JSC2006-E-25659 (October 2006) --- Computer-generated scene showing a low-angle medium close view (starboard-aft) of the International Space Station, after assembly work is completed.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A Beluga aircraft taxis on the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility on NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The Beluga carries the European Space Agency's research laboratory, designated Columbus, flown to Kennedy from its manufacturer in Germany. The module will be prepared for delivery to the International Space Station on a future space shuttle mission. Columbus will expand the research facilities of the station and provide researchers with the ability to conduct numerous experiments in the area of life, physical and materials sciences. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

The media invited to view the 3% Space Shuttle model mounted in the Ames 11ft .w.t. with Scott Budman, NBC Channel 11 News and Jim Strong, Ames Aeronautics

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - This aerial view shows the Delta II launch pads at Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, rimmed by the blue Atlantic Ocean in the background. Photo credit: Cory Huston

Ames and Moffett Field (MFA) historical sites and memorials Time capsule and cube display ot courner of DeFrance and King Road (50th year anniversary placement), with detail on brass plaque in walkway (40th year anniversary placement)

S116-E-05853 (12 Dec. 2006) --- Attired in his extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) spacesuit, astronaut Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., STS-116 mission specialist, prepares for the mission's first session of extravehicular activity (EVA) in the Quest Airlock of the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Discovery was docked with the station. Astronaut William A. (Bill) Oefelein, pilot, assisted Curbeam.

This MOC image shows dunes in the north polar region of Mars. In this scene, the dunes, and the plain on which the dunes reside, are at least in part covered by a bright carbon dioxide frost

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At the Shuttle Landing Facility, STS-116 Pilot William Oelefein steps on the stairs to the shuttle training aircraft (STA) to practice landing the orbiter. The mission crew is at KSC for the terminal countdown demonstration test, which are prelaunch preparations that include a simulated launch countdown. STA practice is part of the TCDT. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter's cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter's atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-115 crew gets instructions on landing the slidewire baskets, used during emergency egress from the launch pad. From left are Mission Specialists Joseph Tanner and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Commander Brent Jett, and Mission Specialists Daniel Burbank, Chris Ferguson and Steven MacLean, who is with the Canadian Space Agency. The mission crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities that are preparation for launch on Space Shuttle Atlantis, scheduled to take place in a window that opens Aug. 27. During their 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the STS-115 crew will continue construction of the station and attach the payload elements, the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-115 crew members talk about their upcoming driving practice on the M-113 armored personnel carrier with Capt. George Hoggard (back to camera), who is astronaut rescue team leader. The astronauts seen, left to right, are Mission Specialists Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Dan Burbank, Steven MacLean and Joe Tanner, and Pilot Christopher Ferguson. Not visible is Commander Brent Jett. MacLean represents the Canadian Space Agency. The STS-115 crew are at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities such as the M-113 training. They will also practice emergency egress from the launch pad and take part in a simulated launch countdown. Liftoff of mission STS-115 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled in a window beginning Aug. 27. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The crew for mission STS-121 is taking part in a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Looking at the trailing umbilical system reel assembly that will be installed on the International Space Station are Mission Specialists Michael Fossum (on ladder), Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson (below Fossum on floor). A CEIT provides hands-on experiences with equipment used on-orbit. Mission STS-121 is the second in the Return to Flight sequence and will carry on improvements that debuted during last year's STS-114 mission and build upon those tests. Launch is scheduled in July. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

As the particles comprising Saturn A ring slip into the planet shadow, they find themselves briefly in the penumbra of Saturn shadow

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building, workers are attaching a crane to the newly delivered external tank, which is resting on a transporter in the transfer aisle. Designated ET-119, the 154-foot tank will be raised to vertical and lifted into a checkout cell for further work. The tank, which will launch space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-121, will fly with many major safety changes, including the removal of the protuberance air load ramps. A large piece of foam from a ramp came off during the last shuttle launch in July 2005. The ramps were removed to eliminate a potential source of damaging debris to the space shuttle. The next launch of Discovery is scheduled for May 2006. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Tectonic activity in this region has not only fractured the surface, but has tilted some of the fracture blocks

Kick-off event for Google NASA collaboration (held in the Ames Exploration Center 943A) with Ames Center Director Pete Worden (L) and Dan Clancy, Director of engineering Google

S116-E-07104 (19 Dec. 2006) --- Backdropped by the blackness of space and Earth's horizon, the International Space Station moves away from Space Shuttle Discovery. Earlier the STS-116 and Expedition 14 crews concluded eight days of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 4:10 p.m. (CST) on Dec. 19, 2006. Astronaut William A. (Bill) Oefelein, STS-116 pilot, was at the controls for the fly-around, which gave Discovery's crew a look at its handiwork, a new P5 spacer truss segment and a fully retracted P6 solar array wing. During their stay on orbital outpost, the combined crew installed the newest piece of the station's backbone and completely rewired the power grid over the course of four spacewalks.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The orbiter Discovery backs out of the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3 for the short rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion was at 9:23 p.m. Oct. 31. In the VAB the orbiter will be mated to its large external tank and twin solid rocket boosters already stacked on the mobile launcher platform. Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39B no earlier than Nov. 7 for mission STS-116. The mission is No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. The launch window for mission STS-116 opens Dec. 7. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Soyuz TMA-8 rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at 9:30 p.m. EST, (Thursday, March 30, 2006, 8:30 a.m. Kazakhstan time). Aboard the spacecraft are Expedition 13 Commander Pavel V. Vinogradov, Science Officer and Flight Engineer Jeffrey N. Williams, and Brazilian Space Agency Soyuz crew member Marcos Pontes. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Ames CVSRF (Crew Vehicle System Research Facility) ACFS (Advanced cab)

NASA Monsoon Multidisciplinary analysis (NAMMA) deployment, Sal Island, Cape Verde Africia

ISS014-S-002A (30 March 2006) --- Astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria (center), Expedition 14 commander and NASA space station science officer; cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin (right), flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; and astronaut Sunita L. Williams, flight engineer, take a break from training at Johnson Space Center to pose for a crew portrait.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — In the Orbital Sciences Building 836 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians complete mating of the three micro-satellites on the payload support structure. The three satellites make up the Space Technology 5 spacecraft, called ST5, and will be launched by a Pegasus XL rocket. The satellites contain miniaturized redundant components and technologies. Each will validate New Millennium Program selected technologies, such as the Cold Gas Micro-Thruster and X-Band Transponder Communication System. After deployment from the Pegasus, the micro-satellites will be positioned in a “string of pearls” constellation that demonstrates the ability to position them to perform simultaneous multi-point measurements of the magnetic field using highly sensitive magnetometers. The data will help scientists understand and map the intensity and direction of the Earth’s magnetic field, its relation to space weather events, and affects on our planet. With such missions, NASA hopes to improve scientists’ ability to accurately forecast space weather and minimize its harmful effects on space- and ground-based systems. Launch of ST5 is scheduled for Feb. 28 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-121 crew pose for the media, concluding a press conference held in the landing area of the slidewire baskets. The crew members facing them are (from left) The crew members are (from left) Mission Specialists Michael Fossum and Lisa Nowak, Pilot Mark Kelly, Commander Steven Lindsey, and Mission Specialists Stephanie Wilson, Piers Sellers and Thomas Reiter of Germany, who represents the European Space Agency. The crew is at Kennedy for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test activities. Over several days, the crew will practice emergency egress from the pad and suit up in their orange flight suits for the simulated countdown to launch. Space Shuttle Discovery is designated to launch July 1 on mission STS-121. It will carry supplies to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit recorded this 360-degree vista, dubbed the Seminole panorama, from partway down the south side of Husband Hill in November 2005. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - During the traditional post-flight walk-around after the landing of an orbiter, crew members Michael Fossum, mission specialist, and Steven Lindsey, commander, talk with NASA Administrator Mike Griffin (left). At right is Associate Administrator Rex Geveden. Discovery's smooth and perfect landing was on time at 9:14 a.m. EDT on Runway 15 of NASA's Shuttle Landing Facility after traveling 5.3 million miles on 202 orbits. Mission elapsed time was 12 days, 18 hours, 37 minutes and 54 seconds. The landing is the 62nd at Kennedy Space Center and the 32nd for Discovery. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Like a fantasy movie scene, the fog on Launch Pad 39B is pierced by lights on vehicles and the service structures as Space Shuttle Atlantis approaches. Atlantis left the Vehicle Assembly Building 1:05 a.m. and arrived at the pad nearly 8 hours later. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 27 for an 11-day mission, STS-115, to the International Space Station. The mission crew of six astronauts will continue construction of the station and install their cargo, the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays. Photo credit: NASA/Rod Ostoski

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, left, testifies as NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale looks on during a hearing before the House Science & Technology Committee regarding NASA's FY 2007 budget request, Thursday, Feb., 16, 2006, in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

S121-E-07217 (13 July 2006) --- Astronauts Lisa M. Nowak (left) and Stephanie D. Wilson, STS-121 mission specialists, pose for a photo on the flight deck of the Space Shuttle Discovery while docked with the International Space Station.

Under Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Ronald Sega, right, testifies before the House Committee on Science and Technology regarding the future of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) and results of the Nunn-McCurdy review of NOAA’s weather satellite program as NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, left, looks at a television monitor, Thursday, June 8, 2006, at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The orbiter Atlantis turns the corner toward the Vehicle Assembly Building after leaving the Orbiter Processing Facility. In the VAB, the orbiter will be lifted into high bay 3 for mating to the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 28. During its 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the STS-115 crew of six astronauts will install the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Exercise Countermeasures Lab, ECL

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. — Viewed from the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft roars off the launch pad aboard an Atlas V rocket spewing flames and smoke. Liftoff was on time at 2 p.m. EST from Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This was the third launch attempt in as many days after scrubs due to weather concerns. The compact, 1,050-pound piano-sized probe will get a boost from a kick-stage solid propellant motor for its journey to Pluto. New Horizons will be the fastest spacecraft ever launched, reaching lunar orbit distance in just nine hours and passing Jupiter 13 months later. The New Horizons science payload, developed under direction of Southwest Research Institute, includes imaging infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers, a multi-color camera, a long-range telescopic camera, two particle spectrometers, a space-dust detector and a radio science experiment. The dust counter was designed and built by students at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The launch at this time allows New Horizons to fly past Jupiter in early 2007 and use the planet’s gravity as a slingshot toward Pluto. The Jupiter flyby trims the trip to Pluto by as many as five years and provides opportunities to test the spacecraft’s instruments and flyby capabilities on the Jupiter system. New Horizons could reach the Pluto system as early as mid-2015, conducting a five-month-long study possible only from the close-up vantage of a spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The crew of mission STS-115 arrives at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility to prepare for launch on Aug. 27 to the International Space Station. They have paused to talk to the media before heading to crew quarters in the Operations and Checkout Building. From left are Mission Specialists Steven MacLean, Joseph Tanner and Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Commander Brent Jett, Pilot Christopher Ferguson and Mission Specialist Daniel Burbank. MacLean represents the Canadian Space Agency. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Vacuum Bevameter; Space Mechanisms Facility

S115-E-06158 (15 Sept. 2006) --- This image of Houston's "downtown" and "uptown" districts and most of the area inside the I-610 Loop was photographed by one of the STS-115 crewmembers aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Harris County Domed Stadium and the nearby facility for the National Football League's American Conference Houston representatives are just below the scattered cloud patch at frame center. What has become known as "uptown" Houston is in the lower left corner. The central business district or downtown is in the upper left quadrant, easily identified by the skyscrapers and the facilities for Houston's Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association affiliates. The Medical Center district is near the cloud patch just north of the older domed stadium. NASA is too far south to appear in the picture, though the southern leg of Beltway 8, about six miles north of the Johnson Space Center, appears at right edge; and Bush Intercontinental Airport is too far north.

Northern Plains

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Space Shuttle Atlantis sits on the hardstand of Launch Pad 39B after its nearly 8-hour rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building. Extending from the fixed service structure on the left is the orbiter access arm, with the White Room on the outer end, adjacent to Atlantis. Below the orbiter, on each side of the main engine nozzles, are the tail service masts that provide several umbilical connections to the orbiter, including a liquid-oxygen line through one and a liquid-hydrogen line through another. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 27 for an 11-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-115 crew of six astronauts will continue construction of the station and install their cargo, the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder & George Shelton

Marcos Pontes, Brazilian Space Agency Soyuz crew member who will spend 10 days aboard the International Space Station under an agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency, uses a satellite phone after crew members' final check of the Soyuz at building 254 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Sunday, March 26, 2006. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

S115-E-06732 (17 Sept. 2006) --- This view of the International Space Station, backdropped against the blackness of space, was taken shortly after the Space Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the orbital outpost at 7:50 a.m. CDT. The unlinking completed six days, two hours and two minutes of joint operations with the station crew. Atlantis left the station with a new, second pair of 240-foot solar wings, attached to a new 17.5-ton section of truss with batteries, electronics and a giant rotating joint. The new solar arrays eventually will double the station's onboard power when their electrical systems are brought online during the next shuttle flight, planned for launch in December.

Like great friends, galaxies stick together. Astronomers using NASA Spitzer Space Telescope have spotted a handful of great galactic pals bonding back when the universe was a mere 4.6 billion years old.

JSC2006-E-41653 (25 Sept. 2006) --- Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam, STS-116 mission specialist, participates in an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article (SSATA) in the Crew Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. — NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft emerges from a cloud painted pink by the Atlas V rocket roaring through it after launch from Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff was on time at 2 p.m. EST. This was the third launch attempt in as many days after scrubs due to weather concerns. The compact, 1,050-pound piano-sized probe will get a boost from a kick-stage solid propellant motor for its journey to Pluto. New Horizons will be the fastest spacecraft ever launched, reaching lunar orbit distance in just nine hours and passing Jupiter 13 months later. The New Horizons science payload, developed under direction of Southwest Research Institute, includes imaging infrared and ultraviolet spectrometers, a multi-color camera, a long-range telescopic camera, two particle spectrometers, a space-dust detector and a radio science experiment. The dust counter was designed and built by students at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The launch at this time allows New Horizons to fly past Jupiter in early 2007 and use the planet’s gravity as a slingshot toward Pluto. The Jupiter flyby trims the trip to Pluto by as many as five years and provides opportunities to test the spacecraft’s instruments and flyby capabilities on the Jupiter system. New Horizons could reach the Pluto system as early as mid-2015, conducting a five-month-long study possible only from the close-up vantage of a spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

JSC2006-E-47420 (1 Nov. 2006) --- Astronauts Patrick G. Forrester (foreground) and John D. (Danny) Olivas, both STS-117 mission specialists, use the virtual reality lab at Johnson Space Center to train for their duties aboard the space shuttle and space station. This type of computer interface, paired with virtual reality training hardware and software, helps to prepare the entire team for dealing with space station elements.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the SPACEHAB module in Cape Canaveral, Fla., STS-116 Mission Specialist Sunita Williams (right) gets information from astronaut Marsha Ivins, who is currently assigned to the Astronaut Office, Space Station/Shuttle Branches for crew equipment, habitability and stowage, during equipment familiarization. Mission crews make frequent trips to the Space Coast to become familiar with the equipment and payloads they will be using. STS-116 will be mission number 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 7. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

S116-E-06880 (18 Dec. 2006) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang, STS-116 mission specialist, participates in the mission's fourth session of extravehicular activity (EVA) while Space Shuttle Discovery was docked with the International Space Station. Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr. (out of frame), mission specialist, worked in tandem with Fuglesang, using specially-prepared, tape-insulated tools, to guide the array wing neatly inside its blanket box during the 6-hour, 38-minute spacewalk.

Space Shuttle 3% scale model to analyze removal of PAL ramp and other effects i the 9x7ft w.t.

These clouds are located near the edge of the south polar region. The cloud tops are the puffy white features in the bottom half of the image

Photographers prepare for the launch of the Soyuz TMA-9 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Monday, Sept. 18, 2006. The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft launched at 10:09 a.m. local time carrying Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, Soyuz Commander and Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin and American spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari, who will spend nine days on the International Space Station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

While driving eastward toward the northwestern flank of McCool Hill, the wheels of NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit churned up the largest amount of bright soil discovered so far in the mission. 3D glasses are necessary to identify surface detail.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The orbiter Discovery is being lowered into high bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building toward the external tank below. The orbiter will be stacked with the tank and solid rocket boosters already installed on the mobile launcher platform. Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39B no earlier than Nov. 7 for mission STS-116. The mission is No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. The launch window for mission STS-116 opens Dec. 7. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the White Room on Launch Pad 39B, STS-116 Commander Mark Polansky places the mission placard at the hatch opening. The White Room is the point of entry into Space Shuttle Discovery for the crew. Other crew members are Pilot William Oefelein and Mission Specialists Joan Higginbotham, Sunita Williams, Nicholas Patrick, Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang, who represents the European Space Agency. The mission crew is at KSC for the TCDT, which includes a simulated launch countdown. The STS-116 mission is No. 20 to the International Space Station and construction flight 12A.1. The mission payload is the SPACEHAB module, the P5 integrated truss structure and other key components. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Dec. 7. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

ISS012-E-15652 (24 Jan. 2006) --- In the Unity node of the International Space Station, cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarev, Expedition 12 flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency, puts finishing touches on an old Russian Orlan spacesuit that will be released by hand from the space station during a spacewalk Feb. 3, 2006. Outfitted with a special radio transmitter and other gear, the spacesuit comprises a Russian experiment called SuitSat. It will fly free from the station as a satellite in orbit for several weeks of scientific research and radio tracking, including communications by amateur radio operators. Eventually, it will enter the atmosphere and be destroyed.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the Shuttle Training Aircraft taxis onto the runway. In the specially configured aircraft, STS-115 Commander Brent Jett and Pilot Christopher Ferguson will practice landing the shuttle. STA practice is part of launch preparations. The STA is a Grumman American Aviation-built Gulf Stream II jet that was modified to simulate an orbiter’s cockpit, motion and visual cues, and handling qualities. In flight, the STA duplicates the orbiter’s atmospheric descent trajectory from approximately 35,000 feet altitude to landing on a runway. Because the orbiter is unpowered during re-entry and landing, its high-speed glide must be perfectly executed the first time. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Spaceward Bound Program in Atacama Desert; shown here is a realtime webcast from Yungay, Chile vis satellite involving NASA Scientists and seven NASA Explorer school teachers. Spaceward Bound Program in Atacama Desert; shown here is a realtime webcast from Yungay, Chile vis satellite involving NASA Scientists and seven NASA Explorer school teachers. On the Ames end we find the Girl Scouts Space cookines robotic team. The robot nicknamed Zoe is looking for life in extreme environments in preparation for what might be encounter on Mars. On the Ames end we find the Girl Csouts Space cookines robotic team. The robot nicknamed Zoe is looking for life in extreme environments in preparation for what might be encounter on Mars. see full text on the NASA-Ames News - Research # 04-91AR Center Director works with 'SpaceCookie' sending commands to Zoe.

S116-E-05405 (11 Dec. 2006) --- Astronaut Nicholas J. M. Patrick, STS-116 mission specialist, holds food packages near the galley on the middeck of Space Shuttle Discovery.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, a second solid rocket booster is ready to be lifted into the mobile service tower for mating with the Boeing Delta II rocket already in place. The Delta rocket is the launch vehicle for NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO). Preparations are under way for a liftoff no earlier than Aug. 1. STEREO consists of two spacecraft whose mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-D. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - STS-115 Mission Specialist Steven MacLean tests the fit of his helmet before launching on Aug. 27. MacLean, who represents the Canadian Space Agency, will be making his second flight on a shuttle. Mission STS-115 is scheduled to lift off about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 27 on Space Shuttle Atlantis. The crew will deliver and install the P3/P4 segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the International Space Station. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. The mission is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) DC-8 deployment to Cape Verde, Sal island, Africa

This Cassini spacecraft view shows how the bright and dark regions on Iapetus fit together like the seams of a baseball. Some of the material that covers the moon dark, leading side spills over into regions on the brighter trailing side

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the mobile service tower on Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the transportation canister and protective cover have been removed from the STEREO spacecraft in preparation for launch. The scheduled launch date is Oct. 25. STEREO stands for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and comprises two spacecraft that will launch in a piggyback mode, separating after reaching the appropriate orbit. The STEREO mission is the first to take measurements of the sun and solar wind in 3-dimension. This new view will improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on the Earth. The STEREO mission is managed by Goddard. The Applied Physics Laboratory designed and built the spacecraft. The laboratory will maintain command and control of the observatories throughout the mission, while NASA tracks and receives the data, determines the orbit of the satellites, and coordinates the science results. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Preparing for a simulated emergency landing of a shuttle crew, United Space Alliance (USA) Suit Tech Toni Costa-Davis helps volunteer "astronaut" Brian Bateman, also with USA, with his launch and entry suit. Many volunteers posed as astronauts during the simulation. Known as a Mode VI exercise, the operation uses volunteer workers from the Center to pose as astronauts. The purpose of the simulation is to exercise emergency preparedness personnel, equipment and facilities in rescuing astronauts from a downed orbiter and providing immediate medical attention. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

American spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari, left, Soyuz Commander and Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin and Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, right, await to go through pressure checks on their Russian Sokol suits at the Baikonur Cosmodrome prior to launch, Monday, Sept. 18, 2006, in Kazakhstan. Their Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 10:09 a.m. local time. Ms. Ansari, will spend nine days on the International Space Station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Space Station Processing Facility, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) technician inspects the wiring on the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). The JEM, developed by JAXA for use on the International Space Station, is named Kibo -- which means "hope" in Japanese -- and will enhance the unique research capabilities of the orbiting complex by providing an additional environment for astronauts to conduct science experiments. Research conducted in Kibo will focus on space medicine, biology, Earth observations, material production, biotechnology and communications. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The crew of mission STS-115 arrives at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility to prepare for a second launch attempt on Sept. 6 to the International Space Station. Seen here is Mission Specialist Daniel Burbank, who will be making his second flight on the shuttle. Mission managers cancelled Atlantis' first launch campaign due to a lightning strike at the pad and the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto along Florida's east coast. The mission will deliver and install the 17-and-a-half-ton P3/P4 truss segment to the port side of the integrated truss system on the orbital outpost. The truss includes a new set of photovoltaic solar arrays. When unfurled to their full length of 240 feet, the arrays will provide additional power for the station in preparation for the delivery of international science modules over the next two years. STS-115 is expected to last 11 days and includes three scheduled spacewalks. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S115-E-06775 (17 Sept. 2006) --- This image of greater San Diego, Calif., was photographed by one of the STS-115 crewmembers aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. California's lower Pacific Coast can be seen in the south (top) part of the photo, which covers an area east to west from Tijuana, Mexico at far left, almost to Oceanside, just out of frame at right. Other points that can be easily delineated include La Jolla, Interstates 8 and 15 and Torre Pines.

NASA Monsoon Multidisciplinary analysis (NAMMA) deployment, Sal Island, Cape Verde Africia

These clouds occurred near the south polar cap at the end of southern summer

ISS013-E-78506 (7 Sept. 2006) --- Sand dunes near Mongolia's Har Lake are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 13 crewmember on the International Space Station. Har (or Black) Lake is located in the western part of the country within the Valley of Lakes--part of a system of closed basins that stretches across central Asia. According to scientists, these basins are the remnants of larger paleolakes that had begun to shrink in size by approximately five thousand years ago as regional climate became drier. Today, the Valley of Lakes is an important ecological resource for study of steppe grasslands, and as resting points for large numbers of migratory birds. Portions of the basin are designated as national parks or other protected areas, and Har Lake itself is an ecotourism destination (usually by horseback). This oblique view captures the dynamic nature of the landscape of Har Lake. The lake is encircled by sand dune fields which encroach on the lower slopes of the Tobhata Mountains to the west and south. Gaps in the mountains have been exploited by sand dunes moving eastward (indicating westerly winds) -- the most striking example being a series of dunes entering Har Lake along its southwestern shoreline. Here, the dune forms reflect the channeling of winds through the break in the mountain ridgeline, leading to dune crests oriented transverse to northwesterly winds. Another well-developed line of dunes is visible between Har and Baga Lakes. While these dunes appear to cut across a lake surface, the dunes have in fact moved across a narrow stream channel.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-121 crew are donning their orange launch and entry suits for launch today on Space Shuttle Discovery. Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson is excited about making her first space flight. The launch is the 115th shuttle flight and the 18th U.S. flight to the International Space Station. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S115-E-06451 (17 Sept. 2006) --- A close-up view of International Space Station solar array panels is featured in this image photographed by a STS-115 crewmember on Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Gullies occur on the rim of this northern plains crater

Fracturing and erosion in this region is creating chaos terrain. Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 33.9N, Longitude 147.2E. 19 meter/pixel resolution. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01792

S116-E-06958 (18 Dec. 2006) --- Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr. (center) and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang (right), both STS-116 mission specialists, work with the port overhead solar array wing on the International Space Station's P6 truss during the mission's fourth session of extravehicular activity (EVA). The spacewalkers used specially-prepared, tape-insulated tools, to guide the array wing neatly inside its blanket box during the 6-hour, 38-minute spacewalk.

ISS013-E-38348 (18 June 2006) --- Astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams, Expedition 13 NASA space station science officer and flight engineer, watches a water bubble float freely while holding a container of water in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station.

This MOC image shows adjacent impact craters located north-northwest of the Acheron Fossae region of Mars. The two craters are of similar size and formed by meteor impacts. However, one is much more filled than the other, indicating that it is older

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The dark clouds of a heavy rainstorm moving into Kennedy Space Center in the late afternoon on Sat., August 26, 2006, seem to illuminate the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it sits on Launch Pad 39B. A lightning strike to the pad's lightning protection system on August 25, caused the mission management team to postpone the launch of mission STS-115 for 24 hours in order to review all electrical systems on the space shuttle and ground support equipment at the pad. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The STS-115 crew gets instructions about using the slidewire baskets for emergency egress from the space shuttle on the pad. From left are Commander Brent Jett and Mission Specialists Steven MacLean, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Joseph Tanner, and Pilot Chris Ferguson. MacLean is with the Canadian Space Agency. Not pictured is Mission Specialist Daniel Burbank. The mission crew is at KSC for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) activities that are preparation for launch on Space Shuttle Atlantis, scheduled to take place in a window that opens Aug. 27. During their 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the STS-115 crew will continue construction of the station and attach the payload elements, the Port 3/4 truss segment with its two large solar arrays. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

STS121-S-057 (17 July 2006) --- Space Shuttle Discovery slows to a stop after landing on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 9:14 a.m. (EDT) on July 17, 2006. Onboard were astronauts Steven W. Lindsey, commander; Mark E. Kelly, pilot; Piers J. Sellers, Michael E. Fossum, Lisa M. Nowak and Stephanie D. Wilson, all mission specialists. During the nearly 13-day mission, the STS-121 crew tested new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, and delivered supplies and made repairs to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building attach a crane to external tank No. 118 in order to raise it vertical and lift it into high bay 3 for mating with solid rocket boosters stacked there. The tank is designated to fly on mission STS-115 with Atlantis. It will fly with many major safety changes, including the removal of the protuberance air load ramps. The mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to attach to the first port truss segment, the P1 Truss, as well as deploy solar array set 2A and 4A. Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for late August. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Ames holds a Media Day at the Hypervelocity Free Flight facility where Ames is conducting high-speed tests of small models of the agency's new Orion CEV to learn about stability during flight. The hypervelocity test facility uses a gun to shoot Orion models between 0.5 and l.5 inches (1.25 - 3.75 centimeters in diameter. The facility can conduct experiments with speeds up to 19,000 miles per hour (30,400 kilometers per hour) with John Bluck (Ames PAO) and Chuck Cornelison Ames Engineer

JSC2006-E-28436 (18 July 2006) --- Flight director Annette Hasbrook speaks from a lectern in Ellington Field's Hangar 276 near Johnson Space Center during the STS-121 crew return ceremonies.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Inside the Launch Control Center, Robbie Ashley, STS-115 payload manager, and Pat Lesley, with United Space Alliance, receive a special award from (at left) Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach and (at right) NASA Flow Director Angie Brewer. Mission STS-115 is the 116th space shuttle flight, the 27th flight for orbiter Atlantis, and the 19th U.S. flight to the International Space Station. STS-115 is scheduled to last 11 days with a planned landing at KSC. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 39B, the payload canister is lifted toward the payload changeout room (PCR) for transfer of its cargo into the PCR. The canister holds the payload for Atlantis and mission STS-115, the Port 3/4 truss segment with two large solar arrays. The red umbilical lines are still attached, lower right. The payload changeout room provides an environmentally clean or "white room" condition in which to receive a payload transferred from a protective payload canister. After the shuttle arrives at the pad, the rotating service structure will close around it and the payload will then be transferred into Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis' launch window begins Aug. 28. During its 11-day mission to the International Space Station, the STS-115 crew of six astronauts will install the truss, a 17-ton segment of the space station's truss backbone. Photo credit: NASA/George Shelton

Layers in Melas Chasma

STS116-S-001 (July 2006) --- The STS-116 patch design signifies the continuing assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). The primary mission objective is to deliver and install the P5 truss element. The P5 installation will be conducted during the first of three planned spacewalks, and will involve use of both the shuttle and station robotic arms. The remainder of the mission will include a major reconfiguration and activation of the ISS electrical and thermal control systems, as well as delivery of Zvezda Service Module debris panels, which will increase ISS protection from potential impacts of micro-meteorites and orbital debris. In addition, a single expedition crewmember will launch on STS-116 to remain onboard the station, replacing an expedition crew member that will fly home with the shuttle crew. The crew patch depicts the space shuttle rising above the Earth and ISS. The United States and Swedish flags trail the orbiter, depicting the international composition of the STS-116 crew. The seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major are used to provide direction to the North Star, which is superimposed over the installation location of the P5 truss on ISS. The NASA insignia design for space shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the forms of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, the change will be publicly announced. Photo credit: NASA

ISS013-E-54170 (July 2006) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter, Expedition 13 flight engineer, looks over a procedures checklist in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On Launch Pad 39B, the crawler-transporter moves Space Shuttle Atlantis along the ramp and away from the rotating and fixed service structures, at right, on its rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion off the pad was at 10:04 a.m. EDT. The crawler is 131 feet long, 113 feet wide and 20 feet high. It weights 5.5 million pounds unloaded. The combined weight of crawler, mobile launcher platform and a space shuttle is 12 million pounds. Unloaded, the crawler moves at 2 mph. Loaded, the snail's pace slows to 1 mph. The rollback is a safety precaution as the area waits for the arrival of Tropical Storm Ernesto. The storm is forecast to be bringing 58-mph to 70-mph winds in the next 24 hours. The shuttle will be moved into high bay 2, on the southwest side of the VAB, for protection from the storm. Photo credit: NASA/Ken Thornsley

JSC2006-E-44663 (16 Oct. 2006) --- Astronauts John D. (Danny) Olivas and James F. Reilly II, both STS-117 mission specialists, are about to be submerged in the waters of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near Johnson Space Center. Olivas and Reilly are attired in training versions of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit.

S115-E-05783 (13 Sept. 2006) --- Astronauts Daniel C. Burbank (right) and Steven G. MacLean representing the Canadian Space Agency, participate in the second of three scheduled spacewalks for the Space Shuttle Atlantis and International Space Station crewmembers as construction resumes on the orbital outpost. The two STS-115 mission specialists are translating along the side of one of the station's trusses.

This two-image mosaic shows part of the floor of Melas Chasma

JSC2006-E-47144 (31 Oct. 2006) --- A few hours after NASA Administrator Michael Griffin announced from Goddard Space Flight Center the astronauts selected for the final shuttle mission to perform work on the Hubble Space Telescope, the STS-125 crew met the news media at the Johnson Space Center. Following the press briefing, the members posed for this group portrait. From left to right are astronauts K. Megan McArthur, Michael T. Good, Gregory C. Johnson, Scott D. Altman, John M. Grunsfeld, Michael J. Massimino and Andrew J. Feustel. Altman will command the final space shuttle mission to Hubble, and Johnson will serve as pilot for his initial spaceflight. Mission specialists include veteran spacewalkers Grunsfeld and Massimino and first-time space fliers Feustel, Good and McArthur.

View of Argyre Basin from Test of Mars Color Image

Ames and Moffett Field (MFA) historical sites and memorials Unitary Plan Wind Tunned plaza; display and historical site plaques with the NASA logo on the Wind Tunnel valve as a backdrop.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Vehicle Assembly Building, external tank No. 118 is suspended vertically above the transfer aisle. The tank will be lifted into high bay 3for mating with solid rocket boosters stacked there. The tank is designated to fly on mission STS-115 with Atlantis. It will fly with many major safety changes, including the removal of the protuberance air load ramps. The mission will deliver the second port truss segment, the P3/P4 Truss, to attach to the first port truss segment, the P1 Truss, as well as deploy solar array set 2A and 4A. Launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for late August. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

This image from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Orion nebula, our closest massive star-making factory, 1,450 light-years from Earth. The nebula is close enough to appear to the naked eye as a fuzzy star in the sword of the constellation.

Sample of Mid-latitude Southern Highlands

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- This side view taken from the upper level of the fixed service structure shows Space Shuttle Discovery, mated with the orange external tank, as it has come to rest on the hardstand of Launch Pad 39B. The shuttle rests on a mobile launcher platform and made the 4.2-mile journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building via the crawler-transporter beneath the platform. The rollout is an important step before launch of Discovery on mission STS-121 to the International Space Station. Discovery's launch is targeted for July 1 in a launch window that extends to July 19. During the 12-day mission, Discovery's crew will test new hardware and techniques to improve shuttle safety, as well as deliver supplies and make repairs to the station. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

A false color look reveals subtle details on Enceladus that are not visible in natural color views

Kick-off event for Google NASA collaboration (held in the Ames Exploration Center 943A) with Chris Kemp, Ames Business Development (L) Ames Center Director Pete Worden (L-M) Tiffany Montage, Project Manager Engineering, Google (R-M) and Dan Clancy, Director of engineering Google (R)

This Mars Global Surveyor MGS Mars Orbiter Camera MOC image shows a pedestal crater in the Promethei Terra region. The ejecta from an impact crater is usually rocky