japan

The primary payload on STS-83 was the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL). MSL was a collection of microgravity experiments housed inside a European Spacelab Long Module (LM).
MSL featured 19 materials science investigations in four major facilities. These facilities were the Large Isothermal Furnace, the EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to the Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack, the Electromagnetic Containerless Processing Facility (TEMPUS) and the Coarsening in Solid–Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) facility, the Droplet Combustion Experiment (DCE) and the Combustion Module-1 Facility. Additional technology experiments were to be performed in the Middeck Glovebox (MGBX) developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the High-Packed Digital Television (HI-PAC DTV) system was used to provide multi-channel real-time analog science video.

The Large Isothermal Furnace was developed by the Japanese Space Agency (NASDA) for the STS-47 Spacelab-J mission and was also flown on STS-65 IML-2 mission. It housed the measurement of diffusion coefficient by shear cell method experiment, the diffusion of liquid metals and alloys experiment, the diffusion in liquid led-tin-telluride experiment, the impurity diffusion in ionic melts experiment, the liquid phase sintering II experiment (LIF), and the diffusion processes in molten semiconductors experiment (DPIMS).

This version has some variations from another STS-83 MSL patch. 

The primary payload on STS-83 was the Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL). MSL was a collection of microgravity experiments housed inside a European Spacelab Long Module (LM).
MSL featured 19 materials science investigations in four major facilities. These facilities were the Large Isothermal Furnace, the EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to the Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack, the Electromagnetic Containerless Processing Facility (TEMPUS) and the Coarsening in Solid–Liquid Mixtures (CSLM) facility, the Droplet Combustion Experiment (DCE) and the Combustion Module-1 Facility. Additional technology experiments were to be performed in the Middeck Glovebox (MGBX) developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the High-Packed Digital Television (HI-PAC DTV) system was used to provide multi-channel real-time analog science video.

The Large Isothermal Furnace was developed by the Japanese Space Agency (NASDA) for the STS-47 Spacelab-J mission and was also flown on STS-65 IML-2 mission. It housed the measurement of diffusion coefficient by shear cell method experiment, the diffusion of liquid metals and alloys experiment, the diffusion in liquid led-tin-telluride experiment, the impurity diffusion in ionic melts experiment, the liquid phase sintering II experiment (LIF), and the diffusion processes in molten semiconductors experiment (DPIMS).

NASDA Neurolab project, STS-90 NASDA Astronaut Mukai

Chiaki Mukai (向井 千秋 Mukai Chiaki?, born May 6, 1952, Tatebayashi, Gunma, Japan) is a Japanese doctor, and JAXA astronaut. She was the first Japanese woman in space, and was the first Japanese citizen to have two spaceflights. Both were Space Shuttle missions; her first was STS-65 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia in July 1994, which was a Spacelab mission. Her second spaceflight was STS-95 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998. In total she has spent 23 days in space.
Mukai was selected to be an astronaut by Japanese national space agency NASDA (now called JAXA) in 1985. Prior to this, she was an assistant professor in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery in Keio University, the oldest university in Japan.

The Okinawa Tracking and Communication Station was established in February 1968 as the Okinawa Radiowave Tracking Base of the then Science and Technology Agency (STA) Space Development Headquarters, which was affiliated with the then National Space Development Agency (NASDA) as its facility when NASDA was established in October 1969. In October 2003, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was established, and the station became a JAXA facility.
The main role of the Station is to track and control satellites. It plays a role to maintain and control satellites by receiving radio waves from satellites in space to confirm their positions and attitudes and to learn if their onboard electronic devices are functioning properly. If necessary, command signals are also transmitted from the station to satellites.

The Okinawa Tracking and Communication Station was established in February 1968 as the Okinawa Radiowave Tracking Base of the then Science and Technology Agency (STA) Space Development Headquarters, which was affiliated with the then National Space Development Agency (NASDA) as its facility when NASDA was established in October 1969. In October 2003, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was established, and the station became a JAXA facility.
The main role of the Station is to track and control satellites. It plays a role to maintain and control satellites by receiving radio waves from satellites in space to confirm their positions and attitudes and to learn if their onboard electronic devices are functioning properly. If necessary, command signals are also transmitted from the station to satellites.

The Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL) mission series was designed to build on the successes of previous microgravity missions and to explore new ways to observe and measure gravity's effect on chemical and physical processes. NASA chose Spacelab, which is a module built by the European Space Agency to fit inside the shuttle's cargo bay, as the microgravity laboratory for the MSL series. Flown aboard STS-83