STS-90 Neurolab Program - STS-90 Status Report Flight Day 7 (April 23 CDT) -

Flight Day 7 (April 23 CDT)

Williams (in chair) and Linnehan during
vestibular response experiment

The crew of STS-90 woke up at 6:19 a.m. (CDT), and began Flight Day 7 activities.

Today, STS-90 crew members conducted the experiments looking at the autonomic nervous system, and works with the Visual and Vestibular Integration System (VVIS) and the Visuo-Motor Coordination Facility (VCF).

The crew will go to sleep at 9:59 p.m. CDT this evening and receive a wake up call from Mission Control tomorrow morning at 5:59 a.m.

Status of Japan related experiments

Mission Specialist Hire exchanged the data recording magnetic tape of the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU). The magnetic tapes for recording neural signals are exchanged twice per day.
For the fourth time during this flight, Hire pulled each Fish Package (FP) of the VFEU out and gave it a movement. This acceleration keeps the oyster toadfish active and allows for better gathering of data.
Pilot Altman and Hire have set up a bypass similar to that done on Flight Day 3, because the air pump for FP No.2 had begun to show signs similar to those seen on unit No.3 earlier in the flight.
The reconfiguration allows the air pump for FP No.1 to support both units. The neural DATA has been obtained from each of the four FPs. Of particular importance is the successful completion and data collection of a long duration (40 hour) collection from FP No.4.

An experiment was conducted with the VVIS. Two crew members data were collected today.
The VVIS is a rotating chair used to stimulate the balance mechanism in the inner ear known as the vestibular system.
Crewmembers are rotated at 45 rpm to stimulate the vestibular system with both spinning and tilting sensations while the infrared video camera system, coverring the test subject's head records the eye movements. Investigators hope that results from this experiment will help them understand why astronauts experience balance problems after they return home from a space flight. It also may contribute to the design of more effective rehabilitation procedures for patients with severe inner ear diseases.

Last Updated : April 25, 1998