Mohri Credit - www.spacefacts.de

Personal: Male, Married, Three children. Born in Yoichi, Hokkaido, Japan.

Astronaut Career

Astronaut Group: NASDA Group - 1985, NASA Group 16 - 1996. Inactive Entered space service: 7 August 1985. Left space service: 31 December 2000. Number of Flights: 2.00. Total Time: 19.17 days.

NASDA; Spacelab-J specialist. NASA Official Biography

NAME: Mamoru Mohri

NASDA Astronaut (Mission Specialist Candidate)

PERSONAL DATA:

Born January 29, 1948, in Yoichi, Hokkaido, Japan. Married to the former Akiko Naka of Sapporo, Japan. They have three children. He enjoys flying, snow skiing, tennis, baseball, ice skating, scuba diving, squash, aerobics.

EDUCATION:

Graduated from Hokkaido Yoichi High School in 1966; received bachelor and master of science degree in Chemistry from Hokkaido University, in 1970 and 1972, respectively, and a doctorate in Chemistry from Flinders University of South Australia, in 1976.

ORGANIZATIONS:

Member of The Japan Society of Applied Physics, The Chemical Society of Japan, The Atomic Energy Society of Japan, The Surface Science Society of Japan, and The Japan Society of Microgravity Application.

PUBLICATIONS:

Has published over 100 papers in the diverse fields of material and vacuum sciences.

SPECIAL HONORS:

Fifth Kumagai Memorial Award for the Best Science Paper in Vacuum Science (1980). Honorary doctorate degree from Flinders University of South Australia (1991). Special awards from the Prime Minister of Japan, the Minister of Science and Technology of Japan, and the Government of Hokkaido (1992). Diplome pilote-cosmonaute de l' URSS V.M. Komarov and Japan Society of Aeronautical and Space Sciences Commendation for Technology (1993). Special award for Contributions to the Japan Society of Microgravity Application (1994). Distinguished Achievement Award in Space Biology from the Japanese Society for Space Biology, and the Space Engineering Award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineering (1995).

EXPERIENCE:

Dr. Mohri joined the Faculty of Hokkaido University, Department of Nuclear Engineering in 1975, where over the next ten years he rose to the position of Associate Professor and conducted research in the fields of surface physics and chemistry, high energy physics, ceramic and semi-conductor thin films, environmental pollution, catalysis, and application of spectroscopy to biomaterials. He was involved in Plasma-Surface interactions in a Japanese nuclear fusion project for eight years and has experience working on large scale experimental systems for plasma confinement as well as small devices which he designed and built in his laboratory. In 1980 he was selected to participate in the first group of exchange scientists under the U.S./Japan Nuclear Fusion Collaboration Program which led to the publication of an irradiation damage study of nuclear fusion materials using a linear ion accelerator at the Physics Division of the Argonne National Laboratories, USA. In 1985, Dr. Mohri was selected by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) as a payload specialist for the First Material Processing Test project (Spacelab-J). In 1987, he was appointed as an adjunct professor of physics and worked in the center for Microgravity and Materials Research at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, for two years where he was concerned with mass spectroscopy of high temperature vapors for space experiment applications. He also conducted microgravity experiments in alloy solidification and immiscible liquid behavior using a drop tower facility at Marshall Space Flight Center and the KC-135 aircraft. Dr. Mohri was assigned as a prime payload specialist on STS-47, Spacelab-J in 1990. This cooperative mission between the United States and Japan, to conduct experiments in materials processing and life sciences, was launched in September 1992. Dr. Mohri performed 43 Spacelab experiments with NASA astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor during the 8 day mission. His performance in the space classroom became a popular nationwide event. Dr. Mohri was assigned as the first general manager of the NASDA Astronaut Office in Tsukuba Science City, Japan, established in October 1992. In that capacity he worked as an expert in manned space experiments at NASDA developing the new astronaut office for the space station project. In July 1996, he was selected by NASDA to attend NASA's Astronaut Candidate Training.

NASA EXPERIENCE:

Dr. Mohri reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1996 to begin two years of training and evaluation. Successful completion of initial training will qualify him for various technical assignments leading to selection as a mission specialist on a Space Shuttle flight crew.

• 12 September 1992 Flight: STS-47. Flight Up: STS-47. Flight Back: STS-47. Flight Time: 7.94 days.

• 11 February 2000 Flight: STS-99. Flight Up: STS-99. Flight Back: STS-99. Flight Time: 11.24 days.

1988 February - STS-81-G (cancelled). Planned Spacelab-J shuttle mission. Cancelled after Challenger disaster.

Commander Kevin Kregel, Pilot Dom Gorie, and Mission Specialists Janice Voss, Janet Kavandi, Gerhard Thiele and Mamoru Mohri blasted off 14 minutes into the available 2 hour plus launch window at 11:44 a.m. Central time after a near flawless countdown, and arrived on orbit 8 ½ minutes later. The slight delay in launching Endeavour was due to the launch team needing a few minutes to resolve some minor technical issues before proceeding with the final portion of the countdown.

The STS-99 crew's first tasks were to set up Endeavour for dual shift, round-the-clock operations using a trio of radar systems mounted in the cargo bay for the most comprehensive three-dimensional map of the Earth ever attempted.

Once Endeavour's payload bay doors are opened, the Red Team of Kregel, Kavandi and Thiele will begin to activate the Shuttle radar instruments, and will prepare for the deployment of a 200-foot long boom over the left wing of the orbiter on which two of the radar systems are housed. That boom deploy will begin about 5 ½ hours into the mission.

Kregel, Kavandi and Thiele will conduct a series of jet thruster firings once the boom is deployed to test its ability to flex properly and will set up recorders on board on which the radar data will be stored for downlink to mission scientists on the ground.

Meantime, the Blue Team of Gorie, Voss and Mohri will begin an abbreviated six hour sleep period at 3:44 p.m. They'll be awakened at 9:44 p.m., soon after the radar boom has been checked out, to begin radar mapping operations late tonight.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth in an orbit inclined 57 degrees to either side of the Equator for the radar mapping of around 80 per cent of the Earth's surface. Endeavour is orbiting the planet every 90 minutes at an altitude of about 127 nautical miles.

Red Team leader Commander Kevin Kregel, and colleagues Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele initiated extension of the radar mast at 5:27 p.m. CST. After 17 minutes, all 87 cube-shaped bays of the carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, stainless steel, alpha titanium, and Invar structure were deployed by 5:44 p.m. Total length of the mast was 60.95 meters, or just under 200 feet.

The crew also maneuvered the shuttle into the proper attitude, or orientation, for mapping. This orientation points the shuttle payload bay - and its inboard and outboard radar antennas - at the Earth. Endeavour's tail is leading the way as the shuttle orbits about 150 statute miles above the surface. The Red Team then began a series of jet thruster firings to test the ability of dampers to absorb the force of planned maneuvering jet firings and keep the inboard and outboard antennas properly aligned. This alignment is crucial for scientists who will need to combine the radar images received by the two sets of antennas.

The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission will record radar data in both C-band and X-band radar wavelengths. This data eventually will be processed into 3-D maps of the Earth that are 30 times more exact than those currently available. These maps will be important to scientists in many disciplines, ranging from ecology to geology to hydrology, as well as a number of military and commercial applications. As the Red Team performed the checkout procedures, Blue Team members Dom Gorie, Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri set up the shuttle's network of portable computers and began an abbreviated six-hour sleep period at 3:44 p.m. They'll be awakened at 9:44 p.m. to begin radar mapping operations late tonight.

Endeavour is orbiting the Earth in an orbit inclined 57 degrees to either side of the Equator for the radar mapping of a majority of the Earth's surface. The shuttle completes one orbit every 90 minutes at an altitude of about 150 statute miles.

Because of the 24-hour-a-day activity aboard Endeavour, the six crewmembers are divided into two teams. Blue Team members Dom Gorie, Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri began the first mapping swath, covering a 140-mile-wide path, at about 11:31 p.m. Friday. It was the beginning of coverage of more than 70 percent of the Earth's land surface. The mapping will cover an area between 60 degrees north and 56 degrees south, where about 95 percent of the Earth's population lives.

The Red Team, led by Mission Commander Kevin Kregel, includes Mission Specialists Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele. Their first shift was intense. It included deployment and checkout of the almost 200-foot mast supporting the outboard antenna structure. It is the largest rigid structure ever deployed in space. The Red Team began its sleep period at about 10:45 p.m. Friday and is scheduled to be awakened at 6:44 this morning.

After mast deployment, tests revealed that the mast's damping system, designed as a kind of a shock absorber for the mast, was not working as expected. Flight controllers decided to leave the dampers in their locked position. Calculations showed that the mast was at no risk without the dampers activated.

All planned science data takes have been acquired successfully and all indications from the telemetry show that the radars are performing nominally. Data has been sent to JPL for analysis and early indications are that the data is of excellent quality. Additional reports about mapping results are expected about 12:00 noon CST.

Shortly after 5:30 a.m. Saturday, Voss and Gorie held a news conference with correspondents from NBC and CNN.

Saturday is scheduled to be the first full day of Shuttle Radar Topography Mission mapping. Endeavour systems continued to function normally.

The Red Team - Kevin Kregel, Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele - took over the mapping operations from their Blue Team counterparts shortly after waking up about 7 this morning Central Time. Dom Gorie, Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri turned in shortly after 2 this afternoon and are to be awakened at 10:14 tonight. For a few minutes this morning - while Japanese astronaut Mohri conducted mapping operations - Gorie and Voss discussed the mission with CNN and NBC's Today Show.

The crew is working around the clock, in two shifts, to collect data that will produce maps of the Earth with unprecedented accuracy and uniformity. Mapping operations will continue for 10 days, and are proceeding very smoothly. SRTM will cover the area between 60 degrees north and 56 degrees south, roughly the area between St. Petersburg, Russia to the north and the tip of South America to the south. The area to be mapped is home to about 95 percent of the Earth's population. In all, more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface will be mapped.

The first X-band image - of the area near White Sands, New Mexico - was released this afternoon, and scientists expressed their delight with the quality of the image. X-band images will be posted to the German Space Agency web site at www.dfd.dlr.de/srtm/html/newtoday_en.htm. Both the C-band and X-band radars continue to perform as expected.

"The data we've seen so far looks just terrific," said Dr. Michael Kobrick, project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. "The mapping plan is right on schedule."

Early this afternoon, Kregel fired the shuttle's thruster jets in a series of pulsed burns to measure the movement of the rigid mast extending over Endeavour's left wing. Flight controllers reported the tip of the mast moved only 11 inches, just as predicted, despite the fact the antenna's dampers remained locked in position. The firings were necessary to determine how they affect the mast, prior to upcoming maneuvers to raise Endeavour's orbit.

Endeavour's crew also downlinked launch video from an in-cabin camera, providing a unique perspective of yesterday's flawless launch.

All of Endeavour's payload and spacecraft systems are continuing to function normally.

"We are starting to see the first 'quick look' results from the X-band and C-band antennas and the details are fantastic," said Dr. Michael Kobrick, SRTM project scientist. "Even in this lower resolution, quick-look results, we can see many topographic features that were completely invisible in the best maps we have today."

Two members of the Blue Team - Dom Gorie and Mamoru Mohri - spent a few minutes early this morning talking to Dr. Bob Ballard, discoverer of the RMS Titanic and founder of the JASON Foundation, an educational program designed to spark students' interest in science and technology. They also took questions from the Fox News Network.

Endeavour's crew and flight controllers continue troubleshooting a problem with a small nitrogen thruster mounted at the tip of the radar's outboard antenna. Although gaseous nitrogen propellant is flowing, little or no thrust is being produced. Crew members cycled the valve open and closed in an attempt to pinpoint the problem. Controllers plan to leave the valve closed for several hours to attempt to quantify the rate of propellant usage. The thruster was designed to keep the mast from "righting" itself in response to Earth's gravity and remove the need for additional orbiter thruster firings to keep the antenna in its data-taking position. Without the thruster on the antenna, crew members have to fire the orbiter's thrusters more than expected.

As the Blue Team wrapped up its third day in space, the Red Team of Kevin Kregel, Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele took over mapping operations shortly after their wake-up call this morning. Gorie, Mohri and Janice Voss turned in shortly after 2 p.m., with a wake-up call set for 10:14 tonight to begin their fourth day of mapping activities.

Controllers also did some troubleshooting on one of the on-board cameras after Gorie reported the system that records the time at which images are taken was not working. Controllers suspect that the batteries were weakened due to the delay in launching Endeavour. The weak batteries should have no impact on the use of the camera to support NASA's Earth observation program.

After yesterday's repositioning of a camera bracket on the flight deck, EarthKAM operations continue nominally. As of late this afternoon, some 355 images had been downlinked from the EarthKAM. This NASA program allows students to use interactive Web pages to target and select images to be photographed from a camera onboard the shuttle. All of Endeavour's spacecraft systems are continuing to function normally as it circles the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of about 150 miles.

By early Monday morning, about 20 million square miles had been imaged. By the planned end of the mission, more than 45 million square miles will have been imaged twice.

Processing of the huge amount of data gathered by Endeavour - enough to fill about 13,500 CDs if all goes according to plan - will result in maps 30 times more accurate than the best global data available now. The maps also will be of unprecedented uniformity.

The flycast maneuver reduces stress on the almost-200-foot mast extending from Endeavour's cargo bay. The orbiter flies tail-first during mapping operations. For the maneuver, it was moved to a nose-first attitude with the mast extending upward. A brief reaction control system pulse began the maneuver. The mast rebounded forward after a slight deflection backwards. As it straightened, a stronger thrust stopped its motion while increasing the orbiter's speed.

Endeavour is in a low orbit, and is slowed by the upper atmosphere. The crewmembers make daily flycast maneuver trim burns to keep the spacecraft in the proper altitude for mapping.

Flight controllers and crewmembers are troubleshooting a cold gas jet, a thruster on the SRTM outboard antenna. The jet is designed to help control the mast's attitude, a function now being performed by Endeavour's reaction control system jets. The mapping mission continued uninterrupted as flight controllers worked to develop propellant-conserving strategies.

Members of the Blue Team, Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri, continued to manage the Payload High Rate Recorders, changing the high-density tapes that will return the mapping data to Earth. About 270 of those tapes are expected to be filled.

Members of the Red Team, Commander Kevin Kregel and Mission Specialists Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele, are sleeping. They are scheduled to be awakened at 10:14 a.m. Central Standard Time.

Mission scientists continue to express delight with the "quick-look" data seen so far. SRTM project scientist Dr. Michael Kobrick notes that Endeavour is mapping 100,000 square kilometers every minute, and that after only three days of flight, the mission has tripled the world's supply of digital terrain elevation data. The low-resolution images processed so far show many topographic features that until now have been difficult to detect on the best maps in existence today.

A continuing problem with a small nitrogen thruster on the end of the 200-foot-long mast has had no impact on mapping operations or data quality. Both radar systems -- C-band and X-band -- continue to perform flawlessly. Flight controllers are continuing to troubleshoot the problem with the thruster, which helps control the mast's attitude. This function currently is being performed by Endeavour's reaction control system. Mission managers are implementing propellant conservation measures and hope to meet the full nine-day science objective. The mast continues to provide an extremely stable platform for the mapping operations.

As their workday concluded, Blue Team members Dom Gorie, Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri spent a few minutes on Endeavour's flight deck discussing various mission activities. The Blue Team turned in shortly after 2 p.m., with a wake-up call set for 10:14 tonight. The Red Team's Kevin Kregel, Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele were awakened a few minutes after 10 a.m. to continue mapping operations.

As of this morning, 525 images had been taken by students using the EarthKAM, which allows photos of Earth to be taken using a camera on the shuttle. So far, 20 of the 84 schools participating in the program have requested and received photos.

All of Endeavour's systems are functioning normally as it circles the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of about 150 miles.

Mapping operations continued smoothly into the mission's fifth day, with both radar and orbiter systems working flawlessly. By early afternoon, more than 29 million square miles had been mapped, representing more than 61 percent of the planned coverage for the mission. That's equivalent to the combined area of North America, South America and Africa.

Flight controllers continue to troubleshoot a problem with a small nitrogen thruster on the end of the 200-foot-long mast, and are focusing on steps that can be implemented to conserve shuttle propellant. Several steps already have been implemented, including relaxing the requirements for maintaining the mast's attitude due to the better-than-expected stability of the mast. Additional steps are under review for their propellant-saving potential. Optimism is increasing that these measures will enable Endeavour to complete its planned mapping operations.

Blue Team members Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri spoke with reporters from CNN, NBC's Today Show and KGO Radio in San Francisco earlier today. Voss, Mohri and Dom Gorie ended their day early this afternoon, and will be awakened to begin their sixth day on orbit at 10:14 tonight Central Time.

The Red Team -- Kevin Kregel, Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele -- was awakened shortly after 10 this morning and promptly resumed mapping operations. This afternoon, Kregel and Kavandi answered questions from students at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS; Sitting Bull College in Ft. Yates, ND; and Houston High School in San Antonio, TX. This event was part of a NASA effort to encourage students to pursue careers in science, engineering and math.

All of Endeavour's systems are functioning normally as it circles the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of about 150 miles.

More than 20 percent of the targeted land had been mapped twice and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission had covered more than 6 percent of it three times. The area surveyed at least once was equal to that of Africa, North America and Australia combined.

Those totals were growing rapidly. Endeavour was gathering mapping data on 40,000 square miles of land each minute. Scientists say the mission already has tripled the world's pool of digital terrain data with this much detail.

Endeavour is gathering data four times faster than its advanced data communications system can send it to Earth. "Quick look" data sent down, with less detail than will be available from the high-density tapes being filled aboard the orbiter, already has revealed features not shown on even the best maps available today.

While Endeavour continued to gather data that will be the basis for maps of unprecedented accuracy and uniformity, flight controllers were troubleshooting the balky cold-gas jet on the outboard antenna structure. The jet helps maintain the attitude of the mast - the longest rigid structure ever deployed in space. The orbiter's reaction control system jets are being used for that function. Flight controllers are developing further procedures to conserve propellant.

Blue Team members Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri sent down television early Tuesday. It showed Voss using an inflatable globe to explain the SRTM mission, Mamoru Mohri, taking photos out the commander's window, and then, with Pilot Dom Gorie, changing a tape on a payload high rate recorder.

Members of the Red Team, Commander Kevin Kregel, and Mission Specialists Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele, are in their sleep period. They are scheduled to be awakened at 10:14 a.m. Central Standard Time.

Endeavour's systems are functioning normally as it circles the Earth at a speed of about 5 miles a second and an altitude of about 150 miles.

Scientists reported that 67.2 percent of the target area - 32 million square miles - had been mapped by early Wednesday. That is equal to the area of the Americas, Africa and Australia combined. It is about 56 percent of all the Earth's land surface.

More than 32.5 percent of the target area had been mapped with two passes. That 15.5 million square miles is roughly equal to the combined areas of Africa and Australia. New radar images of Brazil, South Africa and the South Island of New Zealand were released Tuesday afternoon by enthusiastic scientists who said the picture of the Earth obtained by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission will be used for decades to come.

EarthKAM, mounted in the overhead starboard window of Endeavour's aft flight deck, lets middle school students take pictures of the Earth. They use interactive web pages to select photos. On four previous flights, EarthKAM took more than 2,000 photos.

The astronauts completed the fourth trim burn, adjusting the orbiter's altitude using the "flycast maneuver." The carefully choreographed and timed maneuver is designed to adjust Endeavour's orbit while imparting minimal stress to the 200-foot mast protruding from the cargo bay.

Mapping operations continued flawlessly early Wednesday. Endeavour was gathering data on 40,000 square miles of land a minute while it was over land areas.

Flight controllers continue to troubleshoot a problem with a small nitrogen thruster on the end of the 200-foot-long mast. They have implemented a number of steps to conserve the propellant used by Endeavour's reaction control system jets, which are being used to maintain the attitude of the mast in the absence of the jet. Flight controllers and crewmembers are optimistic that they will have enough propellant and power to complete their planned nine-day, nine-hour mapping operations.

Blue Team members, Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri, are on duty. Earlier in his shift, Mohri took time out to talk with Japanese students in Tokyo and Kagoshima. Members of the Red Team, Commander Kevin Kregel and Mission Specialists Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele, were in their sleep period. They are scheduled to be awakened at 10:14 a.m.

Endeavour's systems are functioning normally as it continues to gather data for unprecedentedly accurate and unified topographical maps of the Earth.

Science operations progressed flawlessly through the halfway point of the 11-day mission. "You have six smiling faces up here," remarked Gerhard Thiele after being told how well the mapping was going. As of noon today, more than 73 percent, or 35 million square miles, of the target area has been mapped once. That exceeds the land area of the Americas, Africa and Australia combined. More than 38 percent of the target area - 18 million square miles - has been mapped with two or more passes. Endeavour collects data on 40,000 square miles every minute it is over land.

New radar images of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East, and of northwestern Mongolia were released today. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission images hold the promise of helping scientists and planners better understand such potential problems as river flooding and soil erosion.

While continuing to troubleshoot the balky small thruster on the tip of Endeavour's 200-foot mast, flight controllers are implementing steps to conserve the propellant used by the orbiter's reaction control system jets to maintain the mast's attitude. With pilot Dom Gorie cycling the cold gas line, Janice Voss reported seeing a small, white object moving out of Endeavour's payload bay. The object is suspected to be a small piece of ice. The remaining Blue Team member, Mamoru Mohri, took some time out of his day to talk with students in his native country of Japan. Later today, Thiele answered questions from reporters at the German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen.

Meanwhile, EarthKam has processed 1,033 images - more than from any other shuttle mission. Using a camera mounted in Endeavour's overhead window, school students are taking pictures of the Earth. On four previous flights, EarthKam took about 2,000 photos.

Endeavour continues to provide an excellent platform for the most accurate and unified topographical mapping of the Earth ever produced.

As of noon today, 81 percent, or more than 39 million square miles of the target area had been mapped once. That exceeds the land area of the Americas, Africa and Australia combined. More than 47 percent of the target area - over 22 million square miles - has been mapped with two or more passes. Endeavour images 40,000 square miles of land every minute.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield in Mission Control transmitted the good news to the crew aboard Endeavour while all six astronauts were awake conducting a shift change. The crew is working around the clock on two shifts conducting the detailed mapping operations. Several fuel-saving steps have been implemented, including a change in the way excess water is dumped overboard, and allowing more flexibility in holding Endeavour and the 200-foot mast in the proper attitude. The final conservation measure will be the deletion of the eighth trim burn, which controllers believe can safely be deleted by adjusting the sixth and seventh burns without a disruption to data collection.

Exuberant scientists today released new radar images of the San Andreas Fault in California, the Los Angeles basin, Southern California's San Gabriel Mountains, and the island of Hokkaido, Japan, birthplace of Mission Specialist Mamoru Mohri. "We're well on the way to making the best topographic map of the world ever," said Dr. Diane Evans, chief scientist in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Earth Science Office. "We are ecstatic about this data set." She said the level of detail in maps resulting from this Shuttle Radar Topography Mission should help scientists better understand earthquakes and mudflows.

Science operations continued through the seventh day of the mission, with trouble-shooting a problem with one of six high data-rate recorders on board being the only issue of significance. The recorders are used to capture the masses of data collected during the SRTM mission on 270 tapes.

Earlier today, Mohri spoke about the mission with Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and the Minister of State for Science and Technology. Later, he joined Dom Gorie and Janice Voss for interviews with The Weather Channel and two television stations. Janet Kavandi briefly joined them to send greetings to her hometown of Springfield, MO.

Meanwhile, EarthKam continues its record-breaking production of images, having processed 1,355 images. The project allows school students to remotely take pictures of the Earth using a camera mounted in one of Endeavour's windows.

The orbiter continues to perform smoothly and provide a solid platform for the most accurate and unified topographical mapping of the Earth ever produced.

By early Thursday more that 77 percent or 36.4 million square miles of the target area has been mapped once. That is about equal to Asia, the Americas and Australia combined, or about twice the area of the surface of the moon. More than 20.24 million square miles has been mapped with two or more passes. Endeavour collects data on 40,000 square miles every minute it is over land. At that rate, SRTM could map an area the size of Florida in 90 seconds.

Propellant for the shuttle's reaction control system jets became an issue after failure of a small cold-gas jet on the end of the almost 200-foot mast extending from Endeavour's payload bay. The small jet was designed to help control the attitude of the mast. Without the jet, the orbiter's reaction control system jets are doing the job. Their increased propellant consumption has required a number of fuel conservation steps on the orbiter to enable a complete mapping mission.

Mapping operations are not affected, and scientists continue to express delight at the quality of even the rough data, sent down to confirm SRTM function. The radar gathers data at a rate about four times as fast as the orbiter can send it down. It is being collected on about 270 high-density tapes (which hold as much information as 13,500 CDs). But even the early, rough data show scientists features not seen on today's best maps.

Endeavour's Blue Team, Pilot Dom Gorie and mission specialists Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri, is on duty until about noon Central Standard Time. Mohri is speaking with Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and the Minister of State for Science and Technology, Hirofumi Nakasone, at 6:22 a.m. The Red Team, Commander Kevin Kregel and Mission specialists Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele, is sleeping. Its wakeup call is scheduled for 10:14 a.m.

EarthKAM continued its record-breaking performance. A secondary payload mounted in an upper window on Endeavour's flight deck, EarthKAM is used by middle school students to take digital photos of the Earth's surface. It has sent down a mission record of more than 1,250 photos. On four previous flights, EarthKAM took a total of about 2,000 photos.

Early today, Endeavour completed its sixth "Flycast Maneuver" trim burn, a gentle engine firing that maintains the Shuttle's altitude at around 150 statute miles for the precise mapping work. Today's burn gave the Shuttle a slightly larger boost than previous daily firings, a measure that will allow controllers to save fuel by eliminating a subsequent firing on Sunday. The next trim burn is now planned for midday on Saturday. So far, the Shuttle Radar Topography instruments aboard Endeavour have mapped 83 percent, or almost 40 million square miles, of the target area once, an area larger than the Americas, Africa and Australia combined. More than 50 percent of the target area, over 24 million square miles, has been mapped with two or more passes. Endeavour images 40,000 square miles of land every minute, a rate that would allow the Shuttle to map the state of Alaska in 15 minutes and the state of Rhode Island in less than two seconds.

In addition to the changes in trim burns, other fuel conservation measures aboard Endeavour have included changing the way waste water is dumped overboard, slightly relaxing the spacecraft's stringent attitude control guidelines and limiting the use of some equipment. Early in the mission, the failure of a tiny thruster at the end of the 197-foot mast protruding from Endeavour's cargo bay resulted in increased use of the Shuttle's steering jets and fuel. On Thursday, flight controllers noted that the small nitrogen gas thruster on the mast now appeared to be again providing some thrust, a trend that could further improve the Shuttle's predicted fuel consumption.

While the radar mapping continues, a student-operated camera mounted in one of Endeavour's windows also has set a record pace. So far, the experiment, called EarthKAM, has sent down almost 1,400 photos of Earth to middle school students. On four previous shuttle flights combined, EarthKAM sent down a total of about 2,000 photos.

Working around the clock, Endeavour's crew is divided into two shifts. The Blue Team -- Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri -- are now on duty. Voss and Mohri took time out from their work this morning to provide television of the high-rate recorders used for the mapping operations and a High-Definition Television Camera.

The recorders use high-density tapes to capture the radar mapping data. About 270 tapes will be recorded, containing a volume of data that would fill about 13,500 CDs. The data will allow topographical maps to be created of a majority of Earth that will be several times more accurate than are available today. The HDTV camcorder aboard Endeavour is one of the first steps in NASA's transition to HDTV.

The Red Team, Commander Kevin Kregel and Mission Specialists Janet Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele, are sleeping and will awaken at 10:14 a.m. CST. The entire crew will participate in a press conference at 11:59 a.m. today, fielding questions from U.S. and Japanese reporters at NASA centers. Subsequently, Thiele, Kregel, Kavandi and Voss will take a call from German Research Minister Edelgard Buhlmann.

Endeavour continues to function well.

The camera takes pictures for middle school students. Through the Internet, their schools' mission operations centers are linked to the EarthKAM Mission Operations Center at the University of California at San Diego. Except for setup, initial camera pointing and lens changes, no crew involvement is required for normal operations.

Meanwhile, flight controllers continued to successfully conserve fuel and electricity aboard Endeavour and plan an extension of the mapping work.

The nine-hour extension of imaging operations means that mapping will continue until about 6 a.m. Monday. Successful completion of the 9 days, 18 hours of mapping will mean that almost all of the target area will be imaged -- only small areas of the United States, already well mapped, would be missed. The target area is the 80 percent of the Earth's land between 60 degrees north, the latitude of Hudson Bay, and 56 degrees south, Cape Horn at the tip of South America. It is home to 95 percent of the Earth's people. With the current plan, more than 99.9 percent of the area would be imaged at least once. More than 94.6 percent of it would be covered at least twice, and almost half would be imaged at least three times.

Scientists reported that by early Saturday 89.6 percent of the target area, 42.7 million square miles, had been mapped once. About 60.1 percent, or 28.6 million square miles, had been imaged at least twice. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission's sophisticated radar continued to collect surface imaging data at a rate of 40,000 square miles a minute.

Commander Kevin Kregel and Mission Specialists Gerhard Thiele and Janet Kavandi, the Red Team, and the Blue Team members Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri, held their crew news conference Friday. Today Kregel and Thiele will answer questions from German news media representatives and later speak with dignitaries at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The Red Team is asleep and is to be awakened at 10:14 a.m. The Blue Team remains on duty until 11:59 a.m.

The mission's target mapping area includes about 47.6 million square miles. As of noon, 92 percent, or about 44 million square miles, of the target area had been mapped once. More than 65 percent of the target area - nearly 31 million square miles - has been mapped with two or more passes. Only 80,000 square miles of the target area, mostly in North America, will remain unmapped by the end of mapping operations. Highly accurate topographic maps of these areas already exist.

Clearly elated, scientists released new images of Oahu, Molokai, Lanai and west Maui, Hawaii; Dallas, Texas; Salalah, Oman; and Tasmania, Australia. Quick-Time movies of Hokkaido, Japan, home of Mission Specialist Mamoru Mohri, and of Brazil, also were released. "I have to believe that scientists all over the world are giving a standing ovation to the SRTM team," observed Dr. Jeffrey Plaut, a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He said that maps resulting from SRTM data would help archaeologists study ancient cultures and the lands they inhabited, and better understand the reasons for their demise.

Science operations continued on schedule through the mission's ninth day, with all radar and orbiter systems continuing to work smoothly.

Endeavour's crew carried out the seventh trim burn of the mission earlier today. This "flycast maneuver" keeps the spacecraft at the proper altitude for mapping and is designed to reduce the stresses on the mast and minimize the loads at the tip. This was the last flycast maneuver planned during the mission.

Earlier today, Commander Kevin Kregel and European Space Agency astronaut Gerhard Thiele spoke to reporters gathered at the German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen and in Munich. At 7:14 p.m., the crew will send greetings to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the world's largest.

Endeavour's systems continue to perform flawlessly as it circles the Earth at an altitude of about 150 statute miles.

So far, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission has imaged 44.7 million square miles, or about 93.9 percent of the target area, at least once. About 33.4 million square miles or 70.1 percent of the target area has been imaged at least twice. The target area extends from 60 degrees north latitude to 56 degrees south latitude. That covers all the Southern Hemisphere landmasses except Antarctica and Northern Hemisphere land south of Hudson Bay and St. Petersburg, Russia. It is home to about 95 percent of Earth's population.

At the scheduled end of mapping operations, more than 99.9 percent of the area will have been imaged at least once. More than 94.6 percent of it will be covered at least twice, and almost half will be imaged at least three times. All but about 80,000 square miles of targeted land will have been covered. The areas that will not be covered are in small, scattered segments, mostly in North America and most of them already accurately mapped.

Endeavour's radar, gathering data in 140-mile-wide swaths as the spacecraft orbits at 17,500 miles per hour, images 40,000 square miles each minute. Data from this mission will, after a year or more of processing, produce the most accurate and most uniform global topography maps ever made.

The EarthKAM, a digital camera mounted at an overhead window on Endeavour's flight deck, has sent down about 2,200 images so far, and the number is growing. On four previous shuttle flights, EarthKAM sent down a total of 2,018 images.

The camera takes pictures for middle school students working on projects in Earth science, geography, space sciences and other topics. Through the Internet, their schools' mission operations centers are linked to the EarthKAM Mission Operations Center at the University of California at San Diego, which sends up photo targets and receives the images. Except for setup, initial camera pointing and lens changes, no crew involvement is required for normal operations.

On Saturday, Endeavour's crew carried out the seventh and final trim burn and flycast maneuver of the flight. The maneuver keeps the spacecraft at the proper altitude for mapping and is designed to reduce the stresses on the mast and minimize the loads at the tip.

Blue Team members, Pilot Dom Gorie and Mission Specialists Janice Voss and Mamoru Mohri, are on duty and continue mapping operations. Commander Kevin Kregel and Mission Specialists Gerhard Thiele and Janet Kavandi, the Red Team, are sleeping. They are to be awakened at 10:14 a.m. CST.

Endeavour's systems continue to perform well as it orbits about 150 statute miles above the surface.

After wrapping up mapping operations at 5:54 a.m. Central time today with a final pass over Australia, Endeavour's crew retracted the 200-foot mast into its payload bay canister. The mast, the longest rigid structure ever deployed in space, supported the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission's external antenna structure during more than 222 hours of data gathering.

Mast retraction proceeded smoothly as each of its 86 external sections, or bays, folded into the nine-foot-long canister during the 18-minute retraction procedure. Final mast stowage was delayed when the three latches on the lid of the mast canister failed to engage as expected. The first two efforts failed to secure the latches, but the third attempt succeeded and all three latches on the mast canister were activated at 9:50 a.m. Central time.

The SRTM mapped almost 100 percent of all planned sites around the world, a total area of more than 47.6 million square miles. The area mapped four times represents more than twice the area of the United States. SRTM project scientist Dr. Mike Kobrick called SRTM "a truly outstanding achievement." New images released today showed Fiji; the San Francisco Bay area; Pasadena, CA; the San Andreas Fault near Palmdale, CA; and an animated fly-around from Pasadena to Palmdale along the San Andreas Fault.

This afternoon, Commander Kevin Kregel, Pilot Dom Gorie and flight engineer Janet Kavandi tested Endeavour's flight control surfaces and reaction control system thrusters. Deactivation and stowage of radar mapping hardware and the Ku antenna were completed, and members of the Red Team - Kregel, Kavandi and Gerhard Thiele -- began cabin stowage. The Blue Team - Gorie, payload commander Janice Voss and Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri -- will complete stowage tomorrow morning. The Blue Team began its sleep period at 5:44 p.m., and will be awakened at 1:14 a.m. Tuesday.

There are three landing opportunities available tomorrow, two at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the third at Edwards, CA. The first opportunity would bring Endeavour back to KSC at 3:50 p.m. Central. There is another opportunity one orbit later, with a KSC landing at 5:22 p.m. Central. The third opportunity would see Endeavour land at Edwards at 6:48 p.m. Central time. The previous 20 shuttle missions have ended with landings at KSC. The last Edwards landing was STS-76 in March 1996. The primary concerns for a KSC landing are strong crosswinds and a low layer of clouds. Weather conditions at KSC are not expected to improve Wednesday or Thursday, and are expected to deteriorate at Edwards after Tuesday.

During 225 hours of operation during this mission, EarthKam took 2,715 images. Over 75 middle schools from around the world participated. The previous record number of images for a single flight was 670 on STS-86. The total number of images for this flight alone far exceeded the combined total from all previous flights.

With Commander Kevin Kregel at the controls, Endeavour touched down at 5:22 p.m Central time on Runway 33 at the three mile long Shuttle Landing Facility to complete a mission spanning almost 4.7 million statute miles. Pilot Dom Gorie, Flight Engineer Janet Kavandi and Mission Specialist Janice Voss joined Kregel on the flight deck for entry and landing. Mission Specialist Mamoru Mohri from NASDA, the Japanese space agency, and European Space Agency astronaut Gerhard Thiele were seated down in the middeck. The end of the STS-99 mission marked the 21st consecutive landing at the Florida spaceport.

After waving off the first landing opportunity of the day because of high cross winds at the landing site, the crew was given a "go" to perform the deorbit burn which came at 4:24 p.m. Central time and caused Endeavour to fall out of its 150 statute mile high orbit to start the journey home to the Kennedy Space Center.

The data brought home by Endeavour's crew was collected during more than 222 hours of around-the-clock radar mapping operations and is enough to fill more than 20,000 CDs. The information gathered on the STS-99 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission will be used to produce global maps more accurate than any available today.

The STS-99 crew will spend the evening in Florida before returning to Houston on Wednesday. The crew should land at Ellington Field in Houston near the Johnson Space Center at about 1:30 p.m. Central time where the six astronauts will be greeted by JSC management and center employees. The crew return ceremony will occur at Hangar 990 and is open to the general public.