NASA launched the Atlantis shuttle and its six-member crew into space on Monday to repair the 19-year-old Hubble Space Telescope for the last time. The Atlantis crew will spend 11 days working on Hubble, adding a new camera and fixing several of its scientific instruments all while positioned 353 miles above Earth. Since its first launch in 1990, Hubble has given astronomers and scientists the ability to see farther into space than ever before, sending back pictures of galaxies 10 billion light years away. "Every time we get a new discovery with Hubble, it's something that's just mind-bending. You just go, 'Wow,' said astronaut John Grunsfeld. The Hubble telescope is set to retire from its mission in 2014 so NASA is currently working on a replacement. Quotes "The [images] that show the birth of stars really get my interest just wondering, what's really going on there, you know? Is there, you know, the touch of God or something? You know, it seems kind of mystical." - Cab Burgess "[The images of space] hit me as an artist. I've always -- I've got them on my computer. I look at them all the time. And they're just amazing to me. They look like they have life in them to me. I mean, I just -- you know, gives you hope about the universe out there." Randy Hale Warm Up Questions 1.What is NASA? 2.What do you know about the Hubble Telescope? What does it do? Discussion Questions 1. What did you think of Hubble's photos that you saw in the video? What can images like that tell us about space? 2. Some critics of space exploration have said that it is a waste of money and resources to learn more about stars and other planets. What do you think? Why? 3. There is much about space that has yet to be discovered. What are some of the things that you would like to know about other planets or galaxies? Additional Resources Read the transcript