NASA’s Perseverance rover is well into its second science campaign, collecting rock-core samples from features within an area long considered by scientists to be a top prospect for finding signs of ancient microbial life on Mars.
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The Expedition 67 crew members kept up their studies today exploring how the human body adapts to weightlessness and ways that space physics can benefit humans on Earth. Europe’s robotic arm is also being tested for its performance on the International Space Station’s Russian segment.
NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins partnered together again on Wednesday morning continuing to study how the central nervous system adapts to weightlessness. The duo took turns inside the Columbus laboratory module wearing virtual reality goggles while in a free-flying position for the GRASP experiment sponsored by ESA (European Space Agency). The investigation explores how sight and sound affects the eye-hand/reach-to-grasp coordination without the traditional up and down reference humans are familiar with in Earth’s gravity.
Fluids physics research on the station has a variety of applications that could inform innovations in the pharmaceutical and commercial industries. ESA Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti continued observing emulsion samples in the KERMIT microscope. Results from the Foam and Emulsions study could expand space research opportunities and improve the development of consumer and industrial products. Watkins spent an hour on the Ring Sheared Drop experiment that uses surface tension to contain fluids and observe the formation of destructive protein clusters responsible for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Observations may contribute to advanced therapies improving health for both astronauts and Earthlings.
Cristoforetti also joined NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren in the afternoon for eye checks using a medical imaging device to measure intraocular pressure, or fluid pressure in the eye. Lindgren would work throughout Wednesday checking components on an incubator, collecting and analyzing water samples, then working on orbital plumbing tasks.
The European robotic arm (ERA) continued going through check outs and verifications before it begins payload operations on the orbiting lab’s Russian segment. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov worked throughout Wednesday monitoring the ERA’s telemetry and observing its performance while being maneuvered on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.
Station Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev partnered together again for an exercise study to improve workouts in microgravity. The duo later wrapped up the day preparing for their upcoming return to Earth with Korsakov in the Soyuz MS-21 crew ship planned for the end of September.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/
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Mark Garcia
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A little blue heron is seen in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building as preparations for launch continue, Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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The Expedition 67 crew was on duty Tuesday focusing its science activities on space physics and human research. Robotics was also a big part of the day as the European robotic arm continued its verification process on the International Space Station.
Fluid physics is an important part of the research program on the station as scientists and engineers learn how to develop advanced products and applications for Earth and space. NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren set up hardware on Tuesday inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox to observe how liquids are held together by surface tension. The experiment is studying the formation of destructive protein clusters that may be responsible for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) peered at foams and emulsions using the KERMIT microscope to understand why they are more stable in weightlessness. Results from both experiments may provide Earth-bound solutions, that are unobtainable in gravity, for the pharmaceutical, chemical, and consumer products industries.
NASA Flight Engineers Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins were back in the Columbus laboratory module on Tuesday exploring how an astronaut’s central nervous system is affected by microgravity. The duo took turns wearing virtual reality goggles while seated in a specialized chair and responding to pre-programmed stimuli. The video-taped observations may help researchers understand how astronauts adapt to the microgravity environment of spaceflight.
Exercise is critical during space missions as muscles and bones become weaker without the pressure of Earth’s gravity. Astronauts work out for two hours every day using the advanced resistive exercise device, a cycle, and a treadmill, to maintain their cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems during long-term space missions. The space workouts also ensure crews are in good health and condition to handle the return to Earth’s gravity after living and working in microgravity for months at a time.
Today, Commander Oleg Artemyev ran on a treadmill while attached to sensors and breathing gear to learn how to exercise more effectively in space. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Denis Matveev assisted the commander with the exercise study before collecting microbe samples from the inside of the Zarya module for analysis.
The orbiting lab’s third and newest robotic arm, the European robotic arm (ERA), continues to be checked out while attached to the Russian segment’s Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov powered on the ERA and spent all day Tuesday verifying its performance, monitoring its telemetry, and observing its motion while still attached to Nauka.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/
Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe
Mark Garcia
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The International Space Station captured a portion of the Tanggula Mountains near Hala Lake from 260 miles above the Earth on Sept. 5th, 2022.
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