Hubble Spots Star-Hatching frEGGs!
This image shows knots of cold, dense interstellar gas where new stars are forming.
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Space Biology, Science Hardware Work Keeping Station Crew Busy
Space Biology, Science Hardware Work Keeping Station Crew Busy
Space biology work and science hardware maintenance and were the main research goals for the Expedition 66 crew aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The orbital residents also checked out life support gear and worked on cargo transfers.
Three NASA astronauts, Mark Vande Hei, Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron, joined each other in the Kibo laboratory module during the afternoon and set up external research components. Vande Hei installed the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) in Kibo’s airlock that will later be placed outside in the vacuum of space. Marshburn and Barron assisted with the MPEP installation work ahead of tiny satellites, or CubeSats, being deployed from the device into Earth orbit.
Marshburn then joined NASA Flight Engineer Raja Chari for vein scans in the Columbus laboratory module. Chari once again led the biomedical activities as crew medical officer using the Ultrasound 2 device to scan Marshburn’s neck, shoulder, and leg veins. Doctors on Earth monitor the health checks in real time to gain insight into how long-term microgravity affects the human body.
Barron also tended to the oxygen generation system before analyzing microbe samples collected from inside BEAM, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) installed the ANITA-2 cabin air analyzer then inspected the Muscle Atrophy Research Exercise System ahead of upcoming new component work.
Commander Anton Shkaplerov worked throughout Wednesday in the station’s Russian segment on electronics maintenance on cargo transfers from the ISS Progress 79 resupply ship. Shkaplerov also spent some time on a study researching how international crews and mission controllers relate during a long-duration spaceflight. Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov spent most of the day installing payload interface controller units while also finding time for immunity system research work.
Mark Garcia
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NASA’s X-59 Kicks Off 2022 in Texas for Ground Testing
NASA’s X-59 Kicks Off 2022 in Texas for Ground Testing
2021 saw significant milestones achieved in the assembly of NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology aircraft (QueSST), and all eyes now look forward to a pivotal 2022.
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Dragon Checks, Biology and Spacewalk Preps Fill Crew Day
Dragon Checks, Biology and Spacewalk Preps Fill Crew Day
Crew Dragon proficiency checks were on the schedule for a pair of NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. Eye checks, space biology research, and spacewalk preparations also kept the Expedition 66 crew busy throughout the day.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour, which delivered four astronauts to the orbiting lab, has been docked to the Harmony module’s forward port since Nov. 11, 2021. The Crew Dragon’s commander and pilot, Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn, both station flight engineers, practiced and familiarized themselves with deorbit and landing procedures in Endeavour today. The duo will return to Earth, along with Kayla Barron of NASA and Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency), aboard the Crew Dragon in the spring.
Chari and Barron earlier joined each other Tuesday morning for vein scans. Chari took charge as crew medical officer and scanned the veins in Barron’s neck, shoulder and legs with the Ultrasound 2 device. Chari later partnered with Marshburn for eye checks and retina scans using medical imaging gear. Doctors on the ground monitored the vein and eye scans in real time. The regularly scheduled health checks provide researchers insight into how microgravity affects the human body long term.
NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei documented his meals today to understand how nutrition affects space health. The veteran astronaut, who will be on the station for nearly a year, also serviced a variety of science hardware to ensure ongoing research operations. Maurer continued setting up the Cytoskeleton space biology study that will explore how the human cell’s internal machinery adapts to weightlessness. The ESA astronaut later assisted Chari and Barron with retinal scans then stowing the eye imaging gear.
Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov are moving right along with their preparations for a spacewalk planned for Jan. 19. The pair from Roscosmos continued collecting and organizing the spacewalk tools they will use to finish configuring and connecting Nauka multipurpose laboratory module to the station’s Russian segment. They are scheduled to work for seven-and-a-half hours outside in the vacuum of space inside their Russian Orlan spacesuits.
Heidi Lavelle
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Sunshield Successfully Deploys on NASA’s Next Flagship Telescope
Sunshield Successfully Deploys on NASA’s Next Flagship Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope team has fully deployed the spacecraft’s 70-foot sunshield, a key milestone in preparing it for science operations.
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