CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., Dec. 4, 1996 — Early in the morning a Delta II rocket sent NASA's Mars Pathfinder spacecraft into an interplanetary transfer orbit toward its eventual landing on Mars in July, 1997. The rocket roared skyward at 1:58:06 a.m. EST, sending the spacecraft on its seven-month trip to the Red Planet. Mars Pathfinder used retro engines, parachutes, and air bags to ensure its soft landing. Afterward, it deployed a camera to photograph Mars' surface, followed by the microrover vehicle, Sojourner, which roamed the nearby Martian landscape over a 30-day period collecting rock samples for analysis.