Video: Falcon 9 test-fired before space station cargo launch (members only)

Scientists eager for answers to long-standing questions about the geology of Mars will get a lift Saturday with the blastoff from California of an Atlas 5 rocket with NASA’s InSight mission, a robotic landing craft that will take the pulse and temperature of the red planet.

These photos show SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with a previously-flown first stage booster, sitting on its launch pad Tuesday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California ahead of the scheduled liftoff of the Radarsat Constellation Mission.

SpaceX hopes to resume launches in November as the company continues its investigation into a Sept. 1 launch pad explosion to determine whether the accident originated on the Falcon 9 rocket or ground systems, officials said Tuesday.