Crew Works Biomedical Science and Hologram, Robotics Tech

Crew Works Biomedical Science and Hologram, Robotics Tech

The island of Groix is pictured off the northwestern coast of France with the Atlantic Ocean beaming from the sun's glint.
The island of Groix is pictured off the northwestern coast of France with the Atlantic Ocean beaming from the sun’s glint in this photograph from the space station.

A host of biomedical studies filled the Expedition 67 crew’s day as NASA and its international partners continue exploring how living in space long-term affects the human body. The residents aboard the International Space Station also set up a 3-D hologram device and tested a new robotic arm.

The orbiting lab’s four astronauts took turns scanning each other’s veins with the Ultrasound 2 device on Tuesday morning. NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Watkins, Bob Hines, and Kjell Lindgren joined ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti and scanned their neck, shoulder, and leg veins during the morning with researchers on the ground monitoring the data in real-time. Doctors on Earth gain insight into how an astronaut’s cardiac, vessel, and muscle systems adjust to weightlessness.

Hines and Cristoforetti also spun blood samples in the Human Research Facility’s centrifuge before stowing them in a science freezer for later analysis. Watkins spent the rest of her day inspecting U.S. module hatch components and auditing hardware inside the station’s pantry. Cristoforetti worked on orbital plumbing tasks before reorganizing cargo to create more space aboard the space station.

Lindgren charged and configured a headset that enables 3-D high definition holograms in real-time for immersive and innovative communication and research techniques. Afterward, he launched a computer application beginning a session to demonstrate ways holoportation can be used for teleconferences and telemedicine, as well as assisting crew members with complex procedures in space.

Station Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev partnered together for ultrasound scans of their digestive system after breakfast. Researchers are investigating how organs and vessels in the gastrointestinal tract adapt to microgravity. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov worked inside the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module testing the operation and mobility of the new European robotic arm.

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Mark Garcia

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Cygnus Reboost Aborted, Next Steps Being Planned

Cygnus Reboost Aborted, Next Steps Being Planned

International Space Station Configuration: Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom; the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter; and Russia's Soyuz MS-21 crew ship and the Progress 80 and 81 resupply ships.
International Space Station Configuration: Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom; the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter; and Russia’s Soyuz MS-21 crew ship and the Progress 80 and 81 resupply ships.

On Monday at 10:20 a.m. Central time, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus NG CRS-17 engine was scheduled to fire for 5 minutes, 1 second to test the cargo craft’s ability to reboost the International Space Station in the future. The engine firing was aborted after five seconds. Cygnus’ Mission Director at Dulles, Virginia reported that the cause for the abort is understood and under review.

Late this afternoon in their evening planning conference with flight controllers in Houston, the crew was informed that NASA and Northrop Grumman are working on a plan for Cygnus to try another reboost attempt as early as Saturday, June 25  that would lead to Cygnus potentially departing the station next Tuesday, June 28. The plan will be discussed with the International Space Station partners later this week.

The reboost is designed to provide Cygnus with an enhanced capability for station operations as a standard service for NASA.

Editor’s Note: A portion of this blog was updated on June 20, 2022 at 4:22 p.m. EDT to reflect a second reboost attempt and Cygnus’ potential departure from station.

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Mark Garcia

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VP Hosts NASA for Family STEM Event, Disney Pixar’s Lightyear Viewing

VP Hosts NASA for Family STEM Event, Disney Pixar’s Lightyear Viewing

Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff hosted an evening of NASA STEM activities Friday at the Naval Observatory for military families and local students and their families, which included a special screening of Disney Pixar’s Lightyear.

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