Space Station experiments ranging from biology and human physiology to materials processing and education were on track to pass the 50,000-hour operating mark during the past week as Expedition Three nears its end later this month.

"We've taken our first few steps to do continuous research operations," said Expedition Three Lead Increment Scientist John Uri, reflecting on science operations to date on the Station. "We've got a great team. We've gotten a lot better about operations and being more efficient in saving crew time. A lot of good science has already come down."

Those automated experiments continuing to run this week include the Advanced Protein Crystallization Facility, Materials International Space Station Experiment, Space Acceleration Measurement System, Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System, and Dynamically Controlled Protein Crystal Growth, and Experiment on Physics of Colloids in Space.

The Active Rack Isolation System ISS Characterization Experiment (ARIS-ICE) conducted more short duration tests Monday through Thursday of the ARIS controller. The purpose is to study stability and isolation performance of new ARIS controller computer algorithms necessary to handle different ARIS rack hardware configurations. Data file downlink and analysis continue. ARIS-ICE plans to conclude experiment operations in Expedition Four. NASA managers decided last week to leave the ARIS ICE Payload On-orbit Processor aboard the Station because it is useful for testing tool for ARIS equipped Express racks arriving on future missions.

The Colloids experiment conducted a 48-hour test run that began Monday and ended Wednesday. Scientists on the ground commanded it to start another 48-hour test run on Thursday. Like the 24-hour test completed November 9 and 10, these runs included low angle light scattering and time-lapse images of the phase separation of the colloid-polymer critical point sample. Scientists are able to repeatedly stir the colloid samples, allow them to crystallize, and re-mix them to study colloid behavior.

The final Hoffman Reflex session for all three crewmembers was planned for Friday. On the task list of optional items for the crew this week as their schedules permit are the Crew Interactions survey, Bonner Ball status check, Crew Earth Observations photography and DREAMTiME videography of various geographic locations on Earth.

Geographic locations for the Crew Earth Observations photography program this week included Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Washington/Baltimore; the Central Valley of California; high central Andean glaciers; the Tuamotu Archipelago; reefs of American Samoa; human development in the Red Basin of Western China; the Philippine Islands; reefs in Malaysia; fault lines of the Rukwa Transform in Tanzania, the New England coast and the Appalachians and Piedmont areas of the United States.

Roughly eight hours of crew time is allocated to payload activities this week as the crew rests from their November 12 spacewalk, and begins the process of preparing Station equipment and payloads for return to Earth and to support Expedition Four. At the Payload Operations Center in Huntsville, Ala., the new Expedition Four team of controllers began phasing in to operations during the past week.

Editor's Note: The Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages all science research experiment operations aboard the International Space Station. The center is also home for coordination of the mission-planning work of a variety of international sources, all science payload deliveries and retrieval, and payload training and payload safety programs for the Station crew and all ground personnel.