t

^AP-Glenn-Space,490
^Glenn's space duties to include handling blood, urine samples
^By KATHERINE RIZZO= ^Associated Press Writer=
WASHINGTON (AP) An astronaut's work isn't all glamour.
When John Glenn becomes the oldest man in space in October, his tasks will include operating the blood centrifuge, handling the Discovery crew's urine samples, and learning to sleep with so many sensors and wires coming out of his head that ``I look like a bug under a microscope.''
The 76-year-old senator will also have some fun assignments, like working the onboard cameras.
The Ohio Democrat returned from his most recent round of training with a schedule of the classroom, simulator and home study work he'll have to do in the next six months, plus a schedule of how almost every one of his 212 hours in space will be spent.
Glenn's main purpose aboard is to assist in studies that will help scientists research the aging process. Both space flight and getting old on Earth involve the loss of some bone and muscle, sleep disturbances and balance disorders.
While in space, Glenn will have chemicals injected into his muscles to help researchers study what happens in zero gravity; he'll have brain-wave monitors hooked up to his head and eye-movement sensors affixed to his face, as well as a respiration monitor and other wires.
``Four nights out of nine I'll have to get that whole rig on and try to sleep,'' he said Wednesday. ``I'll be fully instrumented.''
Glenn and his crew mates will also give blood a dozen times, plus frequent urine samples, which will be entrusted to the junior member of the team.
Glenn will have to bar-code the samples using a laptop computer for the first time in his life then run the blood samples through the onboard centrifuge and store the urine bags in the shuttle's freezer.
Is that the way Glenn imagined his days in space would be? He grins, shakes his head ``no'' but says nothing.
Glenn would rather talk about the underlying science.
``I hope we get good enough data out of this, if we do it right
if I do it right that NASA will see the value of doing this in the future,'' he said. ``I'm really excited about the research.''
Glenn will have passed his 77th birthday by the time he returns to space, now scheduled for Oct. 29.
He was one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, and the one selected to be the first American to orbit the Earth.
Now, as NASA's oldest astronaut, Glenn has found himself in training with people too young to remember his landmark flight. He's also found himself the butt of old-guy-in-space jokes.
``I think they're funny,'' he told Ohio reporters.
And he repeated a couple: Glenn's shuttle mission will be the first on which an astronaut is allowed to pre-board. His flight will make history as the first to mix Tang with Metamucil.