SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*Crew Prepares Experiments, Talks to Students*

ISS014-E-08323 -- The Expedition 14 crew members share a meal Image above: Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria (left) and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin share a meal at the galley in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA - TO VIEW PICTURE GO TO: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

To continue studying the impact of countermeasures to the effects of living in space, Flight Engineer Sunita Williams unstowed and set up the blood and urine collection hardware. Her samples will be used to better understand the impact of countermeasures such as exercise and pharmaceuticals on nutritional status and nutrient requirements.

Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria and Williams also spent several hours stowing away spacewalk tools used during STS-116 and preparing equipment and tools to be used for spacewalks in February. They also reserved some time for STS-116 cargo unpacking and stowage.

Lopez-Alegria conducted a ham radio session with stdents at the Kashiwahara Community Center in Sayama, Japan. Some questions the students asked included what he does for fun in space and if his elementary school studies reflect his work in space.

+ Read more about Expedition 14 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition14/index.html + Read more about Expedition 15 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.html + View crew's daily timelines http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html