Farewell VoyageThe last of five shuttles in the U.S. space shuttle program,  Endeavour was formally retired on Thursday and made its final aerial journey, bound for the California Science Museum (CSC) in downtown Los Angeles.Endeavour was the youngest of the shuttle fleet, having been built after the 1986 explosion of the Challenger shuttle during liftoff.Most of Endeavour's missions ferried cargo to the International Space Station. But it famously flew the first mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. In all, the shuttle flew to space 25 times, and made nearly 4,700 orbits around Earth.(See pictures from space shuttle Endeavour's final mission.)
Photograph by Sheri Locke, NASA

Space Pictures This Week: Endeavour, Mars Rock, More

The space shuttle Endeavour makes its final flight, the Mars rover explores the red planet, and more in this week's best space photos.

September 23, 2012