IML-2 Public Affairs Status Report #12 6:00 a.m. CDT, July 14, 1994 5/18:13 MET Spacelab Mission Operations Control Marshall Space Flight Center Even though the Space Shuttle's payload crew members took some scheduled time off to relax and enjoy their sixth day in space, life and materials sciences continued in support of the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission overnight. Members of the National Space Development Agency of Japan science team here discovered last night that another newt egg had hatched, bringing the total to two baby newts to be born in space. Later, Mission Specialist Don Thomas found that one of Dr. Michael Wiederhold's adult female Japanese red-bellied newts had died since its last observation period yesterday. Wiederhold said there was always a chance that one of the newts might not make it through the flight. However, he does not expect significant impact to the results of his research. "We launched three containers of newts in order to gather science, even with an unfortunate occurrence such as this," he said. The cassette containing the dead newt was removed from the Aquatic Animal Experiment Unit (AAEU) to prevent contamination to the facility's water system. The Japanese red-bellied newts are part of an experiment studying how microgravity affects early cell development. Researchers report that the other newts, as well as the Medaka and goldfish, continue to be appear healthy. During the first part of his shift, Thomas opened the window to the goldfish tank, allowing them to experience a period of daylight as they would on Earth. Mission Specialist Leroy Chiao transferred chemically prepared samples of cress plant roots from the incubator to the staging area of the Slow Rotating Centrifuge Microscope (called NIZEMI). Video downlink gave Dr. Dieter Volkmann of Bonn, Germany, a good view of how his seedlings of cress are reacting to varying levels of gravity. Studies such as this one must be conducted before plants can be considered as part of a controlled ecological environment for extended stays in space. In another IML-2 life sciences experiment, Chiao placed containers of Dr. Dorothy Spangenberg's jellyfish into the NIZEMI facility to further observe the effects of microgravity of varying levels of gravity on their development. This experiment is intended to improve scientists' understanding of the effects of microgravity on the developmental processes of animals and the role that gravity plays in the development of organisms on Earth. Thomas installed a test container into the European Space Agency's Bubble, Drop and Particle Unit (BDPU) for Dr. Shankar Subramanian of Potsdam, New York. His experiment, which is now underway, examines the movement and shape of gas bubbles and liquid drops in silicone oil when a temperature gradient is established within a container. Dr. Richard Ferrell, of the University of Maryland, watched both live and recorded images of his experiment in the European Space Agency's Critical Point Facility. Ferrell's experiment is studying the properties of a pure, single- component fluid composed of identical molecules at the critical point. The critical point is the state of a fluid at which liquid and vapor exhibit the same properties. An experiment to separate and collect ultra-pure components of biological samples was conducted in the Applied Research on Separation Methods Using Space Electrophoresis (called RAMSES, the acronym for its French name). Chiao initiated and monitored an experiment in the RAMSES facility during the first part of his shift. For this investigation, a sample of hemoglobin and bovine serum albumin (which was colored to trace its movements) was used to evaluate the degree of protein purification that is possible in microgravity. At one point in the experiment, Chiao reported seeing a bubble in the container, near the entry point for the separated molecules. Mission Specialist Carl Walz held a camera up to the experiment window to give Principal Investigator Dr. Victor Sanchez of Toulouse, France, a good view of the flow of the sample. When Sanchez determined that the proteins were separating and moving around the bubble, he decided to continue the experiment run to completion as planned. Thomas talked to the ground operations team at the Spacelab Mission Operations Control center in Huntsville to make adjustments to the Electromagnetic Containerless Processing Facility (called TEMPUS) in preparation for Dr. William Johnson's niobium-nickel experiment run. Johnson, from the California Institute of Technology, watched video from the Spacelab as his metallic glass sample enjoyed a complete cycle of melting, levitating and undercooling. This materials science experiment took advantage of this new facility and the unique environment of space to learn more about the physical properties of metallic glasses and undercooled alloys when heat is introduced into the equation. During the next 12-hour shift, the STS-65 crew will continue to conduct life science investigations with the Canadian Spinal Changes in Microgravity experiment , as well as materials science in the BDPU. NASA issues four status reports daily on STS-65/IML-2 activities: science operations reports from Spacelab Mission Operations Control in Huntsville at approximately 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and orbiter operations reports from Mission Control in Houston at approximately 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.