STS-90 Day 11 Highlights

On this eleventh day of the STS-90 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Richard A. Searfoss, Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Richard M. Linnehan, Dafydd Rhys Williams and Kathryn P. Hire, and Payload Specialists Jay C. Buckey and James A. Pawelczyk once again take part in an experiment aimed at exploring the influence of gravity on blood pressure. The lower body negative pressure test places a stress on the cardiovascular system similar to that experienced when standing in Earth's gravity. Pawelczyk also takes part in the Valsalva test, which stimulates the pressure receptors in the neck and chest and measures those responses. Both Buckey and Pawelzyk participate as subjects and as operators in tests of the autonomic nervous system. All four science crew members conduct tests of their pulmonary systems as well as additional runs in a rotating chair to measure the response of their eyes and inner ears in maintaining balance in a weightless environment.