The Discovery space shuttle returns home after 13 days in space. Image: NASA.

The US space agency’s space shuttle Discovery successfully descended to Earth on 28 March after completing a 13-day mission of more than 5.3 million miles.

The shuttle and its seven crew members travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver the station’s fourth and final set of solar array wings. The solar wings will provide the station with more electricity and will help support onboard operations.

The touchdown at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was postponed for some hours due to poor weather conditions.

During the mission, which was launched on 15 March, three spacewalks were completed and astronauts prepared the station for future upgrades and additions later this year. The crew also replaced a failed unit for a system that converts urine into potable water.

On 24 March, the crew spoke to President Barack Obama, together with several members of Congress and local schoolchildren, who congratulated them on the mission and enquired about life in space.

The shuttle detached from the ISS on Wednesday after spending eight days there.

Returning home with the crew was Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus, who had been stationed on the ISS for the past four months. Her position on the station was taken over by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.

NASA has started planning the next space shuttle mission, called Atlantis. The launch date for the Atlantis is being targeted for 12 May.

The shuttle will travel to the Hubble Telescope for one last visit before the shuttle fleet retires in 2010. The aim of the mission is to prepare the telescope for at least another five years of research.

For further information about NASA’s space shuttle fleet, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle.