Washington: Astronauts onboard space shuttle Columbia on January 30 declared their round-the-clock research mission a success as they began preparations for their planned return to earth on February 1.

"Science-wise, this flight has been fantastic," payload commander Michael Anderson told a traditional on-orbit crew news conference.

"I think a lot of our experiments have exceeded our expectations by a 100 per cent," he said, adding "We just can't wait to bring it all home so the scientists can really take a close look at what we've done."

Once these experiments are fully developed and kept onboard the International Space Station, scientists across the globe will be able to conduct longer studies of what the crew tried in a relatively short duration, he said.

A seven-member crew had embarked on an exclusive science mission on January 16, a first such research mission undertaken in three years.

The Water Mist Fire Suppression Experiment (MIST), which had to be called off on January 29 after a minor snag in the combustion module took centre stage on January 30 with astronauts conducting 14 sample runs.

Another 20 rounds of the study that promises to provide a better understanding on the fire extinguishing qualities of mist are planned before the end of the space mission, National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) said.

Besides seven astronauts, the shuttle is also carrying an odd assortment of animals and insects, including ants, bees, silkworms and moths, fish, rats and spiders – many of them test subjects for different experiments.

The space shuttle orbits the earth once every 90 minutes, and will have traversed nearly seven million miles before it lands at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on February 1.

PTI