A Spider’s Web Helps Skylab Crew Trying to Unravel Earth’s Mysteries
PHILIDELPHIA

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A Spider’s Web Helps Skylab Crew
By HOWARD BENEDICT..
Cape Kennedy, Fla. H«(AP)
In a quiet corner of the Skylab
space station, a spider will
spin; a web.
Atop Skylab are six telea
scopes worth $107 million that
the three astronauts will oper-
ate from inside — “like play-
ing three S8-key piano boards
at one’ time,” as Charles Con-
rad puts it.
Here’s what, these and other
experiments aboard Skylab
may mean back on earth:
-I Scientists expect that in
30 or 40 years they can build a
power source that works like
the sun works — free of pollu-
tion and using materials on
earth that will last millions of
years. Skylab hopes to unlock
some of the sun’s secrets
about that power. *
—    Eruptions on the sun spill
vast Amounts of radiation into
space; and affect weather and
communications’ on earth.
Skylab hopes to find out how.
Hidden Wealth
. — Men can build sensors,
put them in orbit,’ and locate:
hidden oil and mineral re-
serves, arable land, sources of
water and air pollution, fish?
tag grounds,;? diseased and    Root#
healthy crops and sources of
timber, map snow cover and:
assess water runoff potentials.:
Skylab hopes to determine:
which instruments can best be
used- by mans in space’ and-,
which’can be operated on un-
manned satellites. _
–    —; Eyeglasses and precision
lenses are imperfect on earth
because-in a molten-state
glass picks up contamination
from a container. But in zero-
gravity, molten or liquid ma-
terial stays put, levitates, and.
needs no container.’ Skylab
studies may lead – to perfect
,’ glass/-:
The Skylab 1 astronauts will”-
grow crystals and compare
them > to,’ theoretically ideal
crystals. They will also ex-
periment with molten metal in
weightlessness.
—Gravity makes (he various
ingredients in steel and other
solids separate, somewhat ini;
a molten state, leaving the’
resulting solid weaker than it
could be. Skylab experiments
with processing molten metal
in weightlessness could show
that zero gravity produces
stronger solids, resulting in jet*
engines that run at higher
temperatures and save power
and defeat pollution, more
dukatffle roads, tougher
bridges, better appliances,
communications, travel and
houses.
What Spiders Think
In addition to these prob-
1 e m s , the NationalwAerfr
nautics and Space Adminis-
tration asked ||.S. high school
students to suggest projects
for Skylab. /
Judith S. Miles of Lexington
(Mass.); High School, sug-
gested that common cross spi-
ders ride along for a study of
web building, in weightless-
ness.
Scientists say they can tell
what a cross spider is think-,
tag by the pattern of the web
it spins. Judith wants to: know
how the absnece of gravity
will affect that thinking.
The: spiders, will, be in a
cage ’ and at various times
during the mission motion and
still pictures will be taken of
yreb patterns.    T’
Results will be compared to
research by the North Caro-
lina. Department.’of? Mental
Health on the effect of drugs
on spiders
of intense radio
source s
pulses.
NASA’s Earth Resources
Technology Satellite (ERTS)
already orbits unmanned over
the earth sensing pollution,
agricultural changes and col-
lecting geologic data on film,
but NASA says the Skylab.:
cameras offer higher resolu-
tion.,|pr )$og|ap: I — ti t is,
sharpe picture
Iran, Brazil Sudan, Co-
lombia and the Philippines
asked for agricultural surveys
from Skylab and Israel asked
for a listing of major soil;
types, crop disease and ta-
sects.    –
Italy asked for M look at
thermal patterns associated
w i t h a Tuscany volcano,.
Greece for a mapping of
watjsjr’; sources.
Sky la    idy^ water-
borne pollution along the coast
of*yenezuela, water currents
off Japan and dune fields in
the Namib- and Kalahari
deserts of South-West Africa.
in «earth’s , gravity,^ seed
roots and stems grow in a pre-
dictable direction. But earlier
tests have shown- that.; in
weightlessness. they follow no
specific pattern.
So Joel G. Wordekemper of.
Central Catholic High School,,
West. Point, Neb., suggested at-
test on: whether – lights can:
serve as a substitute for grav-:;’
ity in- causing the roots’ and
stems of radish seeds to grow
in the proper direction. The
radishes are in a>- Skylab, in? –
cubator, :
The. astronauts will operate
the telescopes to examine the
sun at varying wavelengths.
“The big advantage over
earth telescopes is that we’ll
be operating it above the
earth’s atmosphere, which fiK
ters out most x-ray and ul-
traviolet radiation from, the
sun and stars and thus leaves
big holes in interpretation and
understanding,’’ Conrad said.
Gazing at Stars
The telescopes will also aim
at scores, of stars, the Milky
Way, cosmic rays, x-rays and
pulsars and quasars, which
are mysterious celestial: