Crew & Mission

(STS094-307-001 - July 1997) --- Five NASA astronauts and two payload specialists who spent 16 days in space in support of the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL-1) mission pose for the traditional in-flight crew portrait. In the front, left to right, are astronauts Susan L. Still, pilot, and Janice E. Voss, payload commander. In the middle row are, from the left, Michael L. Gernhardt, mission specialist; James D. Halsell, Jr., mission commander; and Gregory T. Linteris, payload specialist. On the back row are Donald A. Thomas (left), mission specialist; and Roger K. Crouch, payload specialist.

The Artwork

(STS094-S-001) --- The crew patch for NASA's STS-94 mission depicts the Space Shuttle Columbia launching into space for the first Microgravity Sciences Laboratory 1 (MSL-1) mission. MSL-1 will investigate materials science, fluid dynamics, biotechnology, and combustion science in the microgravity environment of space, experiments that will be conducted in the Spacelab Module in the Space Shuttle Columbia's cargo bay during the planned 16-day mission. The center circle symbolizes a free liquid under microgravity conditions representing various fluid and materials science experiments. Symbolic of the combustion experiments is the surrounding starburst of a blue flame burning in space. The 3-lobed shape of the outermost starburst ring traces the dot pattern of a transmission Laue photograph typical of biotechnology experiments. The numerical designation for the mission is shown at bottom center. As a forerunner to missions involving international Space Station (ISS), STS-94 represents the hope that scientific results and knowledge gained during the flight will be applied to solving problems on Earth for the benefit and advancement of humankind. The patch for STS-94 is a slightly altered representation of the original STS-83 insignia.