Mission Control Center
STS-59 Status Report #6

Monday, April 11, 1994, 6:30 a.m. CDT

The Earth observing radar instruments in Endeavour's payload bay
continue to operate without interruption allowing scientists to
record all the scheduled observations.

Three real-time radar images were downlinked from Endeavour
overnight.  A view of the Sahara Desert in Algeria, one of the
geology sites, will help scientists to map surface and subsurface
structures.  The Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and the X-Band
Synthetic Aperture Radar can penetrate the Sahara's dry sand
cover to reveal centuries-old drainage patterns.  The desert salt
flat regions showed up on the image as bright ridges.

Also, the two radar imaging systems were calibrated over Matera,
Italy, and Oberpfaffenhoffen, Germany, near Munich.  Students
from the University of Munich are participating in a concurrent
ecology project.  The students measure soil moisture, forestry
parameters, and the biomass of agricultural crops in the area at
the same time the radar data is gathered.  The students'
measurements will be compared with the radar images to help
scientists verify information about the interactions of the
various elements of Earth's environment.

Thus far in the mission, all 16 "supersites" planned for
observations have been completed.  Supersites are those with
highest priority throughout the flight.  Of the 51 total science
sites thus far, 40 have been obtained.  The 11 that have been
missed due to recalibration operations will be replanned and
obtained during the rest of the flight.

Mission Specialist Tom Jones gave scientists real-time
observations of thunderstorms over Taiwan, the Philippines and
New Guinea to augment data being gathered by the Measure of
Atmospheric Pollution from Satellite (MAPS) experiment.  Jay Apt
described a "good-sized" dust storm on the northwest coast of
Australia.  MAPS takes readings of the levels of carbon monoxide
in Earth's lower atmosphere.

The MAPS project's Vickie Connors reported to Endeavour's Red
Team of crew members that there is good correlation between what
the instruments on board are reading compared to data gathered on
the ground.  The air pollution measuring experiment has been in
operation since about 3 hours after launch and has collected more
than 38 hours of science data.  It has mapped nearly half of the
Earth's carbon monoxide distribution.

The Blue Team of Jay Apt, Rich Clifford and Tom Jones is
scheduled for their sleep period beginning about 8 a.m.  The Red
Team of Side Gutierrez, Kevin Chilton, and Godwin went to work a
few minutes after five this morning.

Endeavour continues its flawless performance allowing the crew to
devote all its time to science work.  The orbiter circles Earth
every 89 minutes at an altitude of 120 nautical miles.

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