Mark Kelly and Andrew Feustel get a close look at the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer or AMS inside the C-5M aircraft.

At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly, European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori (left) and Mission Specialist Andrew Feustel get a close look at the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, inside the C-5M aircraft.

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. AMS will fly to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission targeted to launch Feb. 26, 2011. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett