A variety of scientific questions will be addressed when NASA conducts Shuttle mission STS-56 in late March 1993. The crew on Space Shuttle Discovery will gather data on the relationship between sun's energy output and Earth's middle-atmosphere chemical make-up and how these factors affect the Earth's ozone level.
The crew will use the Atmospheric Laboratory for Science and Applications (ATLAS 2) and Shuttle Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) payloads aboard Discovery to gather this information.
The source of solar wind and the possible applications a microgravity environment can provide for research in drug development and the changes which occur in muscles and bones in a weightless condition are some of the other areas to be investigated during the STS-56 mission.
{Summary provided by NASA]
Group: Platform_Details
Entry_ID: STS-56
Group: Platform_Identification
Platform_Category: Space Stations/Manned Spacecraft
Platform_Series_or_Entity: SPACE SHUTTLE
Short_Name: STS-56
Long_Name: Space Transport System STS-56
End_Group
Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names
Short_Name: DISCOVERY
End_Group
Group: Orbit
Orbit_Altitude: 160nm
Orbit_Inclination: 57 degrees
End_Group
Creation_Date: 2008-01-30
Online_Resource: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-56/mission-sts-56.html
Sample_Image: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-56/sts-56-patch-small.gif
Group: Platform_Logistics
Launch_Date: 1993-04-08
Primary_Sponsor: NASA
End_Group
End_Group (en)