The Mechanics of Granular Materials experiment flown on STS-107 uses Ottawa F-75 banding sand. Ottawa sand is a natural quartz sand with fine grains 0.1 to 0.3 millimeters in diameter. It is commonly used in civil engineering experiments and evaluations.

For the experiment, 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds) of sand is held in a latex sleeve 7.5 centimeters (3 inches) in diameter by 15 centimeters (6 inches) tall. The container is compressed and released to study how the individual grains interact when pressure is applied and released.

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