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Hydroponics, Virtual Reality on Station Impacting Future Missions

Botany and human research were the main research themes aboard the International Space Station today. Meanwhile, the Expedition 65 crew is also staying focused on spacewalk preparations and orbital lab maintenance.

Space agriculture is key to sustaining human spaceflight as NASA and its international partners plan future missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Today, Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Thomas Pesquet joined together for the Plant Water Management study to learn how to operate hydroponics in microgravity. The duo set up and configured hardware for the botany study that may also improve watering systems on Earth.

Pesquet also partnered with NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur for an investigation observing how microgravity affects an astronaut’s ability to control robotics and spacecraft. The Pilote experiment uses virtual reality gear and tests a crew member’s aptitude when maneuvering a computer-generated robotic arm toward a target. Results may influence the design of workstations and interfaces for future spacecraft and space habitats.

Blood sample collections started the day for NASA Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough and Commander Akihiko Hoshide. Kimbrough, with assistance from Vande Hei, then spent the rest of Wednesday continuing to configure the station’s newest toilet inside the Tranquility module. Hoshide set up the Astrobee robotic assistants for an upcoming student competition then swapped samples for a semiconductor crystal physics study.

Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov are getting ready for their first career spacewalks set to begin June 2 at 1:20 a.m. EDT. The duo continued readying their spacewalking tools, communications gear and Orlan spacesuits today. The pair will exit the Poisk module and spend about six-and-a-half hours servicing Russian hardware and installing science experiments.

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Mark Garcia

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Ultrasound Scans, Emergency Drill amid Spacewalk Preps Today

Tuesday aboard the International Space Station was packed with human research activities helping doctors understand how the Expedition 65 crew is adapting to microgravity. Meanwhile, preparations are ramping up for a Russian spacewalk scheduled for next week.

Four astronauts took turns during the afternoon using the Ultrasound 2 device for artery scans. NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur kicked off the biomedical investigation today and scanned Commander Akihiko Hoshide’s neck, clavicle, shoulder and leg arteries in the Columbus laboratory module. Next up, astronauts Thomas Pesquet and Shane Kimbrough took turns as they participated in the ultrasound scanning activities.

McArthur started her day swapping fuel bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack before readying a science freezer for a new animal-microbe study due to be delivered on the next SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission. Kimbrough also spent some time setting up Plant Water Management hardware inside the Harmony module for ongoing botany research.

The Celestial Immunity study is still under way aboard the orbital lab as researchers compare donor cells recently launched to the station with those harvested on Earth. NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei serviced the cell samples inside the Life Science Glovebox possibly helping scientists develop new vaccines and drugs for diseases on Earth.

Four members of the Expedition 65 crew, who rode to the station aboard the Space Crew Dragon Endeavour, also joined up for an emergency drill before lunch today. Kimbrough, McArthur, Pesquet and Hoshide practiced cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), reviewed medical hardware, and rehearsed communication and coordination procedures.

The sixth spacewalk of the year is set for June 2. Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov will open the hatch to the Poisk module at 1:20 a.m. EDT  and exit into the vacuum of space wearing their Orlan spacesuits. NASA TV will begin its live coverage at 1 a.m. of the six-and-a-half hour spacewalk for Russian hardware maintenance and science experiment installations.

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Mark Garcia

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