Brain, Muscles, and Robotics Research to Assist Healthy Crew Tops Schedule
Brain research, electrical muscle stimulation, and robotics topped the research schedule on Tuesday helping researchers keep the crew healthy and assist them on long-term missions. The Expedition 73 crew members also worked on spacesuit maintenance, radiation checks, and more aboard the International Space Station.
The ongoing human research in space provides scientists continuous physiological data they need to review to understand how astronauts’ bodies adapt to weightlessness over long periods of time. From analyzing blood and saliva samples, cognition tests, fitness tests, and a wide variety of other studies, the insights inform ways to ensure crews maintain their wellness off the Earth.
Astronauts Anne McClain of NASA and Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) began their day drawing their blood samples, spinning them in a centrifuge, and preserving the specimens in a science freezer for later analysis. Next, McClain took a set of tests measuring her cognitive performance to identify potential space-caused changes to her brain structure and function. At the end of her shift, McClain jogged on the COLBERT treadmill while strapped to a heart rate monitor then she wore a sensor-packed headband and vest for overnight health monitoring.
Onishi tested the artificial intelligence-powered CIMON robot assistant and its ability to command a free-flying robotic camera for JAXA’s ICHIBAN technology demonstration inside the Kibo laboratory module. In the middle of the robotics activities, Onishi also serviced a variety of science hardware including a wrist-worn sleep-wake monitor and a research incubator.
NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Nichole Ayers teamed up inside the Columbus laboratory module and explored a method to supplement space exercise and maintain muscle health. Kim helped Ayers attach electrodes to her legs and operated biomedical gear that applied small electrical signals stimulating the muscles. Results may improve muscle function, reduce workout times, and enable lighter exercise equipment on spacecraft. Kim also worked in the Quest airlock cleaning cooling loops and inspecting components on a pair of spacesuits.
Roscosmos Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky joined each other in the Zvezda service module and took turns wearing electrodes and blood pressure cuffs that measured how blood circulates to the arms and fingers in microgravity. Ryzhikov later photographed landmarks in the Indian and Pacific Oceans while Zubritsky transferred water into the station from tanks inside the Progress 92 cargo craft.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov checked radiation detectors for a monthly reading of the data then serviced orbital plumbing hardware. He also gathered with his NASA SpaceX Crew-10 crewmates McClain, Ayers, and Onishi and reviewed emergency breathing equipment inside the Dragon spacecraft they will ride back to Earth next month.
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Mark A. Garcia
