Discovery's final mission into Space, carrying the Leonardo Permanent
Multipurpose Module, or PMM, to the International Space Station. The PMM has been loaded with supplies, experiments, equipment and a humanoid robot assistant for the station. The Humanoid Robotic Astronaut is called Robonaut 2 and is the first robot of its kind to fly into and work in space.
Discovery on its 39th mission has had more space flights than any other shuttle
NASA's Discovery's Final mission 24 February 2011 with a crew of six astronauts plus one humanoid named Robonaut 2
Nearly 200 people from 15 countries have visited the ISS - International Space
Station but so far the orbiting station has only ever had human crew members – that is until now. Like something out of Star Trek - The Next Generation in which the humanoid and much loved 'Data' assisted Captian Picard in so many ways. NASA have now developed a real life 'Data' this one is named Robonaut 2. It is the frst humanoid robot ever to be deployed in space, and although its primary job for now is teaching engineers how dexterous robots behave in space, the hope is that through upgrades and advancements, it could one day venture outside the station to help spacewalkers make repairs or additions to the station or perform scientific work.
The humanoid Robonaut 2, going by the nicknamed R2 is currently packed inside the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module, which is packed with other supplies and equipment for the station. It is likely to be several months before Robonaut 2 or R2 is unpacked, but once it is - it will initially be operated inside the Destiny laboratory for operational testing, but over time both its territory and its applications could expand. There are no plans to return R2 to Earth and is to become a permanent memeber of the Space Station crew.
Robonaut 2 was developed jointly by NASA and General Motors under a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic assistant that can work alongside humans, whether they are astronauts in space or workers at GM manufacturing plants on Earth, R2 has been designed to assist humans. It has been designed to be strong yet safe enough to work alongside humans combined with dexterous qualiteis. It far surpasses previous humanoid designs.
Space shuttle Discovery STS133 successfully launched Thursday afternoon '24 February 2011' and soared with a blazing trail of power and smoke as it headed skywards towards the International Space Station 'ISS' on its important mission. The launch came after a last-minute technical glitch with the Air Force's Eastern Range that left only four seconds in the launch window and a practical limit of two seconds because of draining requirements with the external fuel tank. "It was one more second than Mike Leinbach (shuttle launch director) needed to get the job done, so there was plenty of margin," said Mike Moses, chairman of the Mission Management Team. Still, he joked, "I could use a little less heart palpitations in the final seconds of the countdown." Leinbach said launch simulations have conditioned the team of controllers to handle the pressures of last-second "go" decisions without jeopardizing a mission. "This was one for the record books," Leinbach said. "It may have seemed a little rushed to people on the outside. It's a testament to the team that we have practiced for this."
It was a busy day in Space because the launch of the shuttle was not the only thing to happen during the day. Just as Discovery's tank finished being fueled, a cargo-carrying Automated Transfer Vehicle from the Eurpoean Space Agency docked to the station. The spacecraft, which carried no people, launched from South America last week on an Ariane V. Bll Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for Space Operations, said, "This is a pretty tremendous day in spaceflight for us. For us to be sitting here today with both of these events occurring as they did is pretty amazing."
On its Way - its final mission - shuttle Discovery STS133 - 24 February 2011
Discovery has flown to space more than any other shuttle craft and has carried more crew members to orbit. It was the first spacecraft to retrieve a satellite and bring it back to Earth, has visited two space stations and launched a telescope that has seen deeper in space and in time than ever before.
Discovery has spent 352 days in orbit, nearly a full year and has circled Earth 5,628 times. Travelling at 17,400 miles per hour, it has covered a distance of almost 143 million miles which equals 288 round trips to the moon or about one and a half trips to the sun. Discovery has carried more crew members -- 246 -- than any other space vehicle. Those have included the first female to ever pilot a spacecraft, the oldest person to fly in space, the first African-American to perform a spacewalk, the first cosmonaut to fly on an American spacecraft and the first sitting member of Congress to fly in space.
Discovery's final visit to the ISS - International Space Station will coincide with the 10-year anniversary of a permanent human presence aboard the outpost.
to meet growing demands for secure, low carbon energy supplies. Fuel cells powered by renewable biogas are beginning to provide electricity, heat and cooling around the clock. The US Government has launched their draft plan for the implementation of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, which they envisage can address critical challenges in all energy sectors - commercial, residential, industrial and transportation. 
fuel cell has two electrodes, one positive and one negative, called, respectively, the anode and cathode. The reactions that produce electricity take place at the electrodes. Every fuel cell also has an electrolyte, which carries electrically charged particles from one electrode to the other, and a catalyst, which speeds the reactions at the electrodes. Hydrogen is the basic fuel, but fuel cells also require oxygen. One great appeal of fuel cells is that they generate electricity with very little pollution—much of the hydrogen and oxygen used in generating electricity ultimately combine to form a harmless byproduct, namely water. 
Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells used in automobiles—also called Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cells—use hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air to produce electricity. The diagram to the right shows how a PEM fuel cell works. 
