We want to explore. We're curious people. Look back over history, people have put their lives at stake to go out and explore ... We believe in what we're doing. Now it's time to go.

The vast majority of the shuttle program was a success. We learned so much about how a reusable spacecraft interacts with its environment, how it ages-and what to design next time.

The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so thin. We know that we don't have much air - we need to protect what we have.

I don't think of myself as being a woman and having anything to prove.

We want to explore. We're curious people. Look back over history, people have put their lives at stake to go out and explore ... We believe in what we're doing. Now it's time to go.

I have no nerves, no emotion, no pressure.

My daughter just thinks that all moms fly the Space Shuttle