CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Six astronauts will begin one of the most intense studies of the planet's fragile ozone layer ever undertaken after being launched into space yesterday aboard space shuttle Atlantis.
Atlantis' 11-day science mission is aimed at determining how badly and how fast humans are destroying their only shield from the sun's most harmful effects.
This morning, a French astronaut, using the shuttle's Canadian-built, 50-foot mechanical arm, will deploy a German satellite that will study the sun's effect on the outer layers of the Earth's atmosphere.
U.S. astronauts then will start the first of dozens of studies designed to measure the effects of man-made and natural pollution on the ozone layer, which floats about 25 miles above the Earth.
"This mission will study our atmosphere in more detail than any other scientific mission in history," Tim Miller, a mission scientist, said after the launch.
It takes 12 years for auto pollution and other gases to reach the ozone layer and begin destroying it, Mr. Miller said.
Ozone depletion puts humans at greater risk of skin cancer, cataracts and other ailments linked to overexposure to ultraviolet radiation. Too much sunlight can spoil crops and devastate underwater food sources.
Scientists are worried about a vast ozone "hole" that appears over Antarctica each September and persists into December.
The shuttle flight marks the first time that NASA scientists have been able to study the ozone in the autumn. Using telescopes and spectrographs that measure the tiniest traces of pollution, astronauts will work around the clock.
Atlantis, in its first flight after nearly two years of modifications in California, appeared to perform flawlessly, said NASA launch director Bob Seick. Part of Atlantis' modifications included equipment that will allow it to dock with the Soviet space station Mir in June.
Crew members on the Atlantis voyage include Air Force Lt. Col. Donald McMonagle, 42, the mission commander, and Jean-Francois Clervoy, 35, of Toulouse, France, representing the European Space Agency. Also aboard are Air Force Lt. Col. Curtis Brown, 38, co-pilot; Ellen Ochoa, 36, payload commander; and NASA mission specialists Scott Parazynksi, 33, a physician, and Joseph Tanner, 44, a former shuttle instructor pilot.
WHERE TO LOOK
Marylanders will get one chance to see the shuttle Atlantis. It will appear at 5:47 p.m. Wednesday as a bright, moving "star" about halfway between the horizon and straight up. The shuttle will move northwest to southeast, disappearing at 5:50 p.m. as it moves out of direct sunlight just above the southeastern horizon.