STS-90 Day 13 Highlights

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On Wednesday, April 29, 1998, 6:00 a.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report # 25 reports:

Columbia's seven astronauts began their thirteenth day of space-based research at 4:29 a.m. Central time this morning to the sound of "Take A Chance On Me" by the musical group Abba, the wake up call from Mission Control, a favorite song of Payload Specialist Jay Buckey.

As the Neurolab mission enters its final few days, the four members of Columbia's payload crew -- Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload Specialist Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk will continue their investigations into how the human nervous system adapts to the weightless environment of space.

Williams, Buckey and Pawelczyk once again will take part in a variety of human autonomic experiments designed to examine blood pressure regulation in microgravity. Crew members . will repeat an experiment in which they use an innovative technique called microneurography. This involves placing a very fine needle in a nerve just below the knee, allowing nerve signals traveling from the brain to the blood vessels to be measured directly while the cardiovascular system is challenged using the Lower Body Negative Pressure device. LBNP is a hi-tech canister that pulls bodily fluids into the lower extremities, simulating the effect of standing on Earth.

As they did yesterday, the scientist-astronauts again will infuse radioactively-labeled norepinephrine into their blood streams and collect blood samples for later analysis. Norepinephrine is a chemical messenger that will allow investigators to measure how fast the substance is released into and removed from the blood's circulation and determine whether the blood pressure control system is underutilized in the absence of gravity.

As part of the Neurolab Mammalian Development Team's research into gravity's role in stimulating the proper development of the nervous system, Buckey will anesthetize seven of the rat neonates and inject two of their hind leg muscles with fluorescent cell marker dyes. One muscle is used on Earth to support the animal's weight, while the other is a non-weight bearing muscle. The label dye will be transported from the muscles, along the nerve cells to the spinal cords of the animals. This research will help determine whether mammals that develop in microgravity will have normally developed muscles.

Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the Earth every 90 minutes. All systems on board continue to operate in excellent fashion.

The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 p.m. Wednesday or as events warrant.

On Wednesday, April 29, 1998, 6:00 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report # 26 reports:

Amidst a day of investigations focusing on blood pressure regulation, Columbia's astronauts beamed down a short video tour of their scientific endeavors.

Pilot Scott Altman explained the operations of several pieces of hardware being used on board including the rotating chair which is being used to determine how the balance mechanisms of the inner ear function in microgravity. A camera, attached to the outer structure, showed Mission Control how rapidly the astronauts are rotated for these investigations.

Columbia's science crew -- Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk continued their investigations into how the human nervous system adapts to the weightless environment of space, taking part in a variety of autonomic experiments today.

Much as they did Sunday, the crew members alternated as test operators and subjects in three investigations designed to measure how the blood pressure regulatory system is utilized in space. Buckey also anesthetized six 15-day old rat neonates, injecting two muscles of the hind legs with fluorescent cell marker dyes to determine whether weight-bearing muscles will develop normally in animals which have never walked on Earth.

Linnehan reported today that as a group, the youngest group of rats on board appear to be improving. One additional neonate died overnight, bringing to 51 the total number of unexpected neonate deaths. NASA Chief Veterinarian Joe Bielitzki confirmed that of the remaining 39 rats in the youngest age group, 37 are stable and eating well, and two are being tended to by Columbia's astronauts. The crew will continue to perform routine animal welfare checks, as they have throughout the mission.

This morning, Canadian Space Agency astronaut, Dave Williams, along with pilot Scott Altman, talked with Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray and answered questions from school children throughout Canada. Linnehan, Williams, Buckey and Pawelczyk also sent recorded comments recognizing this as the "Decade of the Brain" and acknowledging the contributions of 1906 Nobel Prize winner Santiago Ramon Y Cajal to the field of neuroscience. Cajal, along with Camillo Golgi, demonstrated that the brain is made up of individual nerve cells. A number of Cajal slides are being flown on board Columbia and will be returned to the Cajal Institute in Spain after the flight.

Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the Earth every 90 minutes. All systems on board continue to operate in excellent fashion.

The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 a.m. Thursday or as events warrant.

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