Dr. Chiaki Mukai of Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) speaks to students at the California Science Center during the outreach session of the Pan Pacific Microgravity Conference on May 2, 2001. She flew as a payload specialist on two NASA Space Shuttle missions, STS-65 carrying the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2, 1994) and STS-95 (1998).

STS095-E-5053 (30 Oct. 1998) --- STS-95 payload specialist Chiaki Mukai continues her experimentation onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery during Flight Day 2 of a schedule nine-day mission. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 10:42:38 GMT, Oct. 30.

STS095-E-5211 (4 Nov. 1998) --- STS-95 payload specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA), with paraphernalia supporting her agenda of experiments onboard Discovery. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 01:17:27 GMT, Nov. 4.

STS095-E-5070 (1 Nov. 1998) --- STS-95 payload specialist Chiaki Mukai prepares to use a camcorder during activity in the Spacehab module aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 00:55:22 GMT, Nov. 1.

STS095-E-5037 (10-29-98) --- Holding a notebook filled with Flight Day 1 activity, payload specialist Chiaki Mukai gives an "all okay" signal. The photograph was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 10:04:30 GMT, Oct. 29.

STS095-E-5229 (4 Nov. 1998)--- STS-95 payload specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA), changes out cassette on camera. The scene was recorded with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 03:09:07 GMT, Nov. 4.

STS095-E-5115 (2 Nov. 1998) --- Payload specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA), sets up an experiment on Spacehab during flight day four activity. In the background are astronauts Steven W. Lindsey, STS-95 pilot, and Scott E. Parazynski, mission specialist. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 05:14:24 GMT, Nov. 2.

STS095-E-5061 (30 Oct. 1998) --- Payload specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing Japan's National Development Space Agency (NASDA), looks toward a brightly sunlighted Earth during Flight Day 2 activity onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) on Discovery's aft flight deck at 12:01:19 GMT, Oct. 30.

STS095-E-5119 (2 Nov. 1998) --- Astronaut Scott E. Parazynski (left), STS-95 mission specialist, and payload specialist Chiaki Mukai with Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) check an experiment on Spacehab during flight day four activity. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 05:17:18 GMT, Nov 2.

STS095-E-5105 (2 Nov. 1998) --- STS-95 payload specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA), prepares to conduct an experiment in the Spacehab facility aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery during Flight Day 4 activity. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 05:02:27 GMT, Nov. 2.

STS095-E-5067 (31 Oct. 1998) --- Aboard Spacehab, payload specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA), talks to ground controllers and principal investigators regarding experiments she is conducting in zero gravity. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera (ESC) at 22:20:51 GMT, Oct. 31.

S97-00568 (2 Oct. 1996) --- Astronaut Chiaki Naito-Mukai, payload specialist, representing the National Space Development Agency (NASDA).

STS-65 Japanese Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai takes a break from training at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Wearing a training version of the orange launch and entry suit (LES), Mukai stands at the crew compartment trainer (CCT) side hatch in the Mockup and Integration Laboratory (MAIL) Bldg 9NE. Note the crew escape system (CES) pole device extending out the side hatch which would accommodate crewmembers in bailout from a troubled spacecraft. Mukai represents the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan and will serve as a payload specialist aboard Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, during the STS-65 International Microgravity Laboratory 2 (IML-2) mission.

STS095-E-5214 (4 Nov. 1998) --- Payload specialist Chiaki Mukai floats into the airlock during Flight Day 6 activity aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. A tunnel between Disovery's airlock and the cargo bay allows the payload specialist and her six STS-95 crewmates to access the Spacehab facility. The photo was taken with an electonic still camera (ESC) at 02:58:49 GMT, Nov. 4.

S94-29355 (28 Feb 1994) --- Dr. Chiaki Mukai, payload specialist, is assisted by a team of SCUBA-equipped divers during emergency egress training. The STS-65 crew was in the Weightless Environment Training Facility (WET-F) for the bailout training exercise. Dr. Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), will join six NASA astronauts for the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia later this year.

STS065-214-037 (8-23 July 1994) --- Ready to begin one of her busy twelve hour shifts, payload specialist Dr. Chiaki Naito-Mukai enters the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) science module in the cargo bay via the tunnel connecting it to the Space Shuttle Columbia's cabin. Dr. Mukai joined six NASA astronauts for more than two weeks of experimenting in Earth orbit. This photo was among the first released by NASA following IML-2. Also onboard were NASA astronauts Robert D. Cabana, James D. Halsell, Jr., Richard J. Hieb, Carl E. Walz, Donald A. Thomas and Leroy Chiao. Dr. Mukai represented the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan.

The crew assigned to the STS-65 mission included (seated left to right) Richard J. (Rick) Hieb, payload commander; Robert D. (Bob) Cabana, commander; and Donald A. Thomas, mission specialist. Standing, from left to right, are Leroy Chiao, mission specialist; James D. Halsell, pilot; Chiaki Naito-Mukai, payload specialist; and Carl E. Walz, mission specialist. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on July 8, 1994 at 12:43:00 pm (EDT), the STS-64 mission marked the second flight of the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) and the first flight of a female Japanese crew member.

Astronaut Chiaki Mukai conducts the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) experiment inside the International Microgravity Laboratory-2 (IML-2) mission science module. Dr. Chiaki Mukai is one of the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) astronauts chosen by NASA as a payload specialist (PS). She was the second NASDA PS who flew aboard the Space Shuttle, and was the first female astronaut in Asia. When humans go into space, the lack of gravity causes many changes in the body. One change is that fluids normally kept in the lower body by gravity shift upward to the head and chest. This is why astronauts' faces appear chubby or puffy. The change in fluid volume also affects the heart. The reduced fluid volume means that there is less blood to circulate through the body. Crewmembers may experience reduced blood flow to the brain when returning to Earth. This leads to fainting or near-fainting episodes. With the use of the LBNP to simulate the pull of gravity in conjunction with fluids, salt tablets can recondition the cardiovascular system. This treatment, called "soak," is effective up to 24 hours. The LBNP uses a three-layer collapsible cylinder that seals around the crewmember's waist which simulates the effects of gravity and helps pull fluids into the lower body. The data collected will be analyzed to determine physiological changes in the crewmembers and effectiveness of the treatment. The IML-2 was the second in a series of Spacelab flights designed by the international science community to conduct research in a microgravity environment Managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, the IML-2 was launched on July 8, 1994 aboard the STS-65 Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia mission.

The science laboratory, Spacelab-J (SL-J), flown aboard the STS-47 flight was a joint venture between NASA and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) utilizing a manned Spacelab module. The mission conducted 24 materials science and 20 life science experiments, of which 35 were sponsored by NASDA, 7 by NASA, and two collaborative efforts. Materials science investigations covered such fields as biotechnology, electronic materials, fluid dynamics and transport phenomena, glasses and ceramics, metals and alloys, and acceleration measurements. Life sciences included experiments on human health, cell separation and biology, developmental biology, animal and human physiology and behavior, space radiation, and biological rhythms. Test subjects included the crew, Japanese koi fish (carp), cultured animal and plant cells, chicken embryos, fruit flies, fungi and plant seeds, and frogs and frog eggs. Pictured in the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) of Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are NASDA alternate payload specialists Dr. Doi and Dr. Mukai.

Photographic documentation of the STS-95 crew emergency egress training at the bldg 9A Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT). Views include: Mission specialist Senator John Glenn (in his orange Launch and Landing (LES) suit) is photographed by his wife as other visitors look on (07958). STS-95 crewmember prepares to use the Sky Genie to climb down the side of the FFT (07959). STS-95 crew lines up to pose for pictures in their LES's. Left to right are: Mission specialist Pedro Duque, payload specialist Chiaki Mukai, commander Curt Brown, payload specialist U.S. Senator John Glenn, mission specialist Stephen Robinson, pilot Steven Lindsey, and mission specialist Scott F. Parazynski (07960). Parazynski, Glenn and Robinson talk while their photo is being taken (07961). Mukai receives assistance from suit techs in donning her LES helmet (07962). Glenn receives assistance from suit techs in donning his LES helmet (07963). Glenn, in his LES, walks toward the FFT (07964). Glenn uses the Sky Genie to prepare to climb down the side of the FFT (07965). View of Mrs. Annie Glenn watching her husband during training (07966). Mukai receives assistance from a suit tech with her LES while Glenn watches (07967). Close-up view of Mukai in her LES without a helmet (07968). Glenn and Mukai prepare to strap themselves into their seats in the mockup of the FFT middeck (07969-70). Close-up view of Mukai with her helmet on (07971). Mukai climbs down the rope with help from a technician on the ground (07972). Lindsey, Parazynski, Duque, Mukai and Glenn are photographed seated, waiting for training (07973). Close-up of Duque without his helmet (07974). Close-up of Lindsey with his helmet on, talking to a trainer (07975-6). View of Lindsey climbing down the rope (07977).

Photographic documentation of the STS-95 crew emergency egress training at the bldg 9A Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT). Views include: Mission specialist Senator John Glenn (in his orange Launch and Landing (LES) suit) is photographed by his wife as other visitors look on (07958). STS-95 crewmember prepares to use the Sky Genie to climb down the side of the FFT (07959). STS-95 crew lines up to pose for pictures in their LES's. Left to right are: Mission specialist Pedro Duque, payload specialist Chiaki Mukai, commander Curt Brown, payload specialist U.S. Senator John Glenn, mission specialist Stephen Robinson, pilot Steven Lindsey, and mission specialist Scott F. Parazynski (07960). Parazynski, Glenn and Robinson talk while their photo is being taken (07961). Mukai receives assistance from suit techs in donning her LES helmet (07962). Glenn receives assistance from suit techs in donning his LES helmet (07963). Glenn, in his LES, walks toward the FFT (07964). Glenn uses the Sky Genie to prepare to climb down the side of the FFT (07965). View of Mrs. Annie Glenn watching her husband during training (07966). Mukai receives assistance from a suit tech with her LES while Glenn watches (07967). Close-up view of Mukai in her LES without a helmet (07968). Glenn and Mukai prepare to strap themselves into their seats in the mockup of the FFT middeck (07969-70). Close-up view of Mukai with her helmet on (07971). Mukai climbs down the rope with help from a technician on the ground (07972). Lindsey, Parazynski, Duque, Mukai and Glenn are photographed seated, waiting for training (07973). Close-up of Duque without his helmet (07974). Close-up of Lindsey with his helmet on, talking to a trainer (07975-6). View of Lindsey climbing down the rope (07977).

The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. EST, Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The second International Microgravity Laboratory-2 (IML-2) is off to an ontime start as the Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at 12:43:00 p.m. EDT. On board are a crew of seven and more than 80 investigations developed by more than 200 scientists from 13 countries. The IML-2 complement includes materials science, bioprocessing, space and radiation biology, and human physiology experiments that will be carried out over the course of the 14-day flight. The commander of Space Shuttle Mission STS-65 is Robert D. Cabana. James D. Halsell Jr. is the pilot; the payload commander is Richard J. Hieb; the three mission specialists are Carl E. Walz, Leroy Chiao and Donald A. Thomas. Dr. Chiaki Mukai, representing NASDA, the National Space Development Agency of Japan, is the payload specialist. Mukai becomes the first Japanese woman to fly into space.

STS095-S-008 (29 Oct. 1998) --- The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. (EST), Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission. Photo credit: NASA

STS095-S-009 (29 Oct. 1998) --- The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. (EST), Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission. Photo credit: NASA

STS095-S-007 (29 Oct. 1998) --- The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. (EST), Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission. Photo credit: NASA

STS095-S-017 (29 Oct. 1998) --- The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. (EST), Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission. Photo credit: NASA

STS095-S-006 (29 Oct. 1998) --- The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. (EST), Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission. Photo credit: NASA

STS095-S-005 (29 Oct. 1998) --- Partially framed by Florida foliage, the space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. (EST), Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott E. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission. Photo credit: NASA

STS095-S-018 (29 Oct. 1998) --- The space shuttle Discovery lifts off Launch Pad 39B to begin a nine-day mission in Earth-orbit. Launch was at 2:19 p.m. (EST), Oct. 29, 1998. Onboard were Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Steven K. Robinson, Pedro Duque, United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. and Chiaki Naito-Mukai. Duque is a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is a payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Glenn, making his second spaceflight but his first in 36 years, joins Mukai as a payload specialist on the mission. Photo credit: NASA

The science laboratory, Spacelab-J (SL-J), flown aboard the STS-47 flight was a joint venture between NASA and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) utilizing a manned Spacelab module. The mission conducted 24 materials science and 20 life science experiments, of which 35 were sponsored by NASDA, 7 by NASA, and two collaborative efforts. Materials science investigations covered such fields as biotechnology, electronic materials, fluid dynamics and transport phenomena, glasses and ceramics, metals and alloys, and acceleration measurements. Life sciences included experiments on human health, cell separation and biology, developmental biology, animal and human physiology and behavior, space radiation, and biological rhythms. Test subjects included the crew, Japanese koi fish (carp), cultured animal and plant cells, chicken embryos, fruit flies, fungi and plant seeds, and frogs and frog eggs. Pictured along with George Norris in the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are NASDA alternate payload specialists Dr. Doi and Dr. Mukai.

STS-95 Payload Specialist John Glenn (left), who is a senator from Ohio, shares an amusing moment with KSC workers in the background and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (extreme right), who represents the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). Glenn and Mukai are participating in SPACEHAB familiarization at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral. The mission, scheduled to launch Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

STS065-S-002 (April 1994) --- Six NASA astronauts and a Japanese payload specialist take a break from training to pose for their crew portrait. Left to right are Richard J. Hieb, Leroy Chiao, James D. Halsell Jr., Robert D. Cabana, Dr. Chiaki Mukai, Donald A. Thomas and Carl E. Walz. Cabana is mission commander, and Halsell has been assigned as pilot. Hieb is payload commander, with Walz, Thomas and Chiao serving as mission specialist. Dr. Mukai represents the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan as payload specialist on the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML) mission.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Houston, Texas -- -- STS065(S)002 -- STS-65 Official Crew Portrait --- Six NASA astronauts and a Japanese payload specialist take a break from STS-65 training to pose for their crew portrait. Left to right are Richard J. Hieb, Leroy Chiao, James D. Halsell Jr., Robert D. Cabana, Dr. Chiaki Mukai, Donald A. Thomas and Carl E. Walz. Cabana is mission commander, and Halsell has been assigned as pilot. Hieb is payload commander, with Walz, Thomas and Chiao serving as mission specialists. Dr. Mukai represents the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan as payload specialist on the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML) mission.

S98-07973 (5 June 1998) --- Five of the seven STS-95 crew members are seen as they wait for a training and photo session to begin in the systems integration facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center. From the left are astronauts Stephen K. Robinson (partially out of frame), Scott E. Parazynski and Pedro Duque, all mission specialists; along with Chiaki Mukai and U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr. (D.-Ohio), both payload specialists. Duque represents the European Space Agency and Mukai, Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA).

S98-08745 (May 1998) --- Four members of the STS-95 crew are briefed on flight hardware during a training session in the shuttle crew compartment trainer (CCT) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Donald C. Carico, an instructor, holds a loc-line bracket. Crewmembers, from the left, are Scott E. Parazynski and Pedro Duque, both mission specialists; Chiaki Mukai and U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr., both payload specialists. Duque represents the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai, Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

98-E-03312 (14 April 1998) --- President Bill Clinton (at lectern) addresses employees at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) during an April 14 visit to the Houston facility. Seated behind him (from the left) are JSC Director George W.S. Abbey, U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson (D.-TX), NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin and Houston Mayor Lee Brown. Standing are members of the STS-95 crew: (from the left) Pedro Duque, Chiaki Mukai, U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr. (D.-Ohio), Stephen K. Robinson, Scott E. Parazynski, Steven W. Lindsey and Curtis L. Brown Jr. Brown is commander of the scheduled flight aboard Discovery. Mukai represents Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) and Duque is with the European Space Agency (ESA). Photo Credit: NASA or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

STS095-S-012 (7 Nov. 1998) --- The space shuttle Discovery is about to lower its nose wheel following main gear touchdown on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Main gear touchdown was at 12:04 p.m. (EST), landing on orbit 135. Discovery returned to Earth with its crew of five astronauts and two payload specialists to successfully complete the nine-day mission. Onboard were astronauts Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Stephen K. Robinson, Pedro Duque and payload specialists Chiaki Naito-Mukai and United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. Duque represents the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is with Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Photo credit: NASA

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (left), with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski (right) look over equipment being used on an experiment with toadfish on mission STS-95. The fish will be electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the inner-ear system. Mukai and Parazynski and other crewmembers were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. The STS-95 crew also includes Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7

STS095-S-015 (7 Nov. 1998) --- The main landing gear of the space shuttle Discovery is about to touch down on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Main gear touchdown was at 12:04 p.m. (EST), landing on orbit 135. Discovery returned to Earth with its crew of five astronauts and two payload specialists to successfully complete the nine-day mission. A Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) is at top center, with the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at right edge of frame. Onboard were astronauts Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Stephen K. Robinson, Pedro Duque and payload specialists Chiaki Naito-Mukai and United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. Duque represents the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is with Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Photo credit: NASA

STS-47 Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, crewmembers led by Commander Robert L. Gibson (center) prepare to extinguish a blaze in JSC's Fire Training Pit. Lined up along the water hoses are: (on left) Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri, holding the hose nozzle, followed by Mission Specialist (MS) Jerome Apt, and Pilot Curtis L. Brown, Jr; and (on right) backup Payload Specialist Chiaki Naito-Mukai, holding the hose nozzle, followed by MS and Payload Commander (PLC) Mark C. Lee, MS N. Jan Davis, and backup Payload Specialist Stan Koszelak. A veteran fire fighter and the instructor, positioned between the two hoses, looks on. Mohri and Mukai represent Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). The Fire Training Pit is located across from the Gilruth Center Bldg 207.

STS095-S-010 (7 Nov. 1998) --- The space shuttle Discovery's main landing gear is just about to touch down on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Main gear touchdown was at 12:04 p.m. (EST), landing on orbit 135. Discovery returned to Earth with its crew of five astronauts and two payload specialists to successfully complete the nine-day mission. Onboard were astronauts Curtis L. Brown Jr., Steven W. Lindsey, Scott F. Parazynski, Stephen K. Robinson, Pedro Duque and payload specialists Chiaki Naito-Mukai and United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. Duque represents the European Space Agency (ESA) and Mukai is with Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). Photo credit: NASA

In the spacelab science module aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, the seven crewmembers pose for the traditional onboard (inflight) crew portrait. Displayed in the background is a flag with the International Microgravity Laboratory 2 (IML-2) insignia and Columbia inscribed along the edge. In the front row (left to right) are Mission Specialist (MS) Carl E. Walz and MS Donald A. Thomas. Behind them (left to right) are Payload Commander (PLC) Richard J. Hieb, Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, Commander Robert D. Cabana, MS Leroy Chiao, and Pilot James D. Halsell, Jr. Mukai represents the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. Crewmembers are wearing their mission polo shirts for the portrait. Inside this module, the crew conducted experiments in support of the IML-2 mission.

S94-31388 (25 Mar 1994) --- Six NASA astronauts and a Japanese payload specialist listen to a briefing by a crew training staffer. From the left are astronauts Robert D. Cabana, mission commander; James D. Halsell Jr., pilot; Richard J. Hieb, payload commander; and Carl E. Walz, Leroy Chiao and Donald A. Thomas, all mission specialists; along with Dr. Chiaki Mukai, payload specialist. Dr. Mukai represents the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. The STS-65 crew was in the Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Shuttle mockup and integration laboratory for crew egress training. The full fuselage trainer, used for the rehearsals, is just out of frame. The seven-member crew will support the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia later this year.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), looks over part of the equipment for the SPACEHAB during familiarization at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral. The mission, scheduled to launch Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

S98-08737 (9 April 1998) --- The mission commander, along with two payload specialists in training for NASA's STS-95 mission scheduled for later this year aboard Discovery, samples space foods at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). With payload specialists Chiaki Mukai and U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr. (D.-Ohio) is Curtis L. Brown Jr. (right), mission commander. The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai is perched on the back of a red 1999 C-5 Corvette convertible during a parade down State Road A1A in nearby Cocoa Beach. Organizers of the parade include the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the Brevard County Tourist Development Council, and the cities of Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach. The parade is reminiscent of those held after missions during the Mercury Program

STS065-05-037 (8-23 July 1994) --- In the science module aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, four members of the crew busy themselves with experiments in support of the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) mission. Left to right are Donald A. Thomas and Leroy Chiao, both mission specialists; Richard J. Hieb, payload commander, and Dr. Chiaki Mukai of NASDA, payload specialist.

In the Operations and Checkout Building, STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), gets help with her suit from suit technician Monica Golden. The STS-95 crew were conducting flight crew equipment fit checks prior to launch on Oct. 29. STS-95 is expected to launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and land at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7

S92-44303 --- STS-47 Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, crew members and back-up payload specialists, wearing clean suits, pose for a group portrait in the Spacelab Japan (SLJ) module. The team is at the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC's) Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) to inspect SLJ configuration and OV-105 preparations. Kneeling, from left, are back-up Payload Specialist Chiaki Naito-Mukai; Mission Specialist N. Jan Davis; and backup Payload Specialist Takao Doi. Standing, from the left, are Pilot Curtis L. Brown,Jr; Payload Commander Mark C. Lee; Jerome Apt; Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri; Commander Robert L. Gibson; Mae C. Jemison; and back-up Payload Specialist Stanely L. Koszelak. Mohri, Mukai, and Doi represent the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). View provided by KSC with alternate KSC number KSC-92PC-1647. Photo credit: NASA

In their flight seats aboard Space Shuttle Discovery are (front to back) STS-95 Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai (M.D., Ph.D.), representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), and John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson. Mukai, Glenn and Robinson, along with other crew members are at KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and a simulated main engine cutoff. Not shown are Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), and Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown. The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), gives a thumbs up after her arrival aboard a T-38 jet aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC. Mukai and the rest of the crew are at KSC to participate in a Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). The TCDT includes mission familiarization activities, training in emergency exit from the orbiter and launch pad, and a simulated main engine cut-off exercise. The other members on the mission are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown, Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Stephen K. Robinson, and Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA); and Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio. The STS-95 mission, scheduled for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (M.D., Ph.D.), representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), gives a two-thumbs up salute while suiting up in the Operations and Checkout Building prior to her trip to Launch Pad 39-B. Mukai and the rest of the STS-95 crew are at KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and a simulated main engine cutoff. The other crew members are Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown. The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (left), with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), lifts the cover on a container in the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit holding one of the two toadfish that are the subjects of an experiment. Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski is helping her check experiments for mission STS-95. The fish will be electronically monitored to determine the effect of gravitational changes on the inner-ear system. Mukai and Parazynski and other crewmembers were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. The STS-95 crew also includes Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA). The mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7

(Left to right) STS-95 Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (M.D., Ph.D.), representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), are ready to leave Launch Pad 39B in the slidewire basket during an emergency egress exercise. Robinson, Glenn and Mukai, along with other crew members, are at KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and a simulated main engine cutoff. Not shown are Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), and Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown. The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, M.D. (center), with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), poses for a photograph with NASDA President Isao Uchida (left). Behind her at the right is a representative of the European Space Agency (ESA). Mukai was one of a crew of seven aboard orbiter Discovery, which landed at KSC at 12:04 p.m. EST, after a successful mission spanning nine days and 3.6 million miles. The other crew members are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr.; Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Mission Specialists Stephen K. Robinson; Scott E. Parazynski and Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency; and Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., a senator from Ohio. The mission included research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (M.D., Ph.D.), representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), suits up in the Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building prior to her trip to Launch Pad 39-B. Mukai and the rest of the STS-95 crew are at KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and a simulated main engine cutoff. The other crew members are Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown. The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations

STS-95 Payload Specialists John H. Glenn Jr. (left), senator from Ohio, and Chiaki Mukai (M.D., Ph.D.) (right), representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), hurry toward the basket at the 195-foot level of Launch Pad 39B during an emergency egress exercise. Glenn and Mukai, along with other crew members, are at KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and a simulated main engine cutoff. The other crew members are Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, and Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown. The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations

At Launch Pad 39-B, STS-95 Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain (left) and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai look over the gate for the slidewire basket, part of the emergency egress system on the pad. Mukai represents the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), and Duque the European Space Agency (ESA). The STS-95 crew are at KSC to participate in a Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and a simulated main engine cut-off exercise. Other STS-95 crew members are Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown, Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Payload Specialists John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski. The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations

Near Launch Pad 39-B, STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (second from right), representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), responds to questions about the mission and training from reporters during a brief break from the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). Other crew members also participated: (from left) Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, who also serves as Payload Commander, Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), (Mukai), and Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio. The crew were at the pad for emergency egress training after the break. The TCDT also involves mission familiarization activities and a simulated main engine cut-off exercise. The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations

At Launch Pad 39-B, STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (right) pulls the pin that releases the gate for the slidewire basket, part of the emergency egress system on the pad, while Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain watches. Mukai represents the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), and Duque the European Space Agency (ESA). The STS-95 crew are at KSC to participate in a Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) which includes mission familiarization activities, emergency egress training, and a simulated main engine cut-off exercise. Other STS-95 crew members are Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown, Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Payload Specialists John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski. The STS-95 mission, targeted for liftoff on Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. Following the TCDT, the crew will be returning to Houston for final flight preparations

S98-08730 (9 April 1998) --- Four members of the STS-95 crew participate in a food tasting session at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). From the left are Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist; payload specialist Chiaki Mukai of Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA); U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr., payload specialist; and Curtis L. Brown Jr., mission commander. They will be joined by three other astronauts when Discovery lifts off in late October of this year for a scheduled nine-day mission. The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

S98-08744 (28 April 1998) --- Four members of the STS-95 crew are briefed on video cameras by crew trainer Donald Carico during a training session in the systems integration facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). From the left are U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr. (D.-Ohio), payload specialist; astronaut Scott E. Parazynski, mission specialist; Chiaki Mukai, payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA); Carico and astronaut Pedro Duque, mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA). The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

STS065-S-048 (8 July 1994) --- The Space Shuttle Columbia, with six NASA astronauts and a Japanese payload specialist aboard, heads toward Earth-orbit. A short time later, the crew began setting up the science module for two weeks of experimentation in support of the second International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2). Launch occurred at 12:43 p.m. (EDT), July 8, 1994. Onboard were astronauts Robert D. Cabana, James D. Halsell, Jr., Richard J. Hieb, Carl E. Walz, Leroy Chiao, and Donald A. Thomas along with NASDA payload specialist Dr. Chiaki Mukai.

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), grins for the camera after looking at equipment in the SPACEHAB module while Chris Jaskolka, of Boeing SPACEHAB, gives her a thumbs up. The STS-95 crew is at KSC for a familiarization tour of the SPACEHAB module and the equipment that will fly with them on the Space Shuttle Discovery scheduled to launch Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

STS095-328-031 (29 Oct.-7 Nov. 1998) --- With their feet anchored in the hatchway, the seven STS-95 crew members pose for their traditional in-flight crew portrait. Astronaut Curtis L. Brown Jr., commander, appears at right center in the pyramid. Others, clockwise from there, are Steven W. Lindsey, pilot; Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist; Pedro Duque, mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA); payload specialist Chiaki Naito-Mukai, who represents Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA); Scott E. Parazynski, mission specialist; and United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr. (D.-Ohio), payload specialist.

S98-07960 (5 June 1998) --- The seven crew members in training for the STS-95 mission aboard Discovery pose for photographers prior to participating in a training session at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Pictured, from the left, are Pedro Duque, Curtis L. Brown Jr., Chiaki Nauto-Mukai, U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr. (D.-Ohio), Stephen K. Robinson, Steven W. Lindsey and Scott E. Parazynski. Among training exercises were those that dealt with emergency egress from a troubled space shuttle.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (center), representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr. review equipment and documentation for the SPACEHAB at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility (SPPF), Cape Canaveral. Onlookers behind them provide support. The STS-95 crew are participating in SPACEHAB familiarization at the SPPF. The mission, scheduled to launch Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-95 Payload Specialist John Glenn (left), who is a senator from Ohio, and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (extreme right), who represents the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), check out equipment during SPACEHAB familiarization at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral. The mission, scheduled to launch Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging proces

STS065-34-016 (8-23 July 1994) --- Clouds over the ocean form the backdrop for this scene of the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) science module in the Space Shuttle Columbia's cargo bay during the two-week mission. Part of the tunnel that served as passageway for the seven crew members to and from the lab is seen in center foreground. Onboard Columbia were astronauts Robert D. Cabana, James D. Halsell, Jr., Richard J. Hieb, Carl E. Walz, Donald A. Thomas and Leroy Chiao, along with (NASDA) Japanese payload specialist Dr. Chiaki Naito-Mukai.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-95 Payload Specialist John Glenn (left), who is a senator from Ohio, and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai (extreme right), who represents the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), check out equipment during SPACEHAB familiarization at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral. KSC workers in the background observe. The mission, scheduled to launch Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

S98-07969 (5 June 1998) --- Crew trainer Adam Flagan (left) checks out STS-95 payload specialists Chiaki Naito-Mukai and John H. Glenn Jr. as they practice launch and entry procedures on the middeck of one of the training mockups in the Johnson Space Center's Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. The STS-95 mission, tentatively scheduled for launch on Oct. 29, will involve a variety of science experiments being carried in the pressurized Spacehab module, deployment and retrieval of the Spartan free-flyer payload, and operations with the HST Orbiting Systems Test and the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker payloads.

S98-08729 (9 April 1998) --- Four members of the STS-95 crew participate in a food tasting session at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). From the left are Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist; payload specialist Chiaki Mukai of Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA); U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr., payload specialist; and Curtis L. Brown Jr., mission commander. They will be joined by three other astronauts when Discovery lifts off in late October of this year for a scheduled nine-day mission. The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

S98-08731 (9 April 1998) --- Four members of the STS-95 crew participate in a food tasting session at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). From the left are Steven W. Lindsey, pilot; Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist; with payload specialists Chiaki Mukai of Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) and U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr. They will be joined by three other astronauts when Discovery lifts off in late October of this year for a scheduled nine-day mission. The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

The STS-95 crew members Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai and John H. Glenn Jr., Mission Specialist Pedro Duque and Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr. look at the inside of the SPACEHAB module at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The crew is on a familiarization tour of the module and equipment that will fly with them on the Space Shuttle Discovery scheduled to launch Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, F LA. -- STS-95 Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai, at left, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA), practice using equipment in the SPACEHAB trainer at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility in Cape Canaveral. STS-95 will feature a variety of research payloads, including the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and experiments on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is targeted for an Oct. 29 launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.

In the environmental chamber known as the white room, STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), is prepared by closeout room crew members Danny Wyatt (left), Carlous Gillis (behind her) and Dave Law (right) for entry into the Space Shuttle Discovery for her second flight into space. The STS-95 mission, targeted for launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and return to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7

S98-08740 (9 April 1998) --- Five members of the STS-95 crew review supplies that may accompany them on the scheduled October launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. From the left are Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist; U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr. (D.-Ohio), payload specialist; Pedro Duque, mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA); Scott E. Parazynski, mission specialist; and Chiaki Mukai, payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

S98-08736 (9 April 1998) --- The STS-95 crew members sample space food as part of their training agenda for the scheduled late October/early November mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. From the left are Pedro Duque, mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA); Scott E. Parazynski, mission specialist; Steven W. Lindsey, pilot; Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist; Chiaki Mukai, payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA); U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr., payload specialist; and Curtis L. Brown Jr., commander. The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

S98-08735 (9 April 1998) --- Five members of the STS-95 crew participate in a food tasting session at NASA's Johnson Space Center. From the left are Pedro Duque, a mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA); Scott E. Parazynski, mission specialist; Steven W. Lindsey, pilot; Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist; and payload specialist Chiaki Mukai of Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). At the session but not pictured are U.S. Sen. John H. Glenn Jr., payload specialist; and Curtis L. Brown Jr., commander. The photo was taken by Joe McNally, National Geographic, for NASA.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-95 crew members review procedures in the SPACEHAB trainer at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility in Cape Canaveral. From left, are Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai and John H. Glenn Jr., and Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski and Pedro Duque. STS-95 will feature a variety of research payloads, including the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and experiments on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is targeted for an Oct. 29 launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-95 crew members look over the Osteoporosis Experiment in Orbit (OSTEO) during a SPACEHAB familiarization tour and briefing in the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility in Cape Canaveral. Seated from left are Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai of the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), and Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., who also is a senator from Ohio. Standing, from left, are STS-95 Commander Curtis L. Brown and Canadian Space Agency representative Duncan Burnside. STS-95 will feature a variety of research payloads, including the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and experiments on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is targeted for an Oct. 29 launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), smiles at well-wishers while at Launch Pad 39B. The crew were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. Other crew members not shown are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency (ESA), Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, and Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio. The STS-95 mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7

STS-95 crew members gather around the Vestibular Function Experiment Unit (VFEU) which includes marine fish called toadfish. In foreground, from left, are Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of the European Space Agency (ESA), a technician from the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai of NASDA, Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, and Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., who also is a senator from Ohio. At center, facing the camera, are Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski and Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., in back. STS-95 will feature a variety of research payloads, including the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and experiments on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is targeted for an Oct. 29 launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery

STS-95 crew members (from left) Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), and Pilot Steven W. Lindsey look over equipment that Hideo Ishikawa of NASDA has presented at SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The STS-95 crew is at KSC to look at the SPACEHAB module and the equipment that will fly with them on the Space Shuttle Discovery, scheduled to launch Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

Orbiter Discovery touches down on runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility after a successful mission of nearly nine days and 3.6 million miles. Main gear touchdown was at 12:04 p.m. EST, landing on orbit 135. The STS-95 crew consists of Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr.; Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson; Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., a senator from Ohio; Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA); and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, M.D., with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The mission included research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

STS-95 Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, waves at well-wishers from Launch Pad 39B. The STS-95 crew were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. Other crew members not shown are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski, Stephen K. Robinsion, and Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency (ESA), and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The STS-95 mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-95 Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, at center, takes some experiment equipment from Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., while in the SPACEHAB trainer at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility in Cape Canaveral. Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), sets up a camera in the foreground. STS-95 will feature a variety of research payloads, including the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and experiments on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is targeted for an Oct. 29 launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery

STS-95 crew members (from left) Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai and John H. Glenn Jr., Mission Specialist Pedro Duque (kneeling in front center), Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson and Pilot Steven W. Lindsey (kneeling at right) look at the inside of the SPACEHAB module at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral, Fla. The crew is on a familiarization tour of the module and equipment that will fly with them on the Space Shuttle Discovery scheduled to launch Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The STS-95 crew takes time out from SPACEHAB familiarization activities at the SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility, Cape Canaveral, to pose for a group portrait. Clockwise from the center front are Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr.; Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, representing the European Space Agency (ESA); Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA); Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson; and Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., who also is a senator from Ohio. The mission, scheduled to launch Oct. 29, includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

(Left to right) STS-95 Payload Specialists John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan, talk with Kiki Chaput, trainer, United Space Alliance-Houston, during the Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) for their mission. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity for a hands-on look at the payloads on whcih they will be working on orbit. The launch of the STS-95 mission, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, is scheduled for Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

(Left to right) STS-95 Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan, and John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, and Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr. take part in middeck orientation during a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) in the Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity for a hands-on look at the payloads on which they will be working on orbit. The launch of the STS-95 mission, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, is scheduled for Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, representing the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), handles part of the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) experiment which will fly on the planned nine-day mission. She and other crew members, including Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, at right, are at KSC and the adjacent SPACEHAB Payload Processing Facility in Cape Canaveral to familiarize themselves with the STS-95 payloads. Standing behind the two astronauts is Steve Pyle of Boeing in Huntsville, Ala. STS-95 will feature a variety of research payloads, including the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and experiments on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is targeted for an Oct. 29 launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.

STS-95 Payload Specialist Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, waves at family and well-wishers while at Launch Pad 39B. The crew were making final preparations for launch, targeted for liftoff at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. Other crew members not shown are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency (ESA), Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, and Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The STS-95 mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, returning to KSC at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7

After nine days and 3.6 million miles in space, orbiter Discovery prepares to land on runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility. Discovery returns to Earth with its crew of seven after successfully completing mission STS-95. The STS-95 crew members are Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr.; Pilot Steven W. Lindsey; Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski; Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson; Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., a senator from Ohio; Mission Specialist Pedro Duque of Spain, with the European Space Agency (ESA); and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The mission included research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

The T-38 jet aircraft arrives at the Shuttle Landing Facility carrying STS-95 Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski (second seat). The pilot is astronaut Kent Rominger. Parazynski's first plane experienced problems at the stop at Tyndall AFB and he had to wait for another jet and pilot to finish the flight to KSC. He joined other crewmembers Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Payload Specialist John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA), and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), for final pre-launch preparations. STS-95 is expected to launch at 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29, last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and land at 11:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 7

Waiting for the arrival of the STS-95 crewmembers at the Shuttle Landing Facility are 137 media representatives, a small sampling of more than 3,000 expected to attend the launch on Oct. 29. Flying into KSC to make final preparations for their launch were Mission Commander Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Specialist Pedro Duque, with the European Space Agency (ESA), and Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The STS-95 mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process. The mission is expected to last 8 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes, and return to KSC on Nov. 7

STS-95 Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai, at far left, of the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) works on the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) experiment which will fly on the scheduled nine-day mission. Watching her, starting with second from left, are STS-95 Pilot Steven W. Lindsey, Mission Specialist Scott E. Parazynski, and NASDA representatives Sachiko Aizawa and Shigeki Kamigaichi. STS-95 will feature a variety of research payloads, including the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, and experiments on space flight and the aging process. STS-95 is targeted for an Oct. 29 launch aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery

(Left to right) STS-95 Payload Specialists Chiaki Mukai, with the National Space Development Agency of Japan, and John H. Glenn Jr., senator from Ohio, take part in middeck orientation during a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) in the Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2. The CEIT gives astronauts an opportunity for a hands-on look at the payloads on which they will be working on orbit. The launch of the STS-95 mission, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, is scheduled for Oct. 29, 1998. The mission includes research payloads such as the Spartan solar-observing deployable spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker, as well as the SPACEHAB single module with experiments on space flight and the aging process

STS095-S-002 (June 1998) --- Five astronauts based at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) and two payload specialists take a break from their training regimen to pose for the preflight portrait. Seated are astronauts Curtis L. Brown Jr. (right), commander; and Steven W. Lindsey, pilot. Standing, from the left, are Scott E. Parazynski and Stephen K. Robinson, both mission specialists; Chiaki Mukai, payload specialist representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA); Pedro Duque, mission specialist representing the European Space Agency (ESA); and United States Senator John H. Glenn Jr., payload specialist. The seven are scheduled to be launched into Earth orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in late October.