KSC-2010-2829

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery's 40-foot-diameter drag chute extends with the aid of a mortar-deployed pilot chute. Its purpose is to slow the shuttle as it lands on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after 15 days in space, completing the more than 6.2-million-mile STS-131 mission on orbit 238. Main gear touchdown was at 9:08:35 a.m. EDT followed by nose gear touchdown at 9:08:47 a.m. and wheelstop at 9:09:33 a.m. Aboard are Commander Alan Poindexter; Pilot James P. Dutton Jr.; and Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio, Clayton Anderson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The seven-member STS-131 crew carried the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that were transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also switched out a gyroscope on the station’s truss, installed a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieved a Japanese experiment from the station’s exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall. For information on the STS-131 mission and crew, visit http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_shuttle_shuttlemissions_sts131_index.html. Photo credit: NASA_Kevin O'Connell