The first solid rocket booster test for Space Launch System (SLS) missions beyond Artemis III seen here during a two-minute hot fire test, Wednesday, September 2, 2020, at the T-97 Northrop Grumman test facility in Promontory, Utah.
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The Expedition 63 crew serviced a variety of International Space Station hardware today ensuring research, power and life support systems continue operating in good condition. Heart research and team psychology studies also filled today’s science schedule.
Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA wrapped up science rack swap work that he began on Monday. He finished moving and reinstalling three advanced science facilities, known as EXPRESS racks, in three different lab modules. The rack exchanges will support future experiments being delivered on an upcoming Cygnus resupply mission from Northrop Grumman.
Afterward, Cassidy collected water samples from the potable water dispenser for analysis on Earth and on the station. The veteran astronaut also inspected U.S. module hatches and replaced pipes in the orbiting lab’s restroom, known as the Waster and Hygiene Compartment.
Three-time space station cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin strapped himself on an exercise bike this morning for an assessment of his cardiac activity in space. First-time space flyer Ivan Vagner assisted Ivanishin attaching sensors to the test subject and monitoring his activities during the hour-long test.
The Russian duo then checked battery temperatures and connections before studying how international space crews interact with mission controllers around the world. Ivanishin went on to set up advanced Earth observation gear while Vagner worked on power system diagnostics.
Mark Garcia
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NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission landed on the Red Planet on July 4, 1997. It’s tiny rover, named Sojourner after abolitionist Sojourner Truth, spent 83 days of a planned seven-day mission exploring the Martian terrain.
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It was a busy Tuesday aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 63 crew reorganized science racks and serviced life support hardware.
Since its inception, the main focus of the orbiting lab has been research that is only possible in microgravity. Scientists take advantage of these unique insights to improve health and industry for humans on Earth and in space. A variety of specialized racks throughout the station’s laboratory modules host numerous science experiments revealing phenomena only seen in weightlessness.
Commander Chris Cassidy and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner partnered up today, moving three dedicated science racks, also known as EXPRESS racks, and installing them inside the U.S. Destiny, Japan’s Kibo and Europe’s Columbus lab modules.
A total of 11 refrigerator-sized EXPRESS racks are installed on the station supporting a multitude of experiments. The internationally sponsored studies are tended to by astronauts, remotely controlled by scientists on Earth, as well as programmed to run automatically.
Veteran cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin concentrated on life support maintenance tasks in the Russian segment of the space station. He replaced dust filters in the ventilation system in his side of the orbital lab before servicing an oxygen generator and a carbon dioxide filter.
Mark Garcia
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NASA has awarded a contract to Cornell Technical Services LLC of Columbia, Maryland, for evaluations, assessments, studies, services, and other support for the Science Office for Mission Assessments (SOMA) at the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
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