Columbus in the Atlantis payload bay during the STS-122 Mission

S122-E-006275 (8 Feb. 2008) --- Backdropped against the blackness of space, the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory and associated ESA hardware sit in the aft portion of Space Shuttle Atlantis' cargo bay on the eve of the shuttle's scheduled docking to the International Space Station. The addition of Columbus to the orbital outpost is one of the primary tasks of the STS-122 mission.