The STS-123 crew portrait. From right (front row) are astronauts Dominic L. Gorie, commander; and Gregory H. Johnson, pilot. From the left (back row) are astronauts Richard M. Linnehan, Robert L. Behnken, Garrett E. Reisman, Michael J. Foreman and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Takao Doi, all mission specialists. Endeavour is scheduled for a 16-day mission that will include five spacewalks.
The space shuttle Endeavour lands Wednesday night March 26, 2008, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
NASA workers secure the space shuttle Endeavour after landing safely Wednesday night March 26, 2008, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Backdropped by Earth's horizon and the blackness of space, the International Space Station appears very small from the point of view of the Space Shuttle Endeavour as the two spacecraft separate Monday, March 24, 2008. This image was taken by an STS-123 crewmember onboard the shuttle. Earlier the STS-123 and Expedition 16 crews concluded 12 days of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station.
The International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Endeavour Monday, March 24, 2008.
Astronaut Michael Foreman exits the international space station Saturday, March 22, 2008. Endeavour's astronauts embarked on the fifth and final spacewalk of their mission Saturday, this time to attach a 50-foot inspection pole to the international space station for use by the next shuttle visitors.
A shuttle Endeavour crewmember captured the glowing green beauty of the Aurora Borealis while docked and onboard the International Space Station. Looking northward across the Gulf of Alaska, over a low pressure area (cloud vortex), the aurora brightens the night sky. This image was taken on Friday, March 21, 2008.
Astronauts during a spacewalk Thursday, March 20, 2008. Two spacewalking astronauts pulled out a caulk gun and high-tech kind of Silly Putty on Thursday night and tested a method for patching shuttle thermal tiles. The space shuttle Endeavour is on a 16-day mission to the international space station.
Shuttle astronauts Richard Linnehan and Michael Foreman outside the international space station work to put together Dextre, a gigantic walking and working machine on Saturday March 15, 2008. The Canadian-built Dextre, which cost more than $200 million, is designed to assist spacewalking astronauts. The hope is that the robot eventually will take over some of the more punishing chores, like lugging around big parts.
International Space Station Commander Peggy Whitson, center, greets the crew of Space Shuttle Endeavour, Thursday, March 13, 2008. From left, shuttle commander Dominic Gorie, astronauts Rick Linnehan, Gregory Johnson, inverted, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takao Dio.
Space shuttle Endeavour lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2008. Endeavour's seven-man crew will deliver the first section of Japan's Kibo lab and Canada's two-armed robotic system to the International Space Station.
The space shuttle Endeavour lifts off early Tuesday March 11, 2008, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., beginning a 16-day mission to the international space station.
The space shuttle Endeavour disappears into the clouds as it lifts off early Tuesday morning March 11, 2008, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., beginning a 16-day mission to the international space station.
The space shuttle Endeavour sits on Launch pad 39-A Monday morning March 10, 2008, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Seven astronauts are making final preparations for Tuesday morning planned liftoff and mission to the international space station.
The United States and orbiter flags blow in the breeze near the space shuttle Endeavour Monday morning March 10, 2008, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Seven astronauts are making final preparations for Tuesday morning's planned liftoff and mission to the international space station.
A banner for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory is seen near the gate to pad 39A where Space shuttle Endeavour is seen at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Sunday, March 9, 2008. Endeavour will deliver the Japanese lab and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, known as Dextre. Endeavour is scheduled to launch Tuesday morning on a 16-day mission that will include five spacewalks.
An alligator is seen near pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Sunday, March 9, 2008. Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to lift with seven astronauts early Tuesday morning on a mission to the international space station.
Space shuttle Endeavour astronauts, from left, mission specialists Richard Linnehan, Takao Doi, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Robert Behnken, Michael Foreman, pilot Gregory Johnson, Expedition 16 flight engineer Garrett Reisman, and commander Dominic Gorie pose for a photo prior to entering the astro van for a trip to the pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Feb. 25, 2008.
Space shuttle Endeavour mission specialist Takao Doi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency gets help from a technician, right, with his launch and reentry suit as mission specialist Robert Behnken looks on in the white room near Endeavour's open hatch prior to entering the orbiter for a simulated countdown at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Monday Feb. 25, 2008.
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly past Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in commemoration of NASA's 50th anniversary on Monday, Feb. 18, 2008. On the pad, space shuttle Endeavour waits for a scheduled March 11 launch on the STS-123 mission.