Expedition 73 Studies How Space Affects the Brain and the Body

Maintaining sense of balance and protecting immunity in space were the top human research experiments aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 73 crew members also practiced medical emergency procedures, continued more Earth observations, and finished packing a cargo craft.

NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman joined each other in the Columbus laboratory module and explored how weightlessness affects the central vestibular system, the part of the brain that processes balance and spatial orientation. Kim, with real-time assistance from doctors on the ground, operated the computer hardware and aided Cardman as she wore virtual reality goggles while responding to digital stimuli helping researchers understand how she is adapting to life in microgravity.

Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) completed his cellular immunity research removing his blood samples stowed overnight from a research incubator, spinning them in a centrifuge, and preserving them in a science freezer for later analysis. The Immunity Assay study tests an astronaut’s blood and saliva samples for space-caused conditions, helps doctors understand how living in space affects cellular immunity, and may improve crew health monitoring.

NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke spent most of his day on lab maintenance first inspecting hatch seals on the Columbus and Kibo lab modules. Next, he checked components and configured the Tranquility module’s advanced resistive exercise device, equipment that mimics free weights on Earth, for an investigation measuring the muscle forces and bone stresses an astronaut experiences when working out in space. Fincke also took a short computerized test measuring how microgravity is affecting his cognition, or reasoning, decision making, and visual tracking skills.

At the end of his shift, Fincke joined Kimiya, Cardman, and Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov and conducted an emergency drill aboard the orbital outpost. The quartet reviewed emergency procedures, practiced cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, deployed medical gear, then discussed crew communications and care coordination.

Platonov also continued his Earth observation duties pointing his camera out a space station window and photographing the effects of natural and manmade catastrophes. Next, he activated multispectral imaging hardware to automatically photograph Earth landmarks during the crew’s overnight sleep shift.

Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Roscosmos Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky finished packing the Progress 91 cargo craft with trash and outdated gear on Wednesday. Ryzhikov closed the hatch on the resupply ship docked to Zvezda‘s rear port and performed the standard leak and pressure checks before its departure in September. Zubritsky earlier jogged on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill for a regularly scheduled fitness evaluation.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia

Health Monitoring, Exercise Science Keep Station Crew Busy

Immunity and exercise science continued aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday giving doctors insight into how the human body adjusts to weightlessness. The Expedition 73 crew is also packing a cargo craft before the end of its mission and maintaining a variety of orbital lab hardware.

Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) picked up the cellular immunity research he began on Monday spending the first half of his shift collecting and processing his blood and saliva samples for the Immunity Assay study. The specimens were both preserved in a science freezer for later analysis and stowed in a research incubator for further processing. Scientists on Earth will analyze the samples to understand how living in space affects cellular immunity and improve health monitoring in space.

Yui also took turns with NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke pedaling on the Destiny laboratory module’s exercise cycle for an aerobic health study. Fincke began the first run of the experiment strapping himself onto the cycle, wearing electrodes and breathing gear measuring his heart and respiratory rate, and pedaling for about an hour. Fincke later spent the rest of his shift on hardware inspections and electronics replacement work behind the thermal control system rack in Destiny.

Next, Yui took over and recalibrated the exercise cycle’s instruments, wore new sensors, and pedaled on the bike as doctors on the ground monitored his workout in real-time. The data will help doctors ensure astronauts stay in shape to handle sustained physical activities such as long spacewalks or the return to Earth’s gravity after several months in space.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman contributed to the ongoing exercise research on the station by working out on the Tranquility module’s advanced resistive exercise device, or ARED, that mimics free weights in microgravity. She performed isometric mid-thigh pulls, or static dead lifts, measuring how much force she can produce on the ARED for the CIPHER human research investigation. She also exercised her back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps on ARED before jogging on the COLBERT treadmill while wearing a heart monitor. The insights gained from the workout studies adds to the growing knowledge into cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, and physical endurance in space.

NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim swapped out a Bio-Monitor headband and vest for a spare set on Tuesday to continue measuring his cardiovascular health for a 48-hour monitoring session for another portion of the CIPHER study. Kim also set up the Columbus laboratory module’s European Drawer Rack-2 in preparation for the installation of research hardware then measured airflow throughout the station’s U.S. segment.

Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, station Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, partnered together again packing trash and outdated gear for disposal inside the Progress 91 resupply ship. Progress 91 is nearing the end of its six-month stay in September and will undock from the Zvezda service module’s rear port and descend into Earth’s atmosphere for a fiery, but safe demise above the South Pacific Ocean.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov began his shift downloading multispectral imagery of Asian and Pacific Ocean landmarks captured automatically during the crews’ sleep shift. Afterward, he began a new Earth photography session photographing landmarks himself including the Swiss Allalin Glacier, Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, and Brazil’s Amazon delta.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia

Expedition 73 Tracks Health and Gears Up for Cargo Missions

The Expedition 73 crew kicked off the week tracking health in microgravity and working on spacesuit gear. The orbital residents also will soon see the arrival of a cargo craft and the departure of another at the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman took turns attaching a variety of sensors to themselves on Monday for a pair of studies measuring their health data in microgravity. Kim began a 48-hour session wearing the Bio-Monitor vest and headband tracking his cardiovascular health for the CIPHER suite of 14 human research investigations. Cardman wore electrodes and breathing gear measuring her heart and breathing rate while pedaling on the Destiny laboratory module’s exercise cycle. Doctors monitor the astronauts’ aerobic health to ensure their bodies can handle sustained physical activities such as long spacewalks or the return to Earth’s gravity after several months in space.

After the health monitoring sessions, Kim joined JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui in the Columbus laboratory module where they set up a pair of research incubators and connected them to a portable power supply. Cardman assisted NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke in the Quest airlock, servicing high-definition camera hardware worn on spacesuit helmets.

Yui, a veteran of two spaceflights, began his shift in the Kibo laboratory module setting up botany hardware for the Plant Cell Division experiment that is investigating space agricultural techniques. He also readied equipment for Tuesday’s Immunity Assay study when he will collect his blood and saliva samples for analysis back on Earth to understand how living in space affects cellular immunity.

In the Roscosmos segment of the orbital outpost, cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky gathered trash and outdated gear for disposal aboard the Progress 91 resupply ship docked to the rear port of the Zvezda service module. The Progress 91 is due to wrap up a six-month cargo mission in September when it will undock from Zvezda and reenter Earth’s atmosphere above the South Pacific Ocean for a fiery, but safe destruction.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and first-time space-flyer Oleg Platonov trained to use the COLBERT treadmill with assistance from Yui who also set up a Bluetooth monitor measuring Platonov’s heart rate during his workout. Afterward, Platonov installed and activated Earth observation gear to capture multispectral imagery of landmarks on the ground.

Preparations aboard the station and on the ground continue for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the orbital outpost. NASA and SpaceX are targeting 2:45 a.m. EDT, Sunday, Aug. 24, to launch more than 5,000 pounds of cargo aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia