CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, construction continues on a new mobile launcher for the Constellation Program. The new mobile launcher will be the base for the Ares rockets to launch the Orion crew exploration vehicle and the cargo vehicle. The base is being made lighter than space shuttle mobile launcher platforms so the crawler-transporter can pick up the added load of the 345-foot tower and taller rocket. When the structural portion of the new launcher is complete, umbilical lines, access arms, communications equipment and command/control equipment will be installed. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

ISS021-E-029853 (18 Nov. 2009) --- STS-129 and Expedition 21 crew members are pictured shortly after Space Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station docked in space and the hatches were opened on Nov. 18, 2009. Pictured are NASA astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh (left foreground), STS-129 commander; Jeffrey Williams (right foreground), Expedition 21 flight engineer; Barry E. Wilmore (right, with camera), STS-129 pilot; Mike Foreman (left background) and Randy Bresnik, both STS-129 mission specialists.

Storm Front

JSC2009-E-145694 (17 July 2009) --- Astronaut Robert Behnken, STS-130 mission specialist, gets help in the donning of a training version of his Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit in preparation for a spacewalk training session in the waters of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near NASA's Johnson Space Center.

An SUV-sized Asteroid 2008TC# Impacts on October 7, 2008 in the Nubian Desert, Northern Sudan: Dr. Peter Jenniskens, NASA/SETI joined Muawia Shaddas of the University of Khartoum in leading an expedition on a search for samples. (first find) Photo Credit: NASA/SETI/P. Jenniskens

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – STS-127 Pilot Doug Hurley smiles after practicing driving the M-113 armored personnel carrier. The crew members of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission will each practice driving the M-113 in turn as part of their training on emergency egress procedures. An M-113 will be available to transport the crew to safety in the event of a contingency on the pad before their launch. The crew is at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for a launch dress rehearsal called the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, which includes the emergency egress training and equipment familiarization. The STS-127 mission is the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japanese Kibo laboratory complex. Endeavour's launch is targeted for June 13. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, steam and smoke billow in the light from space shuttle Discovery's fiery launch on the STS-128 mission. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A was on time at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The first launch attempt on Aug. 24 was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. The second attempt on Aug. 25 also was postponed due to an issue with a valve in space shuttle Discovery's main propulsion system. The STS-128 mission is the 30th International Space Station assembly flight and the 128th space shuttle flight. The 13-day mission will deliver more than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the International Space Station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. Photo courtesy of Scott Andrews

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A fire and rescue truck is in place beside Runway 33 if needed to support the landing of space shuttle Atlantis at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After 11 days in space, Atlantis completed the 4.5-million mile STS-129 mission on orbit 171. Main gear touchdown was at 9:44:23 a.m. EST. Nose gear touchdown was at 9:44:36 a.m., and wheels stop was at 9:45:05 a.m. Aboard Atlantis are Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; Mission Specialists Leland Melvin, Randy Bresnik, Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr.; and Expedition 20 and 21 Flight Engineer Nicole Stott who spent 87 days aboard the International Space Station. STS-129 is the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight on the manifest. On STS-129, the crew delivered 14 tons of cargo to the orbiting laboratory, including two ExPRESS Logistics Carriers containing spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired next year. For information on the STS-129 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Ares 1_X_LAS_CM Project and Transfer To Kennedy Space Center

Glenn Extreme Environments Rig, GEER, Test Chamber, recreate Venus conditions on Earth, photos of insulation construction progress

William Bo-Ricki, Kepler principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center, speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009, at NASA Headquarters in Washington about the scientific observations coming from the Kepler spacecraft that was launched this past March. Kepler is NASA's first mission that is capable of discovering earth-sized planets in the habitable zones of stars like our Sun. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

LCROSS Impact Night: Public invited to all night event are setting up tent in the Tent Area of Shenandoah Parade Grounds at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field Calif.

S125-E-007729 (15 May 2009) --- Astronaut Gregory C. Johnson, SS-125 pilot, scribbles a note on Atlantis' flight deck while two of crewmates perform a space walk to work on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Icy Crown on Tethys

Dione Icy Wisps

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – STS-128 Mission Specialist Danny Olivas signals the fit of his launch and entry suit and helmet before heading to the NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A for the simulated launch countdown. The countdown is the culmination of terminal countdown demonstration test activities to prepare the STS-128 crew for launch on space shuttle Discovery's STS-128 mission. Discovery will deliver 33,000 pounds of equipment to the station, including science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. Launch is targeted for late August. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

LCROSS launch public viewing event held at Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA NRP tenant Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation is playing a crucial role in the LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) mission to search for the signature of water, a lunar resource that can be used for future human exploration, at the Moon’s rugged South Pole. Ecliptic’s signature product, RocketCam™, transmitted video from three camera perspectives of the picture-perfect launch from Cape Canaveral aboard an ATLAS V rocket on June 18. RocketCam™, a family of onboard imaging systems

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance technicians prepare to steady space shuttle Endeavour as it is lifted. Next, Endeavour will be hoisted over a transom and lowered into High Bay 1, where it will be attached to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. Rollout of the shuttle stack to Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39A, a significant milestone in launch processing activities, is planned for early January 2010. The Italian-built Tranquility module, the primary payload for Endeavour's STS-130 mission, will be installed in the payload bay after the shuttle arrives at the pad. Launch is targeted for early February. For information on the STS-130 mission and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts130/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The covered fifth segment simulator of the Ares I-X is transported from Astrotech in Titusville, Fla. It is being moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for stacking operations. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. Ares I is the essential core of a safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. Ares I-X is targeted for launch in July 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians prepare to secure a latching end effector to the EXPRESS Logistics Carrier on which it is being installed for flight. The carrier is part of the STS-129 payload on space shuttle Atlantis, which will deliver to the International Space Station two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. STS-129 is targeted to launch Nov. 12. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

STS-130 TCDT - ORBITER INGRESS - WHITEROOM

S129-E-007213 (21 Nov. 2009) --- Astronaut Randy Bresnik, STS-129 mission specialist, salutes crewmates while positioned near the European Space Agency’s Columbus module on International Space Station. Astronauts Bresnik and Mike Foreman were in the midst of the second of three scheduled spacewalks for this shuttle crew, working in cooperation with the five current crewmembers for the orbital outpost and with their five Atlantis crewmates, all of whom pitched in EVA support from inside

ISS020-E-018319 (11 July 2009) --- NASA astronaut Michael Barratt (left) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, both Expedition 20 flight engineers, perform a check of the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) Beacon / Beacon Tester in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station.

KAZAKHASTAN - 200912180006HQ - The Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Friday, Dec. 18, 2009. The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft, with Expedition 22 NASA Flight Engineer Timothy J. Creamer of the United States, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov of Russia, and Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi of Japan, is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 21, 2009, at 3:52 a.m. Kazakhstan time. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The mockup Orion crew exploration vehicle is on the dock at the Trident Basin at Port Canaveral, Fla., waiting to be tested in open waters. Orion is targeted to begin carrying humans to the International Space Station in 2015 and to the moon by 2020. The goal of the operation, dubbed the Post-landing Orion Recovery Test, or PORT, is to determine what kind of motion astronauts can expect after landing, as well as outside conditions for recovery teams. Orion, along with the Ares I and V rockets and the Altair lunar lander, are part of the Constellation Program. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

STS129-S-038 (16 Nov. 2009) --- Space Shuttle Atlantis and its six-member STS-129 crew head toward Earth orbit and rendezvous with the International Space Station. Liftoff was on time at 2:28 p.m. (EST) on Nov. 16, 2009 from launch pad 39A at NASA?s Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Onboard are astronauts Charles O. Hobaugh, commander; Barry E. Wilmore, pilot; along with Leland Melvin, Mike Foreman, Robert L. Satcher Jr. and Randy Bresnik, all mission specialists. Atlantis will deliver two Express Logistics Carriers to the station, the largest of the shuttle's cargo carriers, containing 15 spare pieces of equipment including two gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly and a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm. Atlantis will return to Earth a station crew member, Nicole Stott, who has spent more than two months aboard the orbiting laboratory. STS-129 is slated to be the final space shuttle Expedition crew rotation flight.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - At the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, spacecraft technicians carefully lower an environmental covering over NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, to protect it from contamination during its move to Space Launch Complex 2. WISE will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects which will be catalogued and provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Dec. 9. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/wise. Photo credit: NASA

ISS020-E-040628 (17 Sept. 2009) --- Backdropped by a scattering of clouds over part of Earth, the unpiloted Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) approaches the International Space Station. Once the HTV was in range, NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk and European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, all Expedition 20 flight engineers, used the station’s robotic arm to grab the cargo craft and attach it to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node. The attachment was completed at 5:26 (CDT) on Sept. 17, 2009.

Dunes Galore

STS002-13-210 (12-14 Nov. 1981) --- Photograph of Algeria's Tifernine dunes taken with a hand-held camera through the ceiling windows of the space shuttle Columbia during STS-2. The area is about 800 miles south, southeast of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. The dunes are in excess of 1,000 feet in height and are trapped in an enclosure in the Tassili Najjer Mountains. Photo credit: NASA

A bottleneck at the start of the lunar sinuous rille within Vallis Alpes formed several morphologic features including a lava pond, a breached dam, and an island in the rille in this image captured by NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

S127-E-006262 (16 July 2009) --- Backdropped by a blue and white Earth and the blackness of space, a partial view of Space Shuttle Endeavour?s payload bay, vertical stabilizer and orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods are featured in this image photographed by a STS-127 crew member from an aft flight deck window.

FIRST Robotics Competition 'Lunacy' hosted by NASA at San Jose State University Event Center. For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology let the games begin. Phantom Robotics team #675, The Wildhats team #100 and Highrollers team #987

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's skid strip in Florida, the shrouded Atlas V first stage booster is moved out of the Russian AH-124-100 aircraft onto a transporter. The Atlas V is the launch vehicle for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS. The booster will be taken to the Atlas Space Operations Center on CCAFS. Launch is scheduled no earlier than May 20. LCROSS and LRO are the first missions in NASA's plan to return humans to the moon and begin establishing a lunar outpost by 2020. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

ISS021-E-030517 (18 Nov. 2009) --- Backdropped by a blue and white part of Earth, Space Shuttle Atlantis is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 21 crew member as the shuttle approaches the International Space Station during STS-129 rendezvous and docking operations. Docking occurred at 10:51 a.m. (CST) on Nov. 18, 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X interstage 1 for the upper stage simulator (left) is being lifted to move it to the forward assembly. The interstage will be mated with the frustum on the forward assembly. At center is the crew module-launch abort system, or CM-LAS, and simulator service module-service adapter stack. Ares I-X is the flight test vehicle for the Ares I, a component of the Constellation Program. Ares I is the essential core of a safe, reliable, cost-effective space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system. Ares I-X is targeted for launch in August 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

A crescent Iapetus shows, at the top right of this image from NASA Cassini spacecraft, some of the dark terrain characterizing this unusual Saturnian moon.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA Administrator Charles Bolden signs an agreement defining the terms of cooperation between NASA and JAXA on the Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, mission. The ceremony took place July 30 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Fla. Through the agreement, NASA is responsible for the GPM core observatory spacecraft bus, the GPM Microwave Imager, or GMI, carried by it, and a second GMI to be flown on a partner-provided Low-Inclination Observatory. JAXA will supply the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar for the core observatory, an H-IIA rocket for the core observatory's launch in July 2013, and data from a conical-scanning microwave imager on the upcoming Global Change Observation Mission satellite. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the last newly manufactured section of the Ares I-X test rocket, the frustum, is revealed after removal of the shipping covers. Resembling a giant funnel, the frustum's function is to transition the primary flight loads from the rocket's upper stage to the first stage. The frustum is located between the forward skirt extension and the upper stage of the Ares I-X. Weighing in at approximately 13,000 pounds, the 10-foot-long section is composed of two aluminum rings attached to a truncated conic section. The large diameter of the cone is 18 feet and the small diameter is 12 feet. The cone is 1.25 inches thick. The frustum will be integrated with the forward skirt and forward skirt extension, which already are in the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility. That will complete the forward assembly. The assembly then will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking operations, which are scheduled to begin in April. Manufactured by Major Tool and Machine Inc. in Indiana under a subcontract with Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, the Ares I-X is targeted to launch in the summer of 2009. The flight will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I launch vehicle. The flight test also will bring NASA a step closer to its exploration goals of sending humans to the moon and destinations beyond. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S129-E-007130 (20 Nov. 2009) --- Astronaut Leland Melvin, STS-129 mission specialist, is pictured on the middeck of Space Shuttle Atlantis while docked with the International Space Station.

ISS018-E-018995 (10 Jan. 2009) --- Astronaut Sandra Magnus, Expedition 18 flight engineer, works with the Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System (LOCAD-PTS) experiment in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. LOCAD-PTS is a handheld device for rapid detection of biological and chemical substances onboard the station.

Space Shuttle 3% acoustics model with Pal ramp in Ames 11ft. w.t.

Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov speaks during the State Commission meeting to approve the Soyuz launch of Expedition 19 Commander Gennady I. Padalka, Flight Engineer Michael R. Barratt and Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Dr. Elizabeth M. Robinson, nominee for Chief Financial Officer for NASA, center, answers questions during her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Robinson is flanked by Dr. Patrick Gallagher, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of the Transportation Security Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce, far left, and Paul K. Martin, nominee to be Inspector General at NASA. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the GOES-O and Delta IV upper stage stand erect after lowering of the lifting mechanism. GOES–O is one of a series of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. The multi-mission GOES series N-P will be a vital contributor to weather, solar and space operations and science. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, are actively engaged in a cooperative program to expand the existing GOES system with the launch of the GOES N-P satellites. Launch of the GOES-O is targeted for no earlier than April 2009. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

ISS021-E-015710 (27 Oct. 2009) --- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 21 crew member on the International Space Station. This detailed view illustrates the southern coastline of the Hawaiian island of Oahu including Pearl Harbor. On Dec. 7, 1941 ? 68 years ago ? a surprise attack by the Japanese Navy on Pearl Harbor and other targets on the island of Oahu precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II. Today, Pearl Harbor is still in use as a major United States Navy installation, and with Honolulu is one of the most heavily developed parts of the Island. Comparison between this image and a detailed astronaut photograph of Pearl Harbor taken in 2003 suggests that little observable land use or land cover change has occurred in the area over the past six years. The most significant change is the addition of more naval vessels to the Reserve Fleet anchorage in Middle Loch (center). The urban areas of Waipahu, Pearl City, and Aliamanu border the Harbor to the northwest, north, and east. The built-up areas, recognized by linear streets and white rooftops, contrast sharply with the reddish volcanic soils and green vegetated hillslopes of the surrounding areas.

S129-E-006221 (17 Nov. 2009) --- Astronaut Randy Bresnik, STS-129 mission specialist, reads his crew notebook on the aft flight deck of Space Shuttle Atlantis during flight day two activities.

The Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) is being developed by Sunpower, Inc. for NASA's Glenn Research Center (GRC) with critical technology support tasks led by GRC. The goal of the ASC project is to develop a highly efficient, low mass, reliable power convertor for future Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS), NASA's Science Mission Directorate; Stirling Lab

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The STS-127 crew members pause to wave to spectators as they head head to the Astrovan for the 3.4-mile drive to Launch Pad 39A. From left are Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Tim Kopra, Tom Marshburn, Julie Payette of the Canadian Space Agency, and Christopher Cassidy, Pilot Doug Hurley and Commander Mark Polansky. At the pad, the astronauts will complete their suitup and enter space shuttle Endeavour for the 7:13 p.m. EDT liftoff. This is the fourth launch attempt for the STS-127 mission. The first two launch attempts on June 13 and June 17 were scrubbed when a hydrogen gas leak occurred during tanking due to a misaligned Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate. Mission managers also decided to delay tanking on July 11 for a launch attempt later in the day to allow engineers and safety personnel time to analyze data captured during lightning strikes near the pad on July 10. Endeavour will deliver the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility, or JEM-EF, and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section, or ELM-ES, in the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory complex on the International Space Station. STS-127 is the 29th flight for the assembly of the space station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

STS119-S-008 (15 March 2009) --- After suiting up, the STS-119 crewmembers pause alongside the Astrovan to wave farewell to onlookers before heading for launch pad 39A for the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-119 mission. From the right are astronauts Lee Archambault, commander; Tony Antonelli, pilot; Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Koichi Wakata, all mission specialists. Wakata will join Expedition 18 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science.

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, left, meets with Gene Kranz, retired NASA Flight Director and manager, back stage after the "Salute to Apollo" ceremony at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Saturday, July 18, 2009 in Washington. The event was part of NASA's week long celebration of the Apollo 40th Anniversary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Fla., workers ensure the smooth rotation of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO. After rotation, the SDO will be moved to a work stand. SDO is the first space weather research network mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information about changes in the sun's magnetic field and insight into how they affect Earth. In preparation for its anticipated November launch, engineers will perform a battery of comprehensive tests to ensure SDO can withstand the stresses and vibrations of the launch itself, as well as what it will encounter in the space environment after launch. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

NASA Cassini spacecraft captures the shadow of Saturn moon Tethys as it seems to disappear as it crosses the planet rings.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – (ED09-0253-75) Space shuttle Discovery, mounted on leveling jacks, is surrounded by work platforms while undergoing servicing and preparations at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center for its ferry flight to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (NASA photo / Tony Landis)

ISS020-E-032291 (19 Aug. 2009) --- European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, Expedition 20 flight engineer, works in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station.

S129-E-007019 (18 Nov. 2009) --- Astronaut Randy Bresnik, STS-129 mission specialist, is pictured in the hatch which connects the flight deck and middeck of Space Shuttle Atlantis during flight day three activities.

ISS019-E-008750 (21 April 2009) --- Astronaut Michael Barratt, Expedition 19/20 flight engineer, performs in-flight maintenance on the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System (TVIS) in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers check the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES, as it moves out of the C-17 military cargo aircraft. Developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, the GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. GOES-O will be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. After arriving, the satellite was transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

KAZAKHASTAN - The Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 20 Commander Gennady Padalka, Flight Engineer Michael Barratt, and spaceflight participant Guy Laliberte near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. Padalka and Barratt are returning from six months onboard the International Space Station, along with Laliberte who arrived at the station on Oct. 2 with Expedition 21 Flight Engineers Jeff Williams and Maxim Suraev aboard the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

J. D. Poindexter, Space Science Education specialist, gives a demonstration at McAdams Elementary School.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Waves lap the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On the pad, the Ares I-X rocket awaits liftoff on its upcoming flight test. This is the first time since the Apollo Program's Saturn rockets were retired that a vehicle other than the space shuttle has occupied the pad. Modifications to the pad to support the Ares I-X included the removal of shuttle unique subsystems, such as the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, and the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers, access platforms, environmental control systems and a vehicle stabilization system. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I. The Ares I-X flight test is set for Oct. 27. For information on the Ares I-X vehicle and flight test, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Clouds of smoke and steam roll across Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as space shuttle Discovery races toward space on mission STS-119. Launch was on time at 7:43 p.m. EDT. The STS-119 mission is the 28th to the International Space Station and the 125th space shuttle flight. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science. Photo credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph, Kevin O'Connell

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. –At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crawler-transporter delivers space shuttle Discovery atop the mobile launcher platform onto Launch Pad 39A. Traveling from the Vehicle Assembly Building, the shuttle took nearly 12 hours on the journey as technicians stopped several times to clear mud from the crawler's treads and bearings caused by the waterlogged crawlerway. First motion out of the VAB was at 2:07 a.m. EDT Aug. 4. Rollout was delayed approximately 2 hours due to lightning in the area. In the background is the blue water of the Atlantic Ocean. At left is the White Room at the end of the orbiter access arm. When in place against shuttle, the White Room provides entry into the cockpit. Discovery's 13-day flight will deliver a new crew member and 33,000 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station. The equipment includes science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. Launch of Discovery on its STS-128 mission is targeted for late August. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

S127-E-008704 (25 July 2009) --- Astronaut Mark Polansky, STS-127 commander, is pictured near a window in the Kibo laboratory of the International Space Station while Space Shuttle Endeavour remains docked with the station.

ISS022-E-012224 (15 Dec. 2009) --- Evaporation ponds in the Salar de Atacama, Chile are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 22 crew member on the International Space Station. The Salar (salt flat) de Atacama in Chile is an enclosed basin with no drainage outlets. While the grey-brown surface of the Salar is flat and desiccated, mineral-rich brines - water with a high percentage of dissolved salts - are located below the surface. The subsurface brines of the Salar de Atacama are particularly rich in lithium salts. Lithium is an essential component of advanced batteries and medicines, among many other uses. The brines are pumped to the surface through a network of wells and into large shallow evaporation ponds ? three such evaporation pond facilities are visible in the center of the image. Color variations in the ponds are due to varying amounts of salts relative to water. The dry and windy climate enhances evaporation of the water, leaving concentrated salts behind for extraction of the lithium. The Salar de Atacama is located in the southern half of the Atacama Desert ? with no historical or current records of rainfall in some parts of this desert, it is considered to be one of the driest places on Earth. This photograph illustrates the central portion of the Salar de Atacama. It is bounded by brown to grey-brown folded and faulted strata of the Cordillera de la Sal to the northwest (upper left) and darker bedrock of the Cordon de Lila to the south (lower right).

ISU Line of Questions (designed by Planners Collaborative, Inc./depicts a circuit board.) a visual for summer students to find their way around NASA Research Park and to the different venues

Opportunity View on Sols 1803 and 1804 Vertical

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With the work platforms retracted, the Ares I-X stands tall inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platforms were retracted in preparation for the rocket's rollout to Launch Pad 39B. The transfer of the pad from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program took place May 31. Modifications made to the pad include the removal of shuttle unique subsystems, such as the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, along with the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers, access platforms, environmental control systems and a vehicle stabilization system. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 27. For information on the Ares I-X vehicle and flight test, visit http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Apollo/Saturn V Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Apollo astronaut Walt Cunningham is introduced during NASA's 40th Anniversary of Apollo Celebration of the July 1969 launch and landing on the moon. Cunningham was joined by seven others involved in the program. Cunningham occupied the lunar module pilot seat for the 11-day flight of Apollo 7--the first manned flight test of the third-generation United States spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

STS119-S-024 (15 March 2009) --- The Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member STS-119 crew head toward Earth orbit and a scheduled link-up with the International Space Station. Liftoff was on time at 7:43 p.m. (EDT) on March 15, 2009 from launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Onboard are astronauts Lee Archambault, commander; Tony Antonelli, pilot; Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Koichi Wakata, all mission specialists. Wakata will join Expedition 18 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the space station. Discovery will deliver the final pair of power-generating solar array wings and the S6 truss segment. Installation of S6 will signal the station's readiness to house a six-member crew for conducting increased science.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility, the SV-1 cargo of the STSS Demonstrator spacecraft is moved onto a flatbed truck for transfer to the Astrotech payload processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft is a midcourse tracking technology demonstrator, part of an evolving ballistic missile defense system. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency in late summer. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett (Approved for Public Release 09-MDA-4804 [4 Aug 09] )

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-128 crew members put on their launch-and-entry suits before heading to the Astrovan for the 3.4-mile drive to Launch Pad 39A. There, crew members will complete their suit-up and enter space shuttle Discovery for the 11:59 p.m. EDT liftoff. Here, Mission Specialist Nicole Stott is helped with her helmet. The first launch attempt on Aug. 24 was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. The second attempt on Aug. 25 also was postponed due to an issue with a valve in space shuttle Discovery's main propulsion system. The 13-day mission will deliver more than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the International Space Station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. The mission is the 128th in the Space Shuttle Program, the 37th flight of Discovery and the 30th station assembly flight. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S119-E-008343 (25 March 2009) --- Backdropped by the blackness of space and Earth’s horizon, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation. Earlier the STS-119 and Expedition 18 crews concluded 9 days, 20 hours and 10 minutes of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 2:53 p.m. (CDT) on March 25, 2009.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SCAPE vehicles are in position at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the event a return-to-landing-site is needed after launch of space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission. Liftoff was on-time at 6:03 p.m. EDT. This was the sixth launch attempt for the STS-127 mission. The launch was scrubbed on June 13 and June 17 when a hydrogen gas leak occurred during tanking due to a misaligned Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate. The mission was postponed July 11, 12 and 13 due to weather conditions near the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy that violated rules for launching, and lightning issues. Endeavour will deliver the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section in the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory complex on the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Chuck Tintera

JSC2009-E-214324 (25 Sept. 2009) --- NASA astronauts James P. Dutton Jr., STS-131 pilot; and Stephanie Wilson, mission specialist, are pictured during a training session in the virtual reality lab in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center to train for some of their duties aboard the space shuttle and space station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-128 crew members put on their launch-and-entry suits before heading to the Astrovan for the 3.4-mile drive to Launch Pad 39A. There, crew members will complete their suit-up and enter space shuttle Discovery for the 11:59 p.m. EDT liftoff. Seen here is Mission Specialist Nicole Stott, who will join the Expedition 20 crew on the International Space Station, replacing flight engineer Tim Kopra. The first launch attempt on Aug. 24 was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. The second attempt on Aug. 25 also was postponed due to an issue with a valve in space shuttle Discovery's main propulsion system. The 13-day mission will deliver more than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the International Space Station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. The mission is the 128th in the Space Shuttle Program, the 37th flight of Discovery and the 30th station assembly flight. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Pitted Hyperion

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A newly designed glove is submitted to a burst test to determine how much internal pressure it can withstand at the 2009 Astronaut Glove Challenge, part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program, at the Astronaut Hall of Fame near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The nationwide competition focused on developing improved pressure suit gloves for astronauts to use while working in space. During the challenge, the gloves were submitted to burst tests, joint force tests and tests to measure their dexterity and strength during operation in a glove box which simulates the vacuum of space. Centennial Challenges is NASA’s program of technology prizes for the citizen-inventor. The winning prize for the Glove Challenge is $250,000 provided by the Centennial Challenges Program. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the Space Tracking and Surveillance System Demonstrator spacecraft waits for launch under dark, cloudy sky. Rain over Central Florida's east coast caused the scrub of the launch. STSS Demo is a space-based sensor component of a layered Ballistic Missile Defense System designed for the overall mission of detection, tracking and discriminating ballistic missiles. STSS is capable of tracking objects after boost phase and provides trajectory information to other sensors. It will be launched by NASA for the Missile Defense Agency between 8 and 8:58 a.m. EDT Sept. 24. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Ares I-X forward segment leaves the Rotation, Surge and Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is being transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building for mating with the aft center and aft segments already stacked. Part of the Constellation Program, the Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is the essential core of a space transportation system that eventually will carry crewed missions back to the moon, on to Mars and out into the solar system . The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 30. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, testifies during a hearing before the House Subcommitte on Space and Aeronautics regarding Safety of Human Spaceflight on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad Tuesday, March 24, 2009 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz is scheduled to launch the crew of Expedition 19 and a spaceflight participant on March 26, 2009. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-130 Mission Specialist Kathryn "Kay" Hire, at left, participates in a bench review, standard familiarization training on the hardware and equipment that will fly on her mission, during the crew equipment interface test. Tranquility, the payload for the STS-130 mission, is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the International Space Station's life support systems. The module was built for the European Space Agency by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. The cupola, a unique work station with six windows on its sides and one on top, is attached to the end of Tranquility. It resembles a circular bay window and will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. Just under 10 feet in diameter, the module will accommodate two crew members and portable workstations that can control station and robotic activities. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. Endeavour is targeted to launch Feb. 4, 2010. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S125-E-009925 (18 May 2009) --- Astronaut Gregory C. Johnson, STS-125 pilot, is pictured on the middeck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis during flight day eight activities.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The Delta II payload fairing will soon enfold NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, in the White Room at Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The fairing protects the spacecraft from aerodynamic forces during launch. WISE will survey the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, creating a cosmic clearinghouse of hundreds of millions of objects which will be catalogued and provide a vast storehouse of knowledge about the solar system, the Milky Way, and the universe. Launch is scheduled for Dec. 9. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/wise. Photo credit: NASA/VAFB

PHOTO DATE: 01-08-09 LOCATION: Bldg. 9NW - CCT II Mockup SUBJECT: STS-128 crew during CCT BAILOUT with Expedition astronaut Nicole Stott. PHOTOGRAPHER: Devin Boldt

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At the Apollo/Saturn V Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell shares his experiences with an eager crowd gathered for NASA's 40th Anniversary of Apollo Celebration of the July 1969 launch and landing on the moon. Mitchell walked on the moon on the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 and was backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 16. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Firing Room at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach, Endeavour Flow Director Dana Hutcherson and STS-127 Shuttle Launch Director Pete Nickolenko bask in the successful launch of space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission. Liftoff was on-time at 6:03 p.m. EDT. Today was the sixth launch attempt for the STS-127 mission. The launch was scrubbed on June 13 and June 17 when a hydrogen gas leak occurred during tanking due to a misaligned Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate. The mission was postponed July 11, 12 and 13 due to weather conditions near the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy that violated rules for launching, and lightning issues. Endeavour will deliver the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility and the Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section in the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory complex on the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – From the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Center Director Bob Cabana watches the monitor with space shuttle Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A. The launch of space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-127 mission was scrubbed at 7:02 p.m. EDT due to weather conditions near the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy that violated rules for launching. The runway would be needed in the unlikely event that Endeavour would have to make an emergency landing back at Kennedy. Launch was rescheduled for July 13 at 6:51 p.m. EDT. Photo credit: NASA/ Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-130 Mission Specialist Kathryn "Kay" Hire, middle, and Pilot Terry Virts Jr., right, receive familiarization training on the cupola from a flight crew representative from Thales Alenia Space during their crew equipment interface test. The cupola, a unique work station with six windows on its sides and one on top, is attached to one end of the Tranquility node. Tranquility, the payload for the STS-130 mission, is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the International Space Station's life support systems. The module was built for the European Space Agency by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. The cupola resembles a circular bay window that will provide a vastly improved view of the station's exterior. Just under 10 feet in diameter, the module will accommodate two crew members and portable workstations that can control station and robotic activities. The multi-directional view will allow the crew to monitor spacewalks and docking operations, as well as provide a spectacular view of Earth and other celestial objects. Endeavour is targeted to launch Feb. 4, 2010. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The STS-127 crew members stand for a final photograph after a question-and-answer session with the media at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A. From left are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Julie Payette, Tom Marshburn , Tim Kopra, Christopher Cassidy and Dave Wolf. Payette represents the Canadian Space Agency. The crew is at Kennedy for a launch dress rehearsal called the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, which includes emergency egress training and equipment familiarization. Space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission is the final of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japanese Kibo laboratory complex on the International Space Station. Endeavour's launch is targeted for June 13. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - STS-129 Commander Charles O. Hobaugh pilots a T-38 jet to a stop at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew members of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-129 mission have arrived at Kennedy for training related to their launch dress rehearsal, the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. Launch of Atlantis on its STS-129 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for November. For information on the STS-129 mission objectives and crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

S125-E-007240 (14 May 2009) --- Astronaut Andrew Feustel, STS-125 mission specialist, appears to be selecting his next tool to use while participating in the first of his crew's five scheduled sessions of extravehicular activity to perform final hands-on servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. Feustel and veteran astronaut John Grunsfeld (out of frame) are scheduled to participate in a total of three of those spacewalks.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Atlas V/Centaur arrives on Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Atlas was rolled to the launch pad from the Vertical Integration Facility in preparation for the wet dress rehearsal, or countdown test, which means being fully loaded with propellants including liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and RP-1 fuel. The launch vehicle will be rolled off the pad and returned to the VIF on May 16. The Atlas V/Centaur is the launch vehicle for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS. They will be mated with the Atlas in late May. LCROSS and LRO are the first missions in NASA's plan to return humans to the moon and begin establishing a lunar outpost by 2020. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than June 17. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

STS-133 R2 ROBONAUT LIFT TO STAND

Bright Dunes

JSC2009-E-207848 (12 Sept. 2009) --- NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, STS-128 mission specialist, addresses a large crowd of well-wishers at the STS-128 crew return ceremony on Sept. 12, 2009 at Ellington Field near NASA's Johnson Space Center. Astronaut John ?Danny? Olivas, mission specialist, is at right.

Brian McLendon, VP of Engineering, Google, Inc., speaks during a press conference, Monday, July 20, 2009, announcing the launch of Moon in Google Earth, an immersive 3D atlas of the Moon, accessible within Google Earth 5.0, Monday, July 20, 2009, at the Newseum in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, left, Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov, center, and Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Vitaly A. Davyidov listen to reporters questions during a press conference at Mission Control Center Moscow in Korolev, Russia shortly after the successful docking of the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft with the International Space Station (ISS) marking the start of Expedition 21 with Flight Engineer Jeffrey N. Williams, Expedition 21 Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev, and Spaceflight Participant Guy Laliberté, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. The entire crew onboard the ISS can be seen in the monitor below. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Terra Cimmeria Dunes