Astronauts Shut Lab, Aim for Edwards Base
Columbia’s science astronauts were jabbed with needles for the last time in space Sunday as NASA’s longest shuttle flight drew to a close.
Researchers were thrilled with the data collected during the 14-day medical mission.
The astronauts worked 18-hour days for much of the flight and volunteered for extra tests, some of them dizzying, so that scientists could better understand how the body changes in weightlessness.
Before shutting down Columbia’s laboratory, the mission’s two physicians, one veterinarian and one biochemist squeezed in more heart measurements and drew blood from one another to gauge calcium and protein levels.
Columbia’s journey was due to end with a 7:06 a.m. PST landing today at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
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