PIMS analyst Ken Hrovat, of Tal-Cut Company, finds that Mir 's environment is not very different from the shuttle in that crew activity, the running of certain equipment, thruster firings, and the vibration of the rigid structure of the station itself cause disturbances to the microgravity level. Hrovat and Russian analysts Victor Sazonov and Stanislav Ryaboukha, who also presented at the meeting, agreed on which pieces of equipment were causing disturbances. Sazonov presented a comparison of SAMS data from Mir to predictions of accelerations at each of the SAMS sensor head locations on the station. Sazonov said that the predictions matched well with the SAMS data except during one period at the beginning of the comparison timeline. Sazonov is not sure what caused the discrepancy but is working to find out, as Russian and American investigators alike are eager to have models that accurately predict the microgravity environment at particular locations on Mir so that they can design their experiments accordingly.
Disturbances caused by use of the ergometer show up in SAMS data.
A multicomponent station will have a much more complex microgravity environment than a single-unit station or a craft like the shuttle. Plans for systems designed to isolate entire experiment racks from disturbances, isolation platforms that accommodate single experiments, new acceleration measurement instruments, and new predictive models for ISS were described. Attendees also heard reports characterizing the microgravity environment on several unmanned research facilities that may be used as alternatives to ISS for conducting experiments. Learning about all the possible vehicles for microgravity research and about the quantity and depth of microgravity measurement data currently available for those vehicles seemed to especially exhilarate Narayanan. During the open discussion which concluded the conference, Narayanan urged that more experimenters become fully versed in microgravity measurement so that they can select the best environment for their experiments, make any adjustments in experiment design that might minimize the effect of disturbances, and fully understand the response of their experiment to the microgravity levels experienced during a mission.