The seven astronauts of STS-121 are a well-rounded lot. From pilots to aeronautical engineers, their skills are designed to find out whether the shuttle is safe in flight and deliver much-needed tools to the International Space Station. Get to know the crew of the second shuttle to fly since the Feb. 1, 2003 Columbia disaster.

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Steven Lindsey Role: commander Background: Air Force colonel, test pilot, squadron commander, veteran of three previous spaceflights Hometown: Temple City, Calif. Born: Aug. 24, 1960

Mark Kelly Role: pilot, spacewalk coordinator Background: Navy commander, test pilot, instructor, one previous spaceflight Hometown: West Orange, NJ Born: Feb. 21, 1964

Lisa Nowak Role: flight engineer Background: Navy captain, test pilot, first spaceflight Hometown: Washington, D.C. Born: May 10, 1963

Michael Fossum Role: mission specialist, spacewalker Background: systems engineer at NASA's Johnson Space Center, first spaceflight Hometown: McAllen, Texas Born: Dec. 19, 1957

Stephanie Wilson Role: Mission specialist Background: aerospace engineer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., first spaceflight Hometown: Jacksonville, Fla. Born: July 2, 1959

Piers Sellers Role: mission specialist, lead spacewalker Background: climate research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., one previous spaceflight Hometown: Crowborough, Sussex, United Kingdom Born: April 11, 1955

Thomas Reiter Role: European Space Agency astronaut, member of Expedition 13 and 14 space station crews Background: German air force test pilot, veteran of 179-day spaceflight aboard the Russian Mir space station, first flight on space shuttle Hometown: Frankfurt/Main, Germany Born: May 23, 1958