Submitted by Arthur - N1ORC

Science operations continue on the International Space Station. Basic and applied research is being conducted in biology, physics, chemistry, ecology, medicine, materials science, manufacturing and the long-term effects of space flight on humans.

Dolores Beasley

Headquarters, Washington Feb. 12, 2003

(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Steve Roy

Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.

(Phone: 256/544-0034)

RELEASE: 03-066

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SCIENCE UPDATE

Science operations continue on the International Space

Station. Basic and applied research is being conducted in

biology, physics, chemistry, ecology, medicine, materials

science, manufacturing and the long-term effects of space

flight on humans.

During the past week, the Expedition Six crewmembers,

Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolay Budarin and

NASA Station Science Officer Don Pettit, completed several

sessions in support of the Human Research Facility (HRF).

The HRF is a floor-to-ceiling, facility-class rack located

in the Station's Destiny laboratory. It is designed to

support human life science investigations, such as the

Pulmonary Function in Flight (PuFF) experiment. The PuFF

experiment evaluates how the lungs function in space. Little

is known about how the lungs can be affected by long-term

exposure to microgravity like the near-weightlessness inside

the Space Station.

The science data recorded from previous life sciences

experiments was beamed down to a team at NASA's Johnson

Space Center in Houston. Pettit read the EVA Radiation

Monitoring (EVARM) experiment dosimeter badges and

downloaded the data from the reader to the HRF laptop

computer. The data from the badges is read once a week and

then downloaded to the computer on a bi-weekly basis. The

badges measured radiation absorbed by the eyes, skin, and

blood-forming organs when previous expedition and Shuttle

crews wore them outside during spacewalks. The dosimeters

are located at strategic locations inside the Destiny

laboratory, where they measure radiation inside the

laboratory. Scientists will compare data collected by the

EVARM badges with data collected by other nearby radiation

measurement devices inside Destiny.

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Russian Progress re-supply ship

arrived at the Station on schedule with a load of supplies,

including scientific equipment. After the Progress docked,

the crew began unloading equipment and supplies, including a

new power distribution box and an electronics module for the

Microgravity Science Glovebox. On Feb. 5, Pettit installed

the new parts, powered up the Glovebox and activated the

facility. This resulted in a circuit breaker trip, and

further activity was put on hold. The Glovebox team on the

ground is working with the European Space Agency, which built

the facility, to develop a troubleshooting plan for the

Station crew.

The Glovebox supports several physical science experiments,

providing a contained work volume for crews to safely work

with experiments involving fumes, fluids, flames or loose

particles. Several experiments are onboard the Station and

are ready to resume inside the Glovebox when it is restored

to working order.

The crew set up a camera in the Station's high-quality

optical window, and students from 30 schools across the

globe used it to do their geography lessons. Students

remotely controlled the special digital camera through the

Internet and took 767 images of Earth during the past week.

They selected and photographed Earth's coastlines, mountain

ranges and other geographic areas of interest.

The Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students

(EarthKAM) educational program team posted the photographs

on the Internet. They are available to the public and

participating classrooms around the world. This experiment

has been performed on several Station expeditions, giving

thousands of students a chance to study Earth from the

unique vantage point of space. Images are available at:

http://datasystems@earthkam.ucsd.edu

The crew took photographs this week as part of the Crew

Earth Observation (CEO) program. The crew had the

opportunity to photograph many places in India, Africa,

Panama, Puerto Rico, South America, and Asia. The CEO

science team praised recent detailed shots of glaciers on

the west side of the Andes, which is often covered by clouds

and difficult to photograph.

Upcoming science activities for the crew include work with

the FOOT/Ground Reaction Forces During Space Flight (FOOT)

experiment. FOOT characterizes the stress on the bones and

muscles in the lower extremities. The next FOOT session is

planned for Thursday, Feb. 13.

The Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space

Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala., manages all

science research experiment operations aboard the Space

Station. For supporting materials for this news release,

such as photographs, fact sheets, video and audio files and

more, visit the MSFC Web site at:

www.msfc.nasa.gov/news