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April 12: Expedition 23 crew members pose for a in-flight crew portrait in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station while space shuttle
Discovery (STS-131) remains docked with the station. Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, commander, is at center. Also pictured clockwise (bottom center)
are Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, NASA astronauts Tracy Caldwell Dyson and T.J. Creamer, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko and Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, all flight engineers. Credit: NASA[/quote]

- Clayton Anderson (left) and Rick Mastracchio, both STS-131 mission specialists, attired in their Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits; along with
astronauts Alan Poindexter (center background), commander; James P. Dutton Jr., pilot; and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, mission specialist, pose for a
photo in the Quest airlock of the International Space Station prior to the start of the mission’s third and final spacewalk. Credit: NASA

April 11: Clayton Anderson (left) and Rick Mastracchio, both STS-131 mission specialists, attired in their Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits;
along with astronauts Tracy Caldwell Dyson (center left), Expedition 23 flight engineer; James P. Dutton Jr., STS-131 pilot; and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger,
mission specialist, pose for a photo in the Quest airlock of the International Space Station prior to the start of the mission’s second spacewalk. Credit: NASA

- April 17, 2010 - Space shuttle Discovery is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 23 crew member on the International Space Station
soon after the shuttle and station began their post-undocking relative separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 7:52 a.m. (CDT), ending
a stay of 10 days, 5 hours and 8 minutes. The visit included three spacewalks and delivery of more than seven tons of equipment and supplies. A small
portion of a Russian spacecraft, docked with the station, is visible at top. Credit: NASA

- Space shuttle Discovery is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 23 crew member on the International Space Station soon after the shuttle
and station began their post-undocking relative separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 7:52 a.m. (CDT) on April 17, 2010, ending a stay of
10 days, 5 hours and 8 minutes. The visit included three spacewalks and delivery of more than seven tons of equipment and supplies. Credit: NASA - Photo

- Space shuttle Discovery is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 23 crew member on the International Space Station soon after the
shuttle and station began their post-undocking relative separation. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 7:52 a.m. (CDT) on April 17, 2010,
ending a stay of 10 days, 5 hours and 8 minutes. The visit included three spacewalks and delivery of more than seven tons of equipment and supplies.
Credit: NASA

As the shuttle and the space station began their post-undocking relative separation, Expedition 23 flight engineer Soichi Noguchi photographed the underside of the shuttle over the south end of Isla de Providencia, about 150 miles off the coast of Nicaragua. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred on April 17, 2010, ending the shuttle's 10-day stay. The visit included three spacewalks and delivery of more than seven tons of equipment and supplies to the station. / Nasa.gov

- Space Shuttle Discovery flies with its payload bay facing Earth so that the astronauts and cosmonauts onboard the International Space Station could survey
and photograph it following the relative separation of the two spacecraft. Credit: NASA

- Space Shuttle Discovery flies with its payload bay facing Earth so that the astronauts and cosmonauts onboard the International Space Station could
survey and photograph it following the relative separation of the two spacecraft on April 17. Credit: NASA

The space shuttle Discovery is seen as it lands at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Discovery and the STS-131 mission crew--Commander Alan G. Poindexter, pilot James P. Dutton Jr. and mission specialists Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Rick Mastracchio, Stephanie Wilson, Clayton Anderson and Japanese astronaut Naoko Yamazaki--returned from their mission to the International Space Station. / Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

President Obama Visits Kennedy Space Center

President Barack Obama waves hello as he exits of Air Force One along with Senator Bill Nelson after landing at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Thursday, April 15, 2010. Obama visited Kennedy to deliver remarks on the bold new course the administration is charting to maintain U.S. leadership in human space flight. During a speech at the center, President Obama said, "As president, I believe space exploration is not a luxury, not an afterthought, an essential part of the quest." / Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Related Story: Obama on Space Exploration: We've Got to Be Smart

Responding to a hail of criticism over his decision to end the Constellation program to return to the moon, President Obama told NASA employees on Thursday that no one is more committed to manned space exploration than he is, and that he expects to see humans land on Mars within his lifetime.

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