With the Mars Science Laboratory payload perched on top, seen here in an artist's concept, the Atlas V541 is a launch vehicle capable of lifting the massive 8,463 pound payload -- the largest payload ever delivered to the surface of a planet.

In the scene depicted here, the payload fairing that encloses the spacecraft during ascent through the atmosphere is being released. It's from this point the entry interface begins to run, the craft is without human assistance and will have to run through the next mission-critical steps to landing completely autonomously.