Orion is the spacecraft that NASA hopes will eventually deliver a team of astronauts to Mars. But first it needs to be tested -- to ensure the crew modules and heat shield will withstand the stresses of future missions.

In anticipation of its first test flight next month, the spacecraft will be situated on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Upon its arrival at Space Launch Complex 37, Orion will be lifted atop and attached to United Launch Alliance's Delta IV-Heavy rocket, the projectile that will carry it into low Earth orbit early next month.

Orion is currently housed in the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it was most recently outfitted with a 52-foot-tall protective fairing and the ever crucial launch abort system. It will begin its journey to launch pad 37B at 8 p.m. Monday. But the slow, six-hour journey won't see Orion into its final resting position until the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Prior to Orion's departure, NASA will hold a 4:30 p.m. news conference, where engineers and officials -- including Mark Geyer, Orion's program manager, and Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin Orion program manager -- will offer their thoughts on the impending test flight and the significance of the Orion mission.

The test flight, scheduled for Dec. 5, will see Orion launched into low Earth orbit without a manned crew. The craft will circle the planet twice, some 3,600 miles above Earth's surface, and then splash back down into the Pacific.