(1 Jul 1996) English/Nat

Astronauts on board the space shuttle Columbia say all is going well as they face the space programme's longest flight yet.

The day after NASA decided to keep the shuttle in space for a 17th day, Columbia's crew held a press conference.

The crew fielded questions from NASA locations across the United States and press rooms in France and Canada.

With seven days still to go on their marathon mission, the astronauts on board the space shuttle Columbia say they're up to the task.

SOUNDBITE:
"I think the crew has been doing exceptionally well. It's a 17-day mission now. I think we're pacing ourselves. We're right on target, and I don't think we've had excessive fatigue or any memory loss. In fact, we seem to be working better both individually and together as a unit."
SUPER CAPTION: Charles Brady Junior, Mission Specialist

But Columbia won't be breaking the old space endurance record by much.

Endeavour currently holds the title for the longest space flight, with a sixteen-and-a-half-day mission.

The astronauts also took time during the news conference to remember the U-S service members killed and injured in the terrorist bombing of a military complex in Saudi Arabia last Tuesday.

SOUNDBITE:
"Our sympathies go out to those that lost loved ones, and our prayers go out to those that are still in recovery. From space, we do not see the conflicts that the humans are going under on the earth. We just see a beautiful earth and we wish we could share that perspective, and help bring peace through the perspective of space."
SUPER CAPTION: Tom Henricks, Mission Commander

After the news conference, the seven astronauts took a half-day break.

The crew used the time to relax and make private video conference calls to their families.

Earlier Sunday, payload specialist Jean Jacques Favier and payload commander Susan Helms worked on microgravity experiments.

They harvested four of 20 pine seedlings that were bent at a 90-degree angle earlier in the mission.

The seedlings were placed in a chemical fixative that will halt their growth.

More seedlings will be harvested later, while others will be allowed to grow throughout the mission.

The purpose of the experiment is to study the effect of microgravity on the formation of reaction wood - wood that forms when trees growing on Earth bend and then gradually straighten.

Columbia is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida next Sunday.

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