NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts will answer media questions about their time aboard the International Space Station at 12:30 p.m. EDT Friday, Nov. 5, as they prepare to return to Earth later this month.
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NASA was notified Thursday that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied Blue Origin’s bid protest, upholding NASA’s selection of SpaceX to develop and demonstrate a modern human lunar lander.
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The colorful planetary nebula, NGC 2438, formed after the death of a Sun-like star. It appears to lie on the outskirts of the open star cluster, M46 (NGC 2437), when in fact it is in the foreground between us and the star cluster.
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Human research and combustion science were the main focus of the Expedition 66 crew today. The International Space Station residents are also ensuring a U.S. spaceship and a Russian module stay in tip-top shape.
Two astronauts started their day on Wednesday collecting blood to help scientists understand how living in weightlessness impacts the human body. Commander Thomas Pesquet and Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough drew then spun their blood samples in a centrifuge before placing them in a science freezer for later analysis.
NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei collected his urine sample this morning before stowing it inside another science freezer. Akihiko Hoshide, from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), reviewed a variety of tests he will perform upon returning to Earth, including blood draws, a computer robotics simulation, and a fitness exam.
Vande Hei then moved on and replaced experiment controllers inside the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR), a research device that enables safe experiments with fuel, flames, and soot in microgravity. NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur swapped oxygen bottles inside the CIR to ensure ongoing combustion research operations.
Kimbrough of NASA also spent the afternoon charging touchscreen tablets and checking seat components inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour. He will lead McArthur, Hoshide and Pesquet back to Earth inside Endeavour when NASA and SpaceX finalize a splashdown date off the coast of Florida this month.
In the station’s Russian segment, Roscosmos Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov continued checking circuit connections between the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module and the Zvezda service module. Veteran cosmonaut and four-time station visitor Anton Shkaplerov serviced communications and electronics gear throughout the day on Wednesday.
Mark Garcia
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An artists’ impression of the Mariner 10 mission, the first mission to perform an interplanetary gravity assist.
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