NASA will take a huge step this week in its efforts to build the technology, rockets and spacecraft needed to send astronauts to Mars.

Orion, the first spacecraft NASA has built to carry astronauts into deep space since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, is set to lift off on its first test flight Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Riding on top of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV heavy rocket, the spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 7:05 a.m., though that window could extend to 9:44 a.m. if needed.

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