Posted: Fri, Jan 31, 2003, 1:38 PM ET (1838 GMT)
The crew of the space shuttle Columbia has completed work on dozens of experiments as they prepared to return to Earth Saturday morning. Thursday was the last day experiments were performed in the shuttle's Spacehab module, with astronauts focusing on work to study fire suppression systems, respiratory monitoring equipment, and observations of dust storms on Earth. NASA officials declared success on the MEIDEX dust monitoring experiment, sponsored by Israel, which was finally able to observe a dust storm and measure its effects on the atmosphere. The crew will spend Friday shutting down the Spacehab module and preparing to return to Earth. Columbia is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:16 am EST (1416 GMT) Saturday. Weather conditions are forecast to be excellent for the landing attempt.

Related Links:

•  NASA STS-107 mission status report #16
•  AP article
•  New York Times article
•  Discovery.com article
•  SPACE.com mission status center