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Product Name: STS-90 Day 12 Highlights

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Columbia's seven astronauts were awakened at 4:49 a.m. Central time this morning to begin another day of exploring how the nervous system adapts to the weightless environment of space. The crew was awakened to the sound of "Turn, Turn, Turn" by the Byrds, which was played in honor of the rotating chair experiment involved in studies of the human vestibular system. Columbia's science astronauts -- Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk will continue their investigations into how the human nervous system adapts to the weightlessness of space. Buckey and Pawelczyk will take part in a variety of autonomic experiments designed to examine blood pressure regulation in microgravity. The test uses a special device resembling a hi-tech sack to place a stress on the cardiovascular system similar to that experienced when standing in Earth's gravity. The astronauts will also infuse radioactively-labeled neorepinephrine into the blood stream and will collect blood samples. Neorepinephrine 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 determines whether the blood pressure control system is underutilized in the absence of gravity. The payload specialists will conduct another experiment in which they use an innovative technique called microneurography. This involves placing a small needle in a nerve just below the knee, allowing nerve signals traveling from the brain to the blood vessels to be measured directly. Linnehan and Williams will participate as subjects and as operators in tests on the vestibular experiments, including additional runs in the rotating chair to measure the response of their eyes and inner ears in maintaining balance in a weightless environment. Mission Specialist Kay Hire again will work with the Bioreactor Demonstration System, which is designed to perform cell biology experiments under controlled conditions. Scientists are using the device to study the growth of human kidney and bone marrow cells in space. She also will be a subject in a test designed to detect functional abnormalities of the central nervous system. The test activates the blood pressure control system and raises blood pressure, but not by stimulating pressure receptors. Commander Rick Searfoss and Pilot Scott Altman will take turns operating the Portable In-Flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT), a laptop computer and joystick system that allows them to simulate approaches and landings to the Kennedy Space Center.to maintain their piloting skills. 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. NASA managers are expected to decide Wednesday whether to add an extension day to Columbia's flight in the name of science. Columbia currently is scheduled to return to Earth on Sunday. The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 p.m. Tuesday or as events warrant. On Tuesday, April 28, 1998, 6:15 p.m. CDT, STS-90 MCC Status Report # 24 reports: The seven-member crew of Columbia completed another productive day of scientific activity, focusing today on understanding blood pressure regulation in microgravity. The science crew of astronauts Rick Linnehan, Dave Williams, Jay Buckey and Jim Pawelczyk, continued their investigations into the adaptation of the human nervous system to the weightlessness of space. Both Buckey and Pawelczyk took turns as subjects in the Lower Body Negative Pressure unit, a device which puts the same stresses on their cardiovascular system as what they would experience if they were standing here on Earth. The astronauts also infused radioactively-labeled neorepinephrine into the blood stream and collected blood samples. Neorepinephrine 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 determines whether the blood pressure control system is underutilized in the absence of gravity. Investigations on the "rotating chair" continued today as Linnehan and Williams participated in that study to understand how microgravity affects the vestibular, or balance, system. In addition to science activities, the crew members are continuing to conduct welfare checks of the rat neonates on board Columbia. In a conversation with NASA Chief Veterinary Officer Joe Bielitzki, Linnehan reported that the crew had provided fluid and nourishment to all the neonates and that most seemed to be responding well. Members of Neurolab's Mammalian Development Team continue to re-prioritize their science activities because of the unexpectedly high mortality rate being experienced among the rat neonates. During a press conference this afternoon, mission managers reported that an additional 4 young rats had died in the past 24 hours, two due to maternal neglect and two having to be euthanised because of ill health, bringing to 50 the number of neonates that have been lost during the flight. Forty of the original complement of 96 neonates remain, with six having been euthanised as part of scientific protocols during the course of the flight. Searfoss and Williams talked with three Canadian media outlets today, discussing their mission and scientific activities. Linnehan spoke with students at the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine, fielding questions from a number of students on the nature of his scientific research. The crew will begin their sleep period at 8:29 p.m. today. Tomorrow's activities will once again focus on studies of the human autonomic, or blood pressure regulatory system. Columbia remains in a 153 x 133 nautical mile orbit, circling the Earth every 90 minutes. The next STS-90 status report will be issued about 6 a.m. Wednesday or as events warrant