View of MISSE PEC taken during a session of Expedition 15 EVA

iss015e19071 (7/23/2007) --- View of Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) Passive Experiment Container (PEC) mounted to the exterior of the Quest/Airlock (A/L). Photo taken during a session of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on Expedition 15. Materials on the International Space Station Experiment 3 and 4 (MISSE - 3 and 4) are the third and fourth in a series of five suitcase-sized test beds attached to the outside of the space station. The beds were deployed during a spacewalk by the station crew in August 2006. They are exposing hundreds of potential space construction materials and different types of solar cells to the harsh environment of space. Mounted to the space station for about a year, the equipment then will be returned to Earth for study. Investigators will use the resulting data to design stronger, more durable spacecraft.