Columbia’s seven astronauts continued their steady support of science investigations in the Spacelab module, focusing on how various materials and liquids change and behave in the weightless environment of space.

Throughout the day, the Red team astronauts, Commander Jim Halsell, Pilot Susan Still, Mission Specialist Don Thomas and Payload Specialist Greg Linteris, continued work with a variety of investigations in the Large Isothermal Furnace, Glovebox and Combustion Module. In addition, Halsell, Still and Linteris each talked with students at schools located in Texas, Georgia and New Mexico using the Shuttle Amateur Radio (SAREX) unit.

As their day was ending, the Red team also sent down some television sharing images of the four astronauts as they explained the challenges of working, living and exercising in a microgravity environment.

The Blue team, Payload Commander Janice Voss, Mission Specialist Mike Gernhardt and Payload Specialist Roger Crouch, assumed responsibility for science and orbiter operations shortly after 1 p.m. today. Voss and Crouch will continue work with the Droplet Combustion Experiment and Laminar Soot Processes investigation, while Gernhardt performs status checks in the Spacelab module and monitors all of Columbia’s systems.

The Red team will awaken about 11 p.m., following an eight-hour sleep period, and two hours later will once again be back on duty, supporting 24-hour science operations on Columbia. The Blue team will begin its next sleep period shortly after 3 a.m. Tuesday.

The next STS-94 status report will be issued about 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

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