STS-99 Crew Interviews: Mamoru Mohri

Abstract

Live footage of a preflight interview with Mission Specialists Mamoru Mohri is seen. The interview addresses many different questions including why Mohri became an astronaut, the events that led to his interest, his career path, and then finally, his selection by NASDA as an astronaut. Other interesting information that this one-on-one interview discusses is the purpose for the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Specific interest is on the importance of this SRTM flight, the knowledge that we will gain from the 3D topographic map of the Earth, and the reason why this 3D data is being recorded instead of down-linked. The two antennas that will be taking the pictures, the involvement of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), and EARTHCAM, a student-controlled camera on the Endeavour Orbiter, Mohri's responsibility during this 24 hour mission, and his secondary experiments with high definition TV cameras are also discussed.