let me bring in our john zarrella live at kennedy space center and john, launches are always exciting. you give me the top two. >> reporter: well, top two, of course, you're going to mars. >> yeah. >> reporter: number one. it's very difficult to get there to begin with. number two, when you get there, you're going to be looking for evidence that life may exist or has existed on mars. those are pretty good top two. >> those are a very good top two. always putting you on the spot and you always deliver. no worries at all. all right. so when might we start, and we know it's not going to get there for a while, but even after it gets there, how long before we start getting some answers? >> reporter: it will be pretty quick, because the way this landing system works, as soon as it comes down on the martian surface, its wheels are going to be out, it's going to be ready to go. it will start taking pictures almost immediately after the systems are checked out. in the past, you know, they used and air bag system, where these rovers which were smaller, literally bounced on the surface encased i

john zarrella is back up live for us. so let's talk about this cadillac rover.w, how many months does it take before it reaches mars? >> it's a long ride, brooke. that 350 miles will take it to early august to arrive in early august and then enter the atmosphere and, you know, as a scientist has told me t great thing about the way they land is once it gets on the ground, it's ready to take off. >> john zarrella, when will we have a man mission to marred? >> that's the question. first they're probably going to this to an asteroid around 20125. mars is awfully difficult. that's further. that's a two-year minimum mission. on this vehicle, for instance, they're taking radiation detection equipment. because one of the huge issues is cosmic radiation, shielding the astronaut crews from that. there are so many issues and hurdles they have to get over before they get humans to mars. the earliest timetable now looks like mid 20 or 30s. earliest. >> all right. well, i look forward to seeing blueprints on mars in our lifetime. john, thank you very much. >>> coming up next,

john zarrella has been with me all morning for this. me there was a danger zone there about 30 to 40 minutes after the launch. apparently are you telling me it made it through that? so it's on its way. >> reporter: oh, yeah, t.j. we knew it made it when we heard the cheers and all. in fact, there was video from space of the separation from that upper stage booster and the spacecraft as it separated and took off now traveling at about 22,000 miles an hour. the mars science lab and the curiosity rover. headed to mars, august 6th. as i mentioned to you at one time, t.j., if you and i were standing on the surface of mars august 6th, 3:00, noon, right there, it would be. >> and this ain't your grand daddy's rover here. >> no, it is not. >> give us an idea of the size of this sucker. >> okay. so the first rover they sent back on path finder was about yay big, the rover, the whole thing. this is a mock-up of a wheel. one of the six wheels on curiosity. so the wheel itself is as big if not bigger than the entire sojournor, the first of those th

john zarrella, always nice to talk space with you.ee you. >> thanks, randi. >>> the soyuz spacecraft is expected to dock with the international space station on wednesday. stay tuned to cnn for updates on the mission and the future of nasa. >>> the scandal surrounding jerry sandusky isn't just shaking things up at penn state. how the former coach is hurting the charity he founded. >>> but first, on this day in 1970, the marshall university football team would not make it home. 75 people died as the plane crashed on approach to tri-state airport in west virginia after a loss to east carolina university. a memorial sits where the plane crashed. in 2006 the film "we are marshall" told the story of the crash and how the university recovered. that crash is this shame in history. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the a

robotic and perhaps even human. >> john zarrella with me now.e, john. so if, if, if. what is the payoff ultimately for this thing as a lot of ifs about organic, if about water. we've heard about water there before. >> reporter: yeah. and where they're going is where -- if it's close to the surface, they might be able to dig in there and find that there was perhaps water in that crater. like you said, lot of "ifs." but important "ifs." because if they can find organic material, and they really do have evidence that at one point in its history mars supported or had supported some sort of life form, even if they were just a small little microbes. >> remind us what time is launch tomorrow? >> launch time tomorrow is 10:02 a.m. but there is about -- that's eastern time but there is about a 1:40 launch window. even if they kick off right at 10:02, it can stretch to just right before noon. >> john zarrella will be with me all morning helping me to understand this whole mission a little better. we'll have that launch for you live when it takes place at

cnn's john zarrella watched the launch up close at kennedy space center this morning and has detailso accomplish. >> the atlas 5 rocket carrying the curiosity rover lifted right on time at cape canavaral at 10:02 a.m. after 45 minutes, the spacecraft separated from the upper stage rocket bringing curiosity on its way to the red planet, traveling at 22,000 miles per hour. it will arrive there in august, and scientists say they expect some incredible science. probes to mars, telescopes searching for other earths, listening for life out there. there is no proof yet, but the body of evidence is growing. we are not alone. >> one thing that strikes you is that every time we learn something new about the universe, what we learn is that our situation doesn't seem to be all that special. and that suggests that life is not all that special, either. >> but it is still just that, a guess. based in part on astronomy overload. new discoveries ate breath-taking rate revealing the sheer mind-blowing grandeur of the universe. perhaps 1 trillion, with a t, that's right, trillion galaxys in the univers

cnn's john zarrella reports. >> a nuclear blast.nts to see another one of these on the planet. but off the planet, that's a different story. rather than destroying life, it could save us from asteroid extinction. >> if you don't think there are clear danger to us, ask your nearest dinosaur. >> while scientists search for life in the universe they are also working on ways to prevent massive asteroids from ending life here like one did the dinosaurs. >> bad things happen to good planets. we know that the earth has been hit before. in the long run, i think our species has to learn how to protect the earth in that way. >> scientists say there are methods that should work. a nuclear blast, knocking the asteroid off its collision course or simply running into it with a spacecraft. to get a better handle on these flying rocks, nasa's first human deep space mission around 2025 is going to an asteroid. down in the florida keys, they're already planning. >> if i chip a rock on an asteroid, it's going off. it has escape velocity. >> mike gernh

john zarrella will be joining me here in just a moment. we're only a minute away here, john. i want our viewers to be able to hear mission control here in a second. we're just a minute away and, actually, i'm going to go ahead. john, you stand by for me. when this takes off, we'll be talking about this ambitious mission. over the top of this atlas rocket, it will travel some 350 million plus miles, over eight months to get to the red planet. we were just about 40 seconds away. i'm going to go ahead and be quiet and i'll let mission control take over as we watch nasa history about to take place on this mission to mars. >> step three. >> t minus 30 seconds and counting. >> 28. >> for launch. >> status check. >> go atlas. >> go santar. >> t-minus 15 seconds. t-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, five, four, three, two, one, main engine start. zero and liftoff of the atlas 5 with "curiosity." seeking clues to the planetary puzzle about life on marchs. >> it is in right on time. 180. thrust. inspected. down 76% opini. program complete. and the cell is now breaking the sound barrier. chamber featur

john zarrella, thank you. >>> also, at this time tomorrow, you will be with family and friends, most a little bit of advice to make you the smartest around the table and somehow justin bieber plays a part in this. >>> plus, here's one that you haven't heard before. >> it's not just a sticker, okay? 666 is the mark of the beast. >> this guy says he was fired for refusing to wear a number at work and why he won't wear it. mark aguilar is standing by with that. that's next. it's not just good for business. it's good for the entire community. at bank of america, we know the impact that local businesses have on communities. that's why we extended $13.2 billion to small businesses across the country so far this year. because the more we help them, the more we help make opportunity possible. what's vanishing deductible all about ? guys, it's demonstration time. let's blow carl's mind. okay, let's say i'm your insurance deductible. every year you don't have an accident, $100 vanishes. the next year, another $100. where am i going, carl ? the next year... that was weird. but awesome ! ♪ natio

john zarrella, cnn, at the kennedy space center in florida. >> awesome.to have the most network sign out. capital one's new cash rewards card gives you a 50% annual bonus! so you earn 50% more cash. according to research, everybody likes more cash. well, almost everybody... ♪ would you like 50% more cash? no! but it's more money. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? woah! [ giggles ] congratulations. congratulations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire businesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... as the people inside them. congratulations. because when you add verizon to your company, you don't just add, you multiply. ♪ discover something new... verizon. [ male announcer ] from our nation's networks... ♪ ...to our city streets... ♪ ...to skies around the world... ♪ ...northrop grumman's security solutions are invisibly at work

john zarrella live from miami with us. you'll report on another important story in terms of space exploration this week. tell us more about that. >> three pieces coming up. one is on the web telescope which is nasa's great observatory that is going to be launched and then on saturday, nasa is launching another rover to mars. the most sophisticated recover and it will have the ability for the first time ever to detect signs of life. so, could be stunning findings coming out of that. >> look forward to it. john zarrella in miami, thanks. >>> talk of another downgrade of the credit rating swirls yesterday and slammed stocks along the way. today the major reading agencies are speaking up. we'll go to the new york stock exchange and hear if a downgrade is still on the table and how stocks are expected to open in ten minutes. stay with cnn. we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly

so for now that will remain just a guess. >>> su >> such a guess and a mystery, john zarrella.rial existence. how did this start in the first place? >> well, if you go back to 1975, nasa founded it. in 1983, nasa got out of the business where people and like that in hugh let and pack card and pal allen, microsoft, a big name people who have put struggling because of the economy. it's affecting them, too. some of the observatories where they listen for life, have actually had to shut them down. >> cut back. >> yeah. and so tomorrow we are going to look at nasa's next great observatory. if our viewers thought the things we've seen are spectacular, what nasa is promising from the telescope is going to make hubble be a walk in the park. >> good tease, zarrella. thank you so much. we'll see you tomorrow. >> sure. >>> in the meantime, thousands without electricity in arkansas, record rainfall, flash floods, deterring tens and thousands of people off the highways and freeways. this is in the midwest and heading eastward. chad myers is straking this storm. chad, not the week with every

robotic and perhaps even human. >> and john zarrella joins me live.ourse, nasa had actually hoped to launch this mars shins lab two years ago. at the time there were technical issues. the question is, are they confident this time around? >> yeah, they really are. they say the extra two years that they ended up having to take really gave them an opportunity to work out the issues they had. of course, they're way over budget. $900 million over budget on this rover project. but for the engineering team at the jet propulsion laboratory in california which built the curiosity rover, this is a big, big deal, hala, this is the last of the planetary missions on tap for nasa. there are no more. and they really hope that they will be able to find at least evidence on mars of past life. you see that behind me there, we're in the vehicle assembly building in nasa. with the shuttle not flying any more, that's "endeavour" there being ready for its trip to california to the museum that is going to take delivery of it in a year and a half. >> that's fascinating, you'

joining me now to talk about this is our guy john zarrella who covers all things space related.re. just how ambitious of a mission is this nasa's about to embark on? >> reporter: this is about as bold and ambitious as it gets, t.j. getting off the ground is the easy part. then they travel until august 6th until they get to mars on august 6th. if you and i were sitting on mars looking up, it would be about 3:00 in the martian afternoon when it would get there. and then they're going to use this whole sky crane system to land on mars, dropping the vehicle down, then it goes and takes off all on its own and starts searching for evidence that life might have existed or still does on mars. so tremendously ambitious. $2.5 billion mission. >> let's go back to what they're looking for. signs that life could've existed. when you say that, a lot of people are going to have in their heads, we're thinking about little green men sometimes. that's not necessarily what they're up there looking for. >> reporter: no, no, actually they're bigger guys up there now, they're not little ones, they're

john zarrella, thank you. >> thanks, john. >>> morning headlines are nebs, plus from the muppets to " big picks and oscar contenders as well. >>> it's 49 after the hour. [ tires screech ] [ crying ] [ applause ] [ laughs ] [ tires screech ] [ male announcer ] your life will have to flash by even faster. autodrive brakes on the cadillac srx activate after rain is detected to help improve braking performance. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. >>> ten minutes until the top of the hour. what you need to start your day. black friday. many getting up early to get a jump on sales. 152 million americans expected to shop. up 10% more than a year ago. >>> and the white house weighing in on the egyptian uprising. the white house saying the transfer of power to a civilian government must be just and inclusive and taken place a.s.a.p. >>> maggie daly died after battling breast cancer, just 60 years old. the mayor of richard daley. she die at home about 6:00 p.m. surrounded by family. >>> and issuing a formal apology after a musical jab. the congresswoman appeared on "late night wi

john zarrella, cnn, kennedy space center, florida. >>> take a look at this.ream. we'll have that story next. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic low back pain. imagine living your life with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a non-narcotic treatment that's fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have h

cnn's john zarrella is at the kennedy space center. purview of accou" curiosity's" journey. >> reporter: first, we are here at the vehicle assembly building where saturn 5 rockets and the space shuttles were assembled. you can see behind me there, that's the space shuttle "endeavour" waiting here until its new home, the california science center, the museum, is ready for it. some of the people you see here looking at it, tours are now coming into the vab. these people are here to watch the launch tomorrow of "curiosity." and yes, it is the most sophisticated rover nasa has ever built, ever sent to mars with some ten different experiments that really could revolutionize our understanding of mars. mars. does life exist there? did it ever? nasa is poised to take its boldest step towards answering questions that could change forever our view of humanity's place in the universe. >> i think the best way of saying why we're so excited about this mission is that it sets us up for the future of finally answering that really age-old question doe

cnn's john zarrella explains. >> reporter: you judge. was this an honor or an obituary to the u.s. space heroes wednesday with congressional space meddles t. crew of apollo 11, and john glenn, the first american to orbit the earth. glenn spoke some of the same words he used 50 years ago before a joint session of congress six days after his flight. >> as our knowledge of this universe in which we live increases -- >> may god grant us the wisdom and guidance to use it wisely. >> reporter: honoring john and neal and buzz and mike was a worthy, long over do gesture. those days glenn in friendship 7 and armstrong and aldrin walking on the moon are a stark contrast to where things stand today. just a couple days ago an american astronaut hitch a ride to the international space station on a russian soyuz rocket. with the shuttle retired, the russians at $50 million a ride are the only ride in town. we're paying the price, nasa's top man says, for past indecision. >> the problem is that we, we being nasa, we the public, we congress, the nation was not very disciplined in developing the rep

cnn's john zarrella was there. >> reporter: these folks are some of the first inside.losed to visitors. >> took lots of pictures. >> i did. and some of them only i'll understand. because how do you take a picture of this? how do you take a picture of the ceiling? unbelievable. >> reporter: if you think that's unbelievable -- >> shuttle orbiter, "endeavour." >> reporter: for current and future space geeks, this is heaven. a pinch-me moment. "endeavour" is being held here until its california museum home is ready. you know what you're looking at back there? >> yeah. >> what is it? >> a space rocket. >> this is rich in history and now reopen for public tours. from here, the massive saturn 5 moon rockets were assembled beforerolling out to the launch pad. >> it was so busy in here. we had thousands of people in this build at a time. there were probably 6,000 people in this building. >> reporter: conrad nagel worked on both the apollo and space shuttle programs. >> we're probably not going to see anything like this in our lifetime. >> reporter: all 135 shuttles started out

john zarrella joins us from the ken space center.. >> reporter: yeah, it is not science exactly. it is not science fiction at all. we're here at the kennedy space center visitor complex. just a couple of miles from here in a couple of days nasa is going to be sending a tur yos it, a lander, to mars to look for signs, evidence, of past life or present life. so we thought, while everybody's doing all this stuff looking for life out there in the universe, who's doing things about what happens if something from out there threatens our life? a nuclear blast. humanity never wants to see another one of these on the planet. but off the planet, that's a different story. rather than destroying life, it could save us from asteroid extinction. >> if you don't think they are a clear danger to us -- >> while scientists are making for great strides searching for life in the u.n. force, they are also working on ways to prevent massive asteroids from ending life here. like one did the dinosaurs. >> bad things happen to good planets. we know that the

our john zarrella is giving you a tour. >> reporter: these folks are some of the first inside.e than 30 years, it had been closed to visitors. >> took lots of pictures. >> i did. and some of them i don't even understand because how do you take a picture of this? how do you take a picture of the ceiling? unbelievable. >> reporter: if you think that's unbelievable -- >> shuttle orbiter "endeavour." >> reporter: for current and future space geeks, this is heaven. "endeavour" is being housed here until it's california museum home is ready. >> do you know what you're looking at back there? >> yes. >> what is it? >> a space rocket. >> reporter: this is the vehicle assembly building, vab at the kennedy space center, rich in history, and now reopen for public tours. from here, the massive saturn 5 space rockets were assembled. >> it was so busy out here. we had thousands of people living and working here at the time. >> conrad worked on both the apolo and space shuttle programs. >> we're probably not going to see anything like this in our lifetime. >> all 135 shuttles started out from

john zarrella, cnn, at the kennedy space center in florida. >>> hello, everyone. top of the hour. thanks for joining us. i'm don lemon. we are going to start with this. pennsylvania's governor says the penn state child sex abuse scandal should permanently change the way cases are handled across the entire state. there's a reason ousted coach joe paterno isn't facing criminal charges right now. in 2002, he told school administrators about a report that former defensive coach jerry sandusky was seen raping a boy in a locker room shower. that's all he was required to do under pennsylvania law. tell the people in charge and let them decide whether to contact police. well, governor tom corbitt told nbc that just wasn't good enough. he says, "by law someone in paterno's position should have to call the cops himself." >> should the law be changed? absolutely. i know that members of both party, republican and democrat, have already introduced measures to make that change. >> well, corbett is on the penn state board of trustees which fired paterno this week. he also began the investigation