STS-107 Crew Works with Mechanics of Granular Materials Experiment

During the fifth day of its 16-day research mission, the STS-107 crew continued to conduct experiments in a wide range of fields. The crewmembers continued work with the Mechanics of Granular Materials, or MGM, experiment. MGM, which is studying the behavior of saturated sand when exposed to confining pressure, could provide data that could help in strengthening buildings against earthquakes.

In other science activities, Mission Specialist Michael Anderson and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon collected additional data from the Laminer Soot Processes, or LSP, experiment in the Combustion Module. Mission Specialist Laurel Clark monitored the Microbial Physiology Flight Experiment, which is studying how fungi react in microgravity. During its stay in space, the STS-107 crew will work with more than 80 experiments.

Meanwhile, flight controllers implemented a plan to reconfigure a valve in Columbia, allowing cool air from the shuttle to flow into the science module, thus enabling the module’s temperatures to remain at a level that will not require the use of SPACEHAB Research Double Module’s cooling system. This is in response to a problem that caused the shutdown of cooling systems in the SPACEHAB. Flight controllers plan to continue their analysis of the SPACEHAB cooling issue throughout the night, with no impact expected to science operations.