A variety of scientific questions will be addressed when NASA conducts Shuttle mission STS-56 in late March 1993. The crew on Space Shuttle Discovery will gather data on the relationship between
... sun's energy output and Earth's middle-atmosphere chemical make-up and how these factors affect the Earth's ozone level.
The crew will use the Atmospheric Laboratory for Science and Applications (ATLAS 2) and Shuttle Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) payloads aboard Discovery to gather this information.
The source of solar wind and the possible applications a microgravity environment can provide for research in drug development and the changes which occur in muscles and bones in a weightless condition are some of the other areas to be investigated during the STS-56 mission.
{Summary provided by NASA]