Steve Roy<br />MSFC, Huntsville, Ala.<br />Jan. 3, 2003<br />(Phone: 256/544-0034)<br /><br />RELEASE: 03-001<br /><br />INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION EXPEDITION SIX SCIENCE OPERATIONS<br />STATUS REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING JAN. 3, 2003<br /><br />The International Space Station science team successfully completed the<br />first Expedition Six research with the Zeolite Crystal Growth (ZCG)<br />experiment on Wednesday.<br /><br />The second 15-day sample run is scheduled to begin on Friday. The<br />experiment was developed by the Center for Advanced Microgravity Materials<br />Processing at Northeastern University in Boston.<br /><br />Zeolites are used in many manufacturing processes on Earth. Virtually all<br />the world's gasoline is produced or upgraded using zeolites. Improving<br />zeolites could make gasoline production more efficient or lead to ways of<br />storing clean-burning hydrogen for fuel. Zeolites can also be applied to<br />detergents, optical cables, gas and vapor detectors for environmental<br />monitoring.<br /><br />The microgravity environment of the Space Station allows scientists to grow<br />higher-quality crystals that are 100 to 500 times larger than normal for<br />analysis and test the crystallization process in "slow motion" without being<br />rushed by the effects of gravity.<br /><br />On December 20, the station crew and ground controllers successfully<br />installed and checked out a new High rate Communications Outage Recorder<br />(HCOR), significantly upgrading the Station's research capabilities. The<br />HCOR replaces the Medium rate Communications Outage Recorder (MCOR). The<br />purpose of these two payload recorders is to store science data during<br />periods when the Station is not in communications contact via satellite with<br />the ground. The new HCOR can store 220 gigabits of data, record from up to<br />eight input sources simultaneously and playback two channels of data<br />simultaneously. The MCOR could store 75 gigabits of data, record two input<br />sources, and playback one channel at a time. The new HCOR is also more<br />resistant to radiation-induced errors that require ground controllers to<br />reboot the recorder.<br /><br />On Tuesday, December 24, Bowersox performed the first FOOT/Ground Reaction<br />Forces During Space Flight (FOOT) research, collecting nine hours of data<br />with this human life science experiment. FOOT is designed to characterize<br />the stress on the lower extremity bones and muscles in microgravity.<br />Bowersox downlinked the data to the ground on December 26. The next FOOT<br />session is planned for January 6, 2003.<br /><br />Also on December 24, Expedition Six Science Officer Don Pettit relocated<br />part of the Advanced Astroculture (ADVASC) experiment inside the Destiny lab<br />module. On Friday, December 27, he relocated the Biotechnology Specimen<br />Temperature Controller and its associated Gas Supply Module. All transfers<br />were in preparation to support new experiments arriving on the Utilization<br />and Logistics Flight-1 mission.<br /><br />On Monday, December 30, the crew conducted their regular monthly data<br />collection with the EVA Radiation Monitoring (EVARM) experiment dosimeter<br />badges.<br /><br />Also Monday, Pettit conducted a science conference with Expedition Six Lead<br />Payload Operations Director Lamar Stacy on possible ways to maximize use of<br />the Microgravity Science Glovebox once it is repaired and reactivated.<br /><br />On Tuesday, Pettit reviewed the procedures for using the Human Research<br />Facility (HRF) Ultrasound imaging system in preparation for today's<br />(Thursday's) checkout of the device. Ultrasound provides medical imaging of<br />the heart and other organs, muscles and blood vessels for a variety of<br />research and diagnostic applications.<br /><br />The crew during the week also continued to perform daily status and<br />maintenance checks on Station science payloads and equipment.<br />Among the Crew Earth Observation (CEO) photography subjects for this week<br />were protected forests of the Ganges River Delta, Rangoon, Burma, coastal<br />changes in the Irrawaddy River Delta, Bangkok, Thailand, Karachi, Pakistan,<br />Bombay, India, Dakar, Senegal, the Great Barrier Reef, New Zealand, human<br />development in the Congo near the Ubangi and Congo Rivers, the Limpopo River<br />Delta, the Cape Town region of South Africa, the northern part of South<br />America, the Grand Canyon, and vegetation patterns in Costa Rica.<br /><br />The Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in<br />Huntsville, Ala., manages all science research experiment operations aboard<br />the International<br />Space Station. The center is also home for coordination of the<br />mission-planning work of a variety of international sources, all science<br />payload deliveries and retrieval, and payload training and payload safety<br />programs for the Station crew and all ground personnel.<br /><br /><br />-end-