A tractor-trailer carrying the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer arrives at the Space Station Processing Facility it will be prepared for launch.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a tractor-trailer carrying the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, arrives at the Space Station Processing Facility, where it will be prepared for launch.

AMS, a state-of-the-art particle physics detector, is designed to operate as an external module on the International Space Station. It will use the unique environment of space to study the universe and its origin by searching for dark matter. The STS-134 crew will fly AMS to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Endeavour, targeted to launch Feb. 26, 2011. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin