NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Read below to learn more about the STS-120 mission patch.
 





Space Shuttle

Space shuttle Discovery will take the STS-120 crew to the International Space Station. The payload bay of the orbiter carries the Harmony module. Harmony will be the connecting point for European and Japanese laboratories. Harmony was named by U.S. students in the Name the International Space Station Node 2 Challenge.
 




Starburst

The starburst represents the International Space Station. The red points show the current location of the P6 solar array. The P in P6 means that this solar array is on the port, or left side, of the space station. The 6 in P6 means that this array is in the sixth section of the station trusses. The STS-120 crew will move the P6 solar array to its new and permanent position -- the spot of the gold points on the burst.
 





Moon and Mars

The moon and Mars represent the future of NASA. By going to the moon for long periods of time, astronauts will search for resources and learn how to work safely in a harsh environment. Robotic explorers have found evidence of a watery past on Mars. Human explorers on the Red Planet will learn more.
 






Orion Constellation

The constellation Orion represents the new space vehicle of the same name. The Orion crew vehicle will one day replace the shuttle in transporting humans to space.
 





Melroy

Commander Pam Melroy calls STS-120 "a cool mission." When her crew brings the Harmony module to the International Space Station, it will allow more laboratories to be connected to the space station and more people to live there. Melroy piloted the space shuttle Discovery in 2000 and Atlantis in 2002. This mission is her first as commander.
 





Zamka

George Zamka is the pilot for the STS-120 space shuttle mission. He became an astronaut in 1998. Besides piloting the shuttle, Zamka is responsible for the space shuttle orbiter systems. He is also Commander Melroy's assistant in docking and undocking the orbiter with the space station. This flight on space shuttle Discovery is his first mission into space.
 






Wilson

Stephanie Wilson is a mission specialist on STS-120. She also flew on Discovery in 2006. On the STS-120 mission, she will assist with the installation of the Harmony module and the moving of the solar array by operating the space shuttle and space station robotic arms.
 





Nespoli

Paolo Nespoli is a mission specialist from the European Space Agency, or ESA. Born in Milan, Italy, Nespoli became an astronaut with the Italian space agency. He was selected to the ESA Astronaut Corps in 1998. The Harmony module that will be installed during STS-120 was built in Italy.
 





Tani

Daniel Tani is a mission specialist on STS-120. He flew as a mission specialist on STS-108 in 2001. Tani will remain on board the International Space Station when space shuttle Discovery returns back to Earth. He will be a flight engineer on the space station. He is scheduled to return on mission STS-122.
 






Wheelock

Doug Wheelock is a mission specialist. On his first flight aboard the space shuttle, Wheelock will perform spacewalks and robotics operations. Before this mission, he worked in the astronaut offices in the U.S. and in Russia.
 





Parazynski

Scott Parazynski is a medical doctor and a mission specialist. STS-120 is his fifth space shuttle mission. Before STS-120, he already logged over 1,019 hours in space, including 20 hours of spacewalking time. Parazynski’s tasks on this mission include performing four spacewalks that will help to install the Harmony node.
 
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