Plants and Worms Informing Future Missions; Crew Preps for Computer Upgrades
Advanced botany and biology research to sustain crews on future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond wrapped up the week aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 74 crew also continued unpacking a U.S. cargo craft while keeping up the maintenance of the orbital outpost.
NASA flight engineer Chris Williams kicked off his shift gathering hardware and samples for the Veg-06 space botany study investigating how plants and microbes interact in microgravity. Next, Williams mixed nutrients for the alfalfa and microbe samples being housed inside the Columbus laboratory module’s Veggie facility. Results may advance the development of ways to grow plants for food on future space missions.
ESA (European Space Agency) flight engineer Sophie Adenot worked inside the Harmony module setting up research and video gear to begin exploring how microgravity affects an astronaut’s gut health. She recorded roundworms observing how their bodies and their gut microbes change in microgravity. Results may lead to the development of probiotics, or “living medicines,” to protect health in spaceflight and treat diseases and disorders on Earth.
Afterward, Adenot and Williams joined NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir and continued unpacking new scientific gear, crew supplies, and more from inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft. Meir started her shift in the Kibo laboratory module filming content for JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) to promote space awareness and commercialization of low Earth orbit.
NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway focused primarily on lab maintenance throughout Friday. Hathaway first replaced filters on the urine processing assembly located in the Tranquility module’s waste and hygiene compartment, or bathroom. Following that, he inspected berthing hardware that the Cygnus XL and JAXA’s HTV-X1 spacecraft are attached to during their missions at the orbital outpost. Finally, he installed protective rings around ventilation valves in the Unity and Tranquility modules then photographed his work for analysis.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev were once again inside the Zvezda service module conducting maintenance and inspections throughout Friday. Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev inspected the ventilation system connecting the Roscosmos segment of the station with the U.S. segment then measured the airflow between the two segments.
At the end of the day all seven Expedition 74 crewmates joined each other and reviewed upcoming computer upgrades planned for the weekend. The orbital residents will first replace network servers then activate their new, more powerful laptop computers. Support teams on the ground will assist the crew with the software updates, network configurations, and other technical transitions.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
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Mark A. Garcia
