Sometimes we focus so much on things that readily grab our attention, and lose sight of the more important things. Pretty much the same way NASA and the media focused on the scheduled STS-121 launch (amidst the no-go vote from safety engineers), and paid little attention to the crew who will brave the odds come July 1. It's time we put the spotlight back to these unsung heroes.

Meet Lisa Nowak and Stephanie Wilson, two NASA astronauts who will make their spaceflight debut aboard space shuttle Discovery. They will watch over their spaceflights robotics and cargo transfer activities during the 12-day trip to the International Space Station (ISS). Joining them will be spacewalker Michael Fossum.

Even though she has a rookie status, 43-year old Nowak has over 10 years of NASA experience. In a preflight interview, Nowak said of her long-term rookie status, "Everybody is called a rookie on the first time, but people have been here going on 10 years and we've done a lot in a lot of different areas."

The Washington, D.C.-native is currently a US Navy commander who has performed in a number of positions within the Astronaut Office at JSC. During her stint, she took on technical duties in operations planning, joined the robotics branch and served as a spacecraft communicator to astronauts in Earth orbit.

Her primary job as a Mission Specialist 2 on the STS-121 mission will be to guide the robotic arms aboard Discovery and the ISS during spacewalks. The most crucial among her tasks is the inspection of the shuttle's heat-shield.

Mission Specialist 3 Stephanie Wilson is tasked to supervise the delivery of more than 5,000 pounds of equipment, cargo, and food for ISS astronauts. It's no easy job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Wilson holds an engineering science degree from Harvard University. She joined NASA and made it into the astronaut ranks in 1996. Before joining the astronaut circles, she worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for four years to support the space agency's Galileo mission to Jupiter.

Wilson is very much aware of the possible risks involved in the mission, but that's not going to stop her. She said, "I'm very much looking forward to getting the [space] station the items that they need."