Through the Artemis program, NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024.
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Eleven years after the launch of the first H-II Transfer cargo vehicle (HTV) to the International Space Station, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) HTV-9 will depart the orbital laboratory Tuesday, Aug. 18, with live coverage beginning at 1:15 p.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
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The Expedition 63 crew members are getting a Japanese spaceship ready for departure next week. In the meantime, the International Space Station trio was busy today with science, video communications and orbital plumbing.
Commander Chris Cassidy and Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin partnered up today loading Japan’s resupply ship with trash and old station gear. Cassidy will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Aug. 18 to release the H-II Transfer Vehicle-9 (HTV-9) into Earth orbit for a fiery, but safe reentry into the atmosphere above the South Pacific. The HTV-9 arrived at the orbiting lab on May 25 delivering four tons of new science experiments, station hardware, crew supplies and fuel.
Cassidy started the morning setting up the Space Frontier Studio that live-streams science activities from inside Japan’s Kibo laboratory module to audiences on the ground. The station commander from NASA then spent the afternoon installing new science hardware that will study gas-liquid flows in porous media in the Microgravity Science Glovebox. Results from the Packed Bed Reactor Experiment could benefit life support systems on the space station and future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Earth observations have been ongoing this week in the Russian segment of the space station. One long-running study has been monitoring natural and man-made conditions around the globe to forecast potential catastrophes. Ivanishin of Roscosmos was servicing photo equipment this morning for that experiment which measures radiation reflected from the Earth in a variety of wavelengths.
Cosmonaut Ivan Vagner worked during the morning servicing Russian plumbing hardware. The first-time space flyer then spent the rest of the day inventorying common office supplies such as printer cartridges, pens and tape.
Mark Garcia
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As of March 2020, our Mars Odyssey has captured these six views of the Martian moon Phobos.
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A Japanese resupply ship will depart the International Space Station next week after nearly three months attached to the orbital lab. Meanwhile, the Expedition 63 crew continued a variety of science operations today.
JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, announced Tuesday, Aug. 18, as the release date for its H-II Transfer Vehicle-9 (HTV-9) cargo craft. Ground controllers will remotely control the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple and remove the HTV-9 from the Harmony module. Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA will command the Canadarm2 to release the cargo craft into space completing an 85-day station mission. The HTV-9 will orbit Earth on its own for two more days and reenter the atmosphere above the South Pacific for a fiery, but safe demise.
The HTV-9 delivered four tons of gear on May 25 that included the new Space Frontier Studio for live broadcasts inside Japan’s Kibo laboratory module. Cassidy set up the live-streaming hardware today for an event highlighting science activities inside Kibo.
Cassidy also completed fluid research work that took place inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox. The veteran astronaut disconnected, took apart and stowed the hardware that investigated water droplet behavior in microgravity. Results may promote water conservation and improve water pressure for Earth and space systems.
Cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin continued working on a long-running Earth observation study on the Russian side the station. That experiment is helping scientists monitor and forecast natural and man-made catastrophes around the world.
Fellow cosmonaut and flight engineer Ivan Vagner worked during the morning testing broadband video communications gear. The first-time space flyer then spent the rest of the afternoon servicing the ventilation subsystem in the Zvezda service module.
Mark Garcia
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