excavated target.

During the news conference, the rover team reported the results of a test on Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, which can measure the composition of samples of atmosphere, powdered rock or soil. The amount of air from Earth's atmosphere remaining in the instrument after Curiosity's launch was more than expected, so a difference in pressure on either side of tiny pumps led SAM operators to stop pumping out the remaining Earth air as a precaution. The pumps subsequently worked, and a chemical analysis was completed on a sample of Earth air.

"As a test of the instrument, the results are beautiful confirmation of the sensitivities for identifying the gases present," said SAM principal investigator Paul Mahaffy of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We're happy with this test and we're looking forward to the next run in a few days when we can get Mars data."

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NASA rover returns voice and telephoto views from Mars

PASADENA, Ca. (NASA) NASAs Mars Curiosity has debuted the first recorded human voice that traveled from Earth to another planet and back.

In spoken words radioed to the rover on Mars and back to NASAs Deep Space Network (DSN) on Earth, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden noted the difficulty of landing a rover on Mars, congratulated NASA employees and the agencys commercial and government partners on the successful landing of Curiosity earlier this month, and said curiosity is what drives humans to explore.

The knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet. Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future, Bolden said in the recorded message.

The voice playback was released along with new telephoto camera views of the varied Martian landscape during a news conference today at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

With this voice, another small step is taken in extending human presence beyond Earth, and the experience of exploring remote worlds is brought a little closer to us all, said Dave Lavery, NASA Curiosity program executive. As Curiosity continues its mission, we hope these words will be an inspiration to someone alive today who will become the first to stand upon the surface of Mars. And like the great Neil Armstrong, they will speak aloud of that next giant leap in human exploration.

The telephoto images beamed back to Earth show a scene of eroded knobs and gulches on a mountainside, with geological layering clearly exposed. The new views were taken by the 100-millimeter telephoto lens and the 34-milllimeter wide angle lens of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument. Mastcam has photographed the lower slope of the nearby mountain called Mount Sharp.

A chapter of the layered geological history of Mars is laid bare in this postcard from NASAs Curiosity rover. The image shows the base of Mount Sharp, the rovers eventual science destination. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

This is an area on Mount Sharp where Curiosity will go, said Mastcam principal investigator Michael Malin, of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. Those layers are our ultimate objective. The dark dune field is between us and those layers. In front of the dark sand you see redder sand, with a different composition suggested by its different color. The rocks in the foreground show diversity some rounded, some angular, with different histories. This is a very rich geological site to look at and eventually to drive through.

A drive early Monday placed Curiosity directly over a patch where one of the spacecrafts landing engines scoured away a few inches of gravelly soil and exposed underlying rock. Researchers plan to use a neutron-shooting instrument on the rover to check for water molecules bound into minerals at this partially excavated target.

During the news conference, the rover team reported the results of a test on Curiositys Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, which can measure the composition of samples of atmosphere, powdered rock or soil. The amount of air from Earths atmosphere remaining in the instrument after Curiositys launch was more than expected, so a difference in pressure on either side of tiny pumps led SAM operators to stop pumping out the remaining Earth air as a precaution. The pumps subsequently worked, and a chemical analysis was completed on a sample of Earth air.

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NASA: Curiosity rover returns voice recording and telephoto views from Mars

PRESS RELEASE Date Released: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA Rover Returns Voice and Telephoto Views From Martian Surface

NASA's Mars Curiosity has debuted the first recorded human voice that traveled from Earth to another planet and back. In spoken words radioed to the rover on Mars and back to NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) on Earth, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden noted the difficulty of landing a rover on Mars, congratulated NASA employees and the agency's commercial and government partners on the successful landing of Curiosity earlier this month, and said curiosity is what drives humans to explore.

"The knowledge we hope to gain from our observation and analysis of Gale Crater will tell us much about the possibility of life on Mars as well as the past and future possibilities for our own planet. Curiosity will bring benefits to Earth and inspire a new generation of scientists and explorers, as it prepares the way for a human mission in the not too distant future," Bolden said in the recorded message.

The voice playback was released along with new telephoto camera views of the varied Martian landscape during a news conference today at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

"With this voice, another small step is taken in extending human presence beyond Earth, and the experience of exploring remote worlds is brought a little closer to us all," said Dave Lavery, NASA Curiosity program executive. "As Curiosity continues its mission, we hope these words will be an inspiration to someone alive today who will become the first to stand upon the surface of Mars. And like the great Neil Armstrong, they will speak aloud of that next giant leap in human exploration."

The telephoto images beamed back to Earth show a scene of eroded knobs and gulches on a mountainside, with geological layering clearly exposed. The new views were taken by the 100-millimeter telephoto lens and the 34-milllimeter wide angle lens of the Mast Camera (Mastcam) instrument. Mastcam has photographed the lower slope of the nearby mountain called Mount Sharp.

"This is an area on Mount Sharp where Curiosity will go," said Mastcam principal investigator Michael Malin, of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. "Those layers are our ultimate objective. The dark dune field is between us and those layers. In front of the dark sand you see redder sand, with a different composition suggested by its different color. The rocks in the foreground show diversity -- some rounded, some angular, with different histories. This is a very rich geological site to look at and eventually to drive through."

A drive early Monday placed Curiosity directly over a patch where one of the spacecraft's landing engines scoured away a few inches of gravelly soil and exposed underlying rock. Researchers plan to use a neutron-shooting instrument on the rover to check for water molecules bound into minerals at this partially excavated target.

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NASA Rover Returns Voice and Telephoto Views From Martian Surface

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 28, 2012)] [Notices] [Page 52067] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2012-21181]

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[12-069]

NASA Advisory Council; Commercial Space Committee; Meeting

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: This Committee reports to the NAC. The meeting will be held for the purpose of soliciting, from the scientific community and other persons, scientific and technical information relevant to program planning.

DATES: Tuesday, September 18, 2012, 11:45 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Local Time.

ADDRESSES: NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), The Showroom, Building M-3, NASA Ames Conference Center, 500 Severyns Road, NASA Research Park, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Thomas W. Rathjen, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC 20546, (202) 358-0552, fax (202) 358-2885, or thomas.rathjen-1@nasa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The meeting will be open to the public up to the capacity of the room. This meeting is also available telephonically and by WebEx. Any interested person may call the USA toll free conference call number (888) 790-5969 or toll number (517) 224-3265, pass code 7234039, to participate in this meeting by telephone. The WebEx link is https://nasa.webex.com/, the meeting number is 996 244 419, and the password is CSC@Sep18. The agenda for the meeting includes the following topics:

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NASA Advisory Council Commercial Space Committee Meeting 18 Sep 2012

A song called "Reach for the Stars" will make its debut, appropriately, from space.

NASA plans to broadcast the tune, written by rapper and songwriter will.i.am, from its Curiosity rover, newly landed on the surface of Mars.

Though Curiosity has no speakers, it will transmit the song via radio waves back to Earth to be received at 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET) Tuesday during an educational event at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Space news from NBCNews.com

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: President Barack Obama orders that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff in honor of first moonwalker Neil Armstrong, who passed away over the weekend.

"Members of the team that successfully landed the rover on Mars earlier this month will explain to students the mission and the technology behind the song's interplanetary transmission," NASA officials wrote in a statement. "Will.i.am will then premiere 'Reach for the Stars,' a new composition about the singer's passion for science, technology and space exploration."

During the event, NASA scientists and mission managers will talk about the Curiosity mission and explain the technology behind the broadcast to students. It won't be the first broadcast from space NASA used the Mars rover on Monday to broadcast a spoken message from the space agency's chief, Charles Bolden.

The musician will.i.am, a member of the Black Eyed Peas, was at JPL on Aug. 5 to watch Curiosity land on Mars. The car-sized, $2.5 billion rover is beginning a two-year mission to investigate whether Mars ever had the conditions necessary to support microbial life.

Follow Space.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+.

2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

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NASA to beam new will.i.am song from Mars

will.i.am and NASA will debut 'Reach for the Stars' Tuesday. The new will.i.am single will be beamed from the NASA Curiosity rover.

Bruno Mars move over. will.i.am has got a new single coming direct from Mars, the first-ever song to debut on another planet.

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The Mars Curiosity mission has something for everyone: Cool pix, lasers blasting rocks, and now the music of the spheres.

"Reaching for the Stars" will be broadcast from the red planet at 4 p.m. EDT Tuesday.

The broadcast will be part of a NASA educational event for students at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif.

According to NASA, members of the team that successfully landed the rover on Mars earlier this month will explain to students the mission and the technology behind the song's interplanetary transmission. will.i.am will then premiere "Reach for the Stars," a new composition about the singer's passion for science, technology, and space exploration. will.i.am's i.am.angel Foundation, in partnership with Discovery Education of Silver Spring, Md., a provider of digital resources to kindergarten through grade 12 classrooms, will announce a new science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics initiative featuring NASA assets such as the Mars Curiosity Rover. The event will be streamed on the agency's website and broadcast on NASA TV.

will.i.am is a big NASA fan and has appeared in a NASA promotional video explaining how NASA technologies have helped increase production of clean water, provide remote medical care and solar electricity for refrigeration, and keep food fresh during its trip from field to market.

While will.i.am has the first song, the honor of the first human voice to be broadcast from another planet was reserved for NASA administrator Charlie Bolden.

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will.i.am, NASA team up for first song from Mars

NASA did some prep work Saturday for the highly anticipated tour across the skies of Southern California for the space shuttle Endeavour.

On Saturday, two NASA jets, a T-38 trainer and an F-18 Hornet, circled low across the Southland for several hours, scouting possible routes and backdrops for a scenic flyover by Endeavor before its Sept. 20 touchdown in Los Angeles, officials said.

NASA awarded the retired orbiter last year to the California Science Center in Exposition Park, where it will be put on permanent display. The shuttle will be ferried to Los Angeles from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on the back of a modified Boeing 747.

NASA spokesman Michael Curie said Saturday's flights, at about 1,500 feet, were intended to help the agency map out the shuttle's arrival, and the viability of a celebratory flyover.

He said the pilots would examine and photograph potential challenges and hazards in the area, including cellphone, radio and TV towers, and would consider various routes and altitudes. "They need to get as much information as possible ahead of time," he said.

But they also would be looking for the best camera angles for photographs of the shuttle flying over iconic Los Angeles-area landmarks, including the Hollywood sign, Disneyland and the ocean.

"There are a lot of landmarks and beautiful buildings and landscapes in the area that would make tremendous photo ops with the space shuttle flying near it," he said.

When Endeavour's sister shuttle, Discovery, arrived in Washington, D.C., in April, its arrival flight took it past the Capitol, the Washington Monument and other landmarks, creating memorable images.

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NASA flyover a preview for space shuttle's dramatic L.A. entrance

Top NASA officials and former astronauts praised the late Neil Armstrong on Saturday, saying he made a major mark on space exploration.

"When I think of Neil, I think of someone who for our country was dedicated enough to dare greatly," John Glenn, the the first American to orbit the Earth, said in an interview with the Associated Press. "He showed a skill and dedication that was just exemplary. I'll miss him not only for that but just as a close personal friend."

NASA administrator Charles Bolden added in a statement: "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them. Besides being one of America's greatest explorers, Neil carried himself with grace and humility that was an example to us all."

Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon, on July 20, 1969, when he said: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."

The grainy black-and-white television images of him taking his first lunar stroll were watched by an estimated 600 million people worldwide and firmly established him as one of the great heroes of the 20th century.

Armstrong, who had heart surgery in early August, died Saturday in Cincinnati at 82, said NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs. The cause was complications from cardiovascular procedures, his family announced.

PHOTOS: Neil Armstrong | 1930-2012

He was never comfortable with celebrity he saw as an accident of fate, for stepping on the moon ahead of fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. The reticent, self-effacing Armstrong would shun the spotlight for much of the rest of his life.

In a rare public appearance, in 2000, Armstrong cast himself in another light: "I am, and ever will be, a white-sock, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer."

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Neil Armstrong remembered by John Glenn, NASA head

As space exploration has become more common and the number of astronauts has risen past 300, many names have faded into the background. But some will forever be associated with the golden age of space exploration. Some examples:

From 1969's Apollo 11, the first manned moon landing mission:

Buzz Aldrin: Lunar module pilot for Apollo 11. Second man on the moon after commander Neil Armstrong. Left NASA in in 1971 and returned to Air Force. Wrote several books including "Return to Earth" and "Men from Earth." Advocate for future U.S. space exploration and frequent lecturer. Age: 82.

Neil Armstrong: Commander of Apollo 11 mission and first human to set foot on the moon. Left NASA in 1971, taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati, and later became chairman of electronic systems companies. Died Aug. 25 at age 82.

Michael Collins: Command module pilot on Apollo 11 and circled the moon while colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed. Left NASA in 1970 and became first director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Wrote "Carrying the Fire," considered one of the best insider space books. Age: 81.

Some other notable astronauts:

Scott Carpenter: Second American to orbit the Earth in 1962. With John Glenn, surviving member of NASA's original Mercury 7 astronauts. Gave the famous send off "Godspeed, John Glenn." Involved in Navy's SeaLab program, and spent 30 days under the ocean in 1965. Left the Navy in 1969. Age: 87.

Eugene Cernan: Commander of Apollo 17 in 1972; last astronaut to walk on the moon. Second person to walk in space in 1966 as a pilot on Gemini 9. Retired from the Navy in 1976 and later started an aerospace consulting company in Houston. Age: 78

John Glenn: First American to orbit the Earth in 1962, circling three times in five hours. Left NASA in 1965 and retired from the Marine Corps the next year. Became a Democratic U.S. senator from Ohio and ran briefly for president in 1984. Return to space in 1998 for a nine-day mission aboard space shuttle Discovery, becoming at age 77 the oldest person in space. Turned 91 in July.

Jim Lovell: Commander of Apollo 13 in 1970, his fourth space flight. Oxygen tank in the spaceship exploded and the moon mission was aborted. Left NASA in 1973 and became a business executive. Age: 84.

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NASA's pioneering astronauts: Where are they now?

25-08-2012 20:21 Premiered in 2008 at NASA's Golden Anniversary Gala held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., this 13-and-a-half-minute video produced by NASA TV highlights the agency's historic half-century milestones, including the landing of Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 1969.

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50 Years of Exploration: The Golden Anniversary of NASA - Video

25-08-2012 21:34 This live program at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC highlights the success of America's space program as it met President Kennedy's challenge of putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 Commander, who was the first person to set foot on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, features prominently.

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NASA Celebrates Apollo - Video

NASA is taking the cheap but effective route by launching 4-inch satellites using Android phones as the on-board computer. Brilliant.

E.T. won't need to fall to the Earth to phone home: he'll be able to grab one of NASA's cube-like miniature satellites -- roughly the size of a coffee mug -- later this year. They'll reportedly be powered by Google's Nexus One smartphones and include external batteries, an external radio beacon, and a watchdog circuit that will monitor the system and reboot the Android smartphone if necessary.

On Friday NASA said its cube-shaped, pre-Borg-like satellites are part of the PhoneSat Project aimed to make extensive use of commercial-off-the-shelf components, including an unmodified, consumer-grade smartphone. A small team of engineers is working on the project at the agency's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., and are taking the same "release early, release often" smartphone route with the small spacecraft.

"Out of the box, smartphones already offer a wealth of capabilities needed for satellite systems, including fast processors, versatile operating systems, multiple miniature sensors, high-resolution cameras, GPS receivers, and several radios," NASA said.

By using only commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and keeping the design and mission objectives to a minimum for the first flight, the team was able to build each of the three prototype satellites in the PhoneSat project for $3,500. Each NASA PhoneSat nanosatellite is one standard CubeSat unit in size (approx. 4-inches) and weighs less than four pounds.

"NASA PhoneSat engineers also are changing the way missions are designed by rapidly prototyping and incorporating existing commercial technologies and hardware," NASA said. "This approach allows engineers to see what capabilities commercial technologies can provide, rather than trying to custom-design technology solutions to meet set requirements. Engineers can rapidly upgrade the entire satellite's capabilities and add new features for each future generation of PhoneSats."

According to the report, the Nexus One smartphone acts as the spacecraft's on-board computer. Sensors are used for orientation while the camera will be used for Earth observations. This 1st-generation satellite -- PhoneSat 1.0 -- will have a simple mission: to stay alive in the frigid vacuum of space long enough to send back images of earth and space while sending data about its overall health in the process.

Once that mission is completed, NASA will move on to the next-generation PhoneSat (2.0) featuring the zippier Nexus S smartphone. This device will add a two-way S-band radio to the core PhoneSat design to allow engineers to command the satellite from Earth. Solar panels will also be added to enable longer missions as well as a GPS receiver. The team will also throw in magnetorquer coils electro-magnets that interact with Earth's magnetic field and reaction wheels to actively control the satellite's orientation in space.

Three NASA PhoneSats systems (two PhoneSat 1.0's and one PhoneSat 2.0) are scheduled to launch aboard the maiden flight of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Va., later this year, NASA said. The image provided above is a PhoneSat 1.0 satellite during a high-altitude balloon test.

Later in 2013, NASA's upcoming Edison Demonstration of Small Satellite Networks mission -- part of the Small Spacecraft Technology Program -- will demonstrate the possibility of conducting heliophysics measurements using small spacecraft.

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NASA Launching Mini Satellites Powered by Nexus One Phones

Thunderstorms have ruined NASA's second attempt to launch a pair of science satellites.

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Storms spoil NASA's 2nd launch bid for satellites

NASA's effort to launch a pair of satellites to Earth's radiation belts has been delayed until late next week because of Tropical Storm Isaac.

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Tropical storm stalls NASA launch until Thursday

NASA delayed the launch of two new space radiation probes for the second day in a row Saturday (Aug. 25), this time due to stormy weather.

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Stormy Weather Thwarts 2nd Launch Try for NASA Radiation Probes

NASA is deploying a few high-flying paparazzi to Hollywood to scout out the best photo spots for next month's arrival of one of its biggest stars: space shuttle Endeavour.

Meanwhile on the East Coast, tickets have just gone on sale for the public to stake out their own photo ops to see Endeavour as it departs its Florida spaceport for the final time. Endeavour, which flew 25 times to space, is being ferried to Los Angeles for display at the California Science Center.

On Saturday, two NASA jets a T-38 astronaut trainer and an F-18 Hornet will circle the skies over Los Angeles at an altitude of approximately 1,500 feet. The jet flights, which are in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration, have been described by NASA as only "to capture photographic imagery."

Space news from NBCNews.com

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Amateur photo wizards get their reward for bringing some of the Hubble Space Telescope's hidden treasures into the spotlight.

But it's no secret that the aircraft are part of the advance entourage for Endeavour. The retired orbiter, flying atop the space agency's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, is scheduled to land at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Sept. 20.

Before touching down, the jumbo jet carrying Endeavour is expected to make several scenic flyovers of the L.A. area, setting up the possibility for some iconic shots to be taken of the shuttle soaring past famous landmarks like the Hollywood sign. Saturday's jet flights will scope out the best flight paths to capture those photos. [ Photos: How Shuttle Endeavour Was Made ]

NASA photographers embarked on a similar set of flights before Endeavour's older sister, space shuttle Discovery, arrived in Washington, D.C. in April. Two T-38 training jets were dispatched to the nation's capital to plot the shuttle's path, which later led to photos of Discovery flying past the Capitol Building, Washington Monument, White House and other historic landmarks.

Fly-out photo ops Details on when, where and how to see Endeavour arrive in Los Angeles have not yet been announced, nor have any of the potential flyover locations along the shuttle's trip from Florida to California. Tickets however, went on sale Friday to see Endeavour depart its launch and landing site for a final time.

NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will host four days of activities leading up to the scheduled takeoff of Endeavour atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on Sept. 17 at approximately 7:30 a.m. EST (1200 GMT).

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NASA jets, tickets taking off for shuttle flight

NASA postponed launching two spacecraft into the harsh radiation belts around Earth Friday due to an apparent malfunction with a tracking system that monitors the mission's rocket.

The tracking beacon glitch popped up before dawn on Friday, late in the mission's final countdown, prompting NASA to delay the launch of its twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station by at least 24 hours. The unmanned Atlas 5 rocket carrying the two satellites is now slated to blast off at 4:07 a.m. EDT (0807 GMT) on Saturday, Aug. 25.

NASA launch director Tim Dunn said the launch countdown was going well until his team spotted a frequency drift in the tracking beacon used by the Air Force's Eastern Range to track the Atlas 5 rocket after liftoff.

"That's a mandatory safety item so that we could track the vehicle in flight," Dunn said in a NASA broadcast after the delay. "It certainly was a situation we wish we didn't have, but we wanted to err on the side of conservatism."

- NASA launch director Tim Dunn

Dunn said Saturday and Sunday are still good days to launch the space radiation mission. There is a 60 percent chance of favorable weather for Saturday's launch attempt.

The $686 million Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission is a two-year project to study the radiation environment around Earth in unprecedented detail. The twin spacecraft are designed to fly in formation to explore the Van Allen Belts of radiation that encircle the Earth.

The Van Allen Belts are two donut-shaped zones of radiation around Earth. They were first discovered in 1958 by scientist James A. Van Allen and his team using data from the first American satellite Explorer 1. The first belt stretches from the top of Earth's atmosphere out to about 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) above the planet. The second radiation belt extends from about 8,000 miles (12,874 km) to more than 26,000 miles (41,842 km) above Earth.

Scientists hope the Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission will help them solve the mystery of how the radiation is created and behaves inside the Van Allen Belts, as well as the regions' role in space weather events such as strong solar flares from the sun that can pose a danger to satellites and astronauts in orbit.

The two Radiation Belt Storm Probes are solar-powered and nearly identical. The octagon-shaped satellites are about 6 feet wide (1.8 meters) and just over 4 feet tall (1.3 m). They each carry a set of five instrument suites to study Earth's radiation belts.

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NASA postpones launch of space radiation probes

NASA postponed launching two spacecraft into the harsh radiation belts around Earth Friday due to an apparent malfunction with a tracking system that monitors the mission's rocket.

The tracking beacon glitch popped up before dawn on Friday, late in the mission's final countdown, prompting NASA to delay the launch of its twin Radiation Belt Storm Probes from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station by at least 24 hours. The unmanned Atlas 5 rocket carrying the two satellites is now slated to blast off at 4:07 a.m. EDT on Saturday.

NASA launch director Tim Dunn said the launch countdown was going well until his team spotted a frequency drift in the tracking beacon used by the Air Force's Eastern Range to track the Atlas 5 rocket after liftoff.

"That's a mandatory safety item so that we could track the vehicle in flight," Dunn said in a NASA broadcast after the delay. "It certainly was a situation we wish we didn't have, but we wanted to err on the side of conservatism." [ Photos: Inside NASA's Radiation Belt Mission ]

Dunn said Saturday and Sunday are still good days to launch the space radiation mission. There is a 60 percent chance of favorable weather for Saturday's launch attempt.

The $686 million Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission is a two-year project to study the radiation environment around Earth in unprecedented detail. The twin spacecraft are designed to fly in formation to explore the Van Allen Belts of radiation that encircle the Earth.

The Van Allen Belts are two doughnut-shaped zones of radiation around Earth. They were first discovered in 1958 by scientist James A. Van Allen and his team using data from the first American satellite Explorer 1. The first belt stretches from the top of Earth's atmosphere out to about 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) above the planet. The second radiation belt extends from about 8,000 miles (12,874 km) to more than 26,000 miles (41,842 km) above Earth.

Scientists hope the Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission will help them solve the mystery of how the radiation is created and behaves inside the Van Allen Belts, as well as the regions' role in space weather events such as strong solar flares from the sun that can pose a danger to satellites and astronauts in orbit.

The two Radiation Belt Storm Probes are solar-powered and nearly identical. The octagon-shaped satellites are about 6 feet wide (1.8 meters) and just over 4 feet tall (1.3 m). They each carry a set of five instrument suites to study Earth's radiation belts.

Space news from NBCNews.com

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NASA again delays launch of probes

NASA launch director Tim Dunn said the launch countdown was going well until his team spotted a frequency drift in the tracking beacon used by the Air Force's Eastern Range to track the Atlas 5 rocket after liftoff.

NASA postponed launching two spacecraft into the harsh radiation belts around Earth Friday (Aug. 24) due to an apparent malfunction with a tracking system that monitors the mission's rocket.

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The tracking beacon glitch popped up before dawn on Friday, late in the mission's final countdown, prompting NASA to delay the launch of its twin Radiation Belt Storm Probesfrom Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station by at least 24 hours. The unmanned Atlas 5 rocket carrying the two satellites is now slated to blast off at 4:07 a.m. EDT (0807 GMT) on Saturday, Aug. 25.

NASA launch director Tim Dunn said the launch countdown was going well until his team spotted a frequency drift in the tracking beacon used by the Air Force's Eastern Range to track the Atlas 5 rocket after liftoff.

"That's a mandatory safety item so that we could track the vehicle in flight," Dunn said in a NASA broadcast after the delay. "It certainly was a situation we wish we didn't have, but we wanted to err on the side of conservatism." [Photos: Inside NASA's Radiation Belt Mission]

Dunn said Saturday and Sunday are still good days to launch the space radiation mission. There is a 60 percent chance of favorable weather for Saturday's launch attempt.

The $686 million Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission is a two-year project to study the radiation environment around Earth in unprecedented detail. The twin spacecraft are designed to fly in formation to explore theVan Allen Beltsof radiation that encircle the Earth.

The Van Allen Belts are two donut-shaped zones of radiation around Earth. They were first discovered in 1958 by scientist James A. Van Allen and his team using data from the first American satellite Explorer 1. The first belt stretches from the top of Earth's atmosphere out to about 4,000 miles (6,437 kilometers) above the planet. The second radiation belt extends from about 8,000 miles (12,874 km) to more than 26,000 miles (41,842 km) above Earth.

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NASA space radiation probes launch delayed 24 hours