New oxygen problems on Mir But NASA says crew not in danger April 4, 1997 Web posted at: 2:56 p.m. EST (1956 GMT) KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida (CNN) -- The crew on board the Mir space station has been forced to shut down the primary carbon dioxide scrubbing system because it was getting warm, NASA officials said. The system is used to clean excess carbon dioxide from the air in the station's cabin. The Russian cosmonauts and U.S. astronaut Jerry Linenger on Thursday began using a backup carbon dioxide scrubbing system, which uses lithium-hydroxide canisters. NASA officials say the Mir crew is in no danger. NASA officials in Houston say the shutdown of the primary system was a direct result of the ongoing repairs to the Mir's primary cooling system. The crew hopes to complete its cooling system repairs by the end of the week, and turn the carbon dioxide scrubbing system back on when the work is done. If its work cannot be finished by this weekend, it will keep the secondary carbon dioxide scrubbing system online. The crew has an eight-day supply of lithium hydroxide canisters, and the resupply ship Progress, scheduled for launch from Russia on Sunday, will bring more. Progress is also scheduled to bring up parts to fix the main oxygen generators. And NASA is considering carrying up a spare oxygen generator aboard space shuttle Atlantis during its mission next month to pick up Linenger. As Mir has aged over its 11 years in orbit, it has experienced more malfunctions. In February, a fire broke out aboard Mir and burned for 90 seconds, filling the station with smoke and forcing the crew to wear oxygen masks. It was one of the worst fires ever in space. Correspondent John Zarrella contributed to this report.