STS-81
Report # 10 
Thursday, January 16, 1997 -- 6 p.m. CST
 
  As the nine astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the Atlantis-Mir complex
slept today, scientists on the ground took advantage of television
cameras in Atlantis' payload bay to perform a detailed inspection of
Mir's exterior.

  The television survey is designed to provide designers of the
International Space Station and other spacecraft information on the
effects of years of exposure to the low-Earth orbit
environment. Scientists and engineers will use this data to better
understand the effects of orbital debris, micrometeoroid and atomic
oxygen on the various materials and coatings used on the 10-year-old
Russian station and to choose the best methods of protecting space
complexes and vehicles of the future.

  When astronauts awaken at 7:27 p.m. today, they will focus their
efforts on the continued exchange of items intended to supply the Mir
22 crew and its science investigations or to return to Earth aboard
Atlantis. Some 6,000 pounds of supplies will have been exchanged by
the time Atlantis undocks Sunday night from Mir. Inside the double
Spacehab module in Atlantis' payload bay, nine of 11 investigations
have begun and three Biorack experiments have been completed.

  Scheduled aboard Mir today are data collection with the Mir
Structural Dynamics Experiment (MiSDE) and Space Acceleration
Measurement System (SAMS) air quality sampling during docked
operations, a daily check of the Biotechnology System (BTS) and
replacement of the growth media in the Cartilage in Space (CART)
experiment.

  The linked spacecraft continue to orbit the Earth at an altitude of
approximately 250 miles, with all systems in excellent working
condition.

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