This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

07 Apr 2003

ISS On-Orbit Status 6 April 2003

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except as noted
previously or below.  Ahead: Week 19 for Expedition 6.

Sunday and off-duty day (but certainly not do-nothing day) for the
crew, with a remarkably full schedule.

First thing after breakfast at 2:40am EDT, FE-1 Nikolai Budarin took
care of his daily checkup of the BIO-5 "Rasteniya-2/Lada-2" zero-G
plant growth experiment.

Later, Budarin completed the weekly routine tasks of collecting SP
toilet flush counter and SVO water supply readings in the Service
Module (SM) for calldown to TsUP, followed by the regular inspection
of the Elektron oxygen generator's VM gas/liquid system for the air
bubble that may linger after IFMs (in-flight maintenances).

Nikolai also conducted the weekly inspection of the BRPK
air/condensate separator of the SRVK condensate water processing
system and performed the daily routine maintenance of the SOZh life
support system (including ASU toilet facilities), while FE-2/SO
Donald Pettit readied the IMS inventory system for the daily
automated export/import of updates. 

CDR Kenneth Bowersox and Pettit were scheduled to work on the
Canadian SSRMS (space station remote manipulator system) in
preparation for the EVA next Tuesday.  [After configuring video
cameras and RWS (robotic workstation) display overlays as required,
they were to maneuver the arm from the current "Kurs" survey
position to the EVA support viewing position to provide situational
awareness during the spacewalk.  The various views will be supplied
by several cameras on Canadarm2.]

Shortly before dinner time (3:30pm EDT), Budarin will set up the
"Urolux" equipment for another session with the Russian biochemical
urine test (PZE MO-9) on his timeline for tomorrow.  [Assessments
MO-7 (calf volume measurement) and MO-8 (body mass measurement, BMM)
are also planned for tomorrow morning.]

Setup and installation of the EarthKAM equipment in the Lab has been
put on Bowersox's and Pettit's "job jar" task list, with a due date
of Wednesday, 4/9.  [Originally concerned about the SSRMS blocking
the view from the Lab module's science window, possibly necessitating
a move of EarthKAM to the SM, the ground now expects to get all the
EarthKAM images needed after the arm moves out of their field-of-view
on Wednesday.] 

On the occasion of the upcoming Cosmonautics Day on 4/12 (next
Saturday), the crew downlinked additional salutary messages to
Moscow.  [The first addresses the participants of the International
Youth Conference "We are the Children of the Galaxy" ending 4/10 at
the Moscow Youth Palace.  With the purpose of educating the youth
(high-school students and members of aerospace clubs) on the "history
of the Russian space exploration odyssey" and "boost their interest
towards the future of space science", the Moscow-Government-organized
program involves thousands of young Muscovites visiting Star City
with GCTC, Korolev with MCC-M (TsUP) and RSC-Energia in Korolev, and
the Tsiolkovskiy Museum in Kaluga.  Today's interchange between the
ISS crew and a group of high school kids will be played back at the
closing ceremonies on 4/10.  The second greeting salutes the
participants of the 29th "Gagarin Lectures" International Youth
Scientific Conference, a traditional annual event commemorating the
first human's flight into space.] 

Today's nighttime targets for the Diatomeya ocean observation
program, on the Russian task list, were in the Pacific Ocean (visual
only, no imaging), viz.: the dynamic waters of the Kuroshio Current
and highly bioproductive coral islands of the Caroline archipelago
and Solomon Islands. 

For the Uragan ("hurricane") earth observation program, Budarin today
again focused on cities of Northern Iraq, a perspective panoramic
shot of the Caucasus range, and dust storms of the Aral Sea.  [Stated
purpose of imaging Iraq is to record the effects of the ecological
disaster resulting from the combustion of petroleum products.]

Last night, the IAC (internal audio controller) system transitioned
from IAC-2 to IAC-1 and back to IAC-2 after a few minutes.  [The
ground is still looking into why these transitions occur ever so
often and have dumped data from IAC-1 to help explain them.  Last
occurrence was on 12/6/2002. Currently, it is believed that IAC-1 is
healthy and that the crew has a fully redundant IAC system.]

All crewmembers performed their regular daily physical exercise
regimen (2.5 hrs.) on RED resistive exerciser, TVIS treadmill, and
VELO ergometer with load trainer.

The station residents also had their regular weekly PFCs (private
family conferences), Bowersox and Pettit via S-band/audio, Budarin
via IP home phone, with TV/Ku-band as backup).

Today's CEO (crew earth observations) targets, with the current LVLH
attitude now including near-vertical views from the city target list,
were Chongqing (Chungking), China (one of the two very large cities
in China's largest province, Sichuan.  One hundred million people
live in the "Red Basin" of this province, an almost circular
depression surrounded by low mountains), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
(looking a touch left for this hard-to-see highland city. ESC
[electronic still camera] camera), S Chad wetlands (Dynamic event.
Sunglint opportunity [near nadir] for detailed documentation of
complex river patterns in a vast, remote wetland.  Study of certain
wetland river patterns is part of a global geological study of river
sedimentation), Western Mediterranean Smog (possible smog mass moving
down the Rhone valley into the Mediterranean basin.  Looking right to
shoot plumes against the sea surface), Barcelona, Spain (nadir pass
over this port city. ESC camera), Sabancaya landslide site, Peru
(shooting a series of detailed images to capture this study site of a
potential hillslope collapse hazard), and High Central Andean
Glaciers (hundreds of volcanoes exist in the central Andes
Mountains.  Crew was to shoot any near-nadir volcano-summit ice
fields.  Tropical ice fields are generally melting quickly). CEO
images can be viewed at the websites http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov and
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov

 - END OF FILE -
==========

@Message posted automagically by IMTHINGS POST 1.30
---