Crew Sets Up Space Hardware to Make Fiber Optics and Brew Lunar Sake
Fiber manufacturing and lunar brewing wrapped up the research week aboard the International Space Station helping NASA and its international partners promote the commercialization of space. The Expedition 73 crew also continued its space biology studies to keep astronauts healthy while packing a resupply ship for its upcoming departure and maintaining life support systems.
NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim opened up the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox and installed fabrication hardware inside to explore the commercial production of optical fibers in microgravity. Operators on the ground will remotely control the hardware as it pulls the thin glass strands that engineers will analyze to determine if the quality exceeds fiber production in Earth’s gravity environment. Results may improve manufacturing techniques for both Earth and space communication industries.
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui spent his day inside the Kibo laboratory module reconfiguring a research incubator, called the Cell Biology Experiment Facility-L (CBEF-L). Yui replaced trays and compartments inside the scientific device to accommodate a technology demonstration of fermentation and brewing in microgravity. The JAXA DASSAI MOON study will simulate lunar gravity in the CBEF-L, ferment and brew sake yeast, then send frozen samples back to Earth for analysis. Results may allow a familiar taste from Earth to be produced on the Moon for future visitors.
NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman began her shift processing samples for analysis for the CIPHER suite of 14 human research investigations. The second part of her CIPHER study saw Cardman take a series of computer-based tests to track space-related changes to her brain function. Insights may lead to advanced tools such as brain scans, thinking tests, and task simulations to monitor and protect astronaut cognition during long-duration space missions.
NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke spent his day inside the Destiny lab servicing life support components and replacing communications hardware. Fincke first accessed a thermal system rack and inspected its hoses then gained access to a failed GPS receiver behind the rack and replaced it.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, station commander and flight engineer respectively, continued their weeklong investigation into how weightlessness affects tiny blood vessels, or the microcirculatory system. Once again the duo attached electrodes to their head, fingers, and toes, and conducted blood pressure checks to observe how living in space affects their cardiovascular health. Ryzhikov also packed trash inside the Progress 91 cargo craft ahead of next month’s departure while Zubritsky cleaned dust filters in the Rassvet module and configured cameras.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov spent his day inside the Nauka science module working on its ventilation system and checking its laptop computers. He also explored how weightlessness is affecting his sense of balance and direction by wearing virtual reality glasses and electrodes around his eyes and forehead then responding to computer-controlled stimuli.
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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Kelcie Nicole Howren
