Head down to the media center and one can expect to see rows and rows of books, parallel lines of computer screens and… a  3 foot and 3 inch tall black tire?

According to media specialist John Shearin, this new addition to the library is a genuine National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shuttle tire from the orbiter Endeavor during its mission to the International Space Station in 2008.

“The spacecraft tire comes to Carmel primarily through the efforts of planetarium director Keith Turner who negotiated its loan from NASA’s Space Shuttle Main Landing Gear Tire Loan Program,” Shearin said via email. “The program only had approximately 50 shuttle tires available, so (we) are grateful to have received one.”

The tire is on loan for the next three years; however the loan may be renewed again at the end of that period of time. The artifact is on display across from the information desk inside the south entrance. Click here for more information on the mission that this specific tire was used for.