Mars getting bigger in the windshield

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is on final approach to the red planet.

The orbiter, the most capable spaceship ever sent to Mars, is set to slide into orbit on Friday afternoon. So far, NASA says all looks well with the craft and its trajectory.

Mars' gravity will help pull the NASA ship into smaller and smaller oval-shaped orbit over six months. During that time, the ship slows down to an operating speed that will let it get what may be the best data ever collected on Mars.

NASA says the ship has behaved well during the 300-million mile journey since launching from the Cape in August. But only about two-thirds of spaceships sent to orbit Mars have gotten there successfully.

We'll have more on this in the coming days. Chris Kridler has a report on the Mars orbiter's nail-biting arrival at the red planet in Friday's newspaper, and we'll have live coverage on Friday afternoon of orbit insertion at floridatoday.com.

NASA, and the rest of us, should know by shortly after 5 p.m. Eastern time whether the spacecraft is orbiting the red planet.