NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will make a significant announcement about the Artemis program’s lunar exploration plans at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 23, at the Florida Institute of Technology. The remarks will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
NASA Breaking News
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Immunology research has been keeping the Expedition 59 astronauts busy since the SpaceX Dragon space freighter delivered new science gear in early May. Two cosmonauts are also one week away from starting the fourth spacewalk this year at the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Anne McClain was back inside Japan’s Kibo laboratory module today observing how the immune systems of mice, which are similar to humans, respond to the lack of gravity. She teamed up with Flight Engineers Christina Koch and David Saint-Jacques for the on-orbit research to help doctors improve astronauts’ immunity in space. The potential for advanced vaccines and therapies may also benefit Earthlings as well as future astronauts exploring the Moon and beyond.
A variety of other space biology and human research took place today as Flight Engineer Nick Hague collected and stowed his blood and urine samples for later scientific analysis. He also worked on the Biolab hardware before stowing the Biomolecule Sequencer that sequences DNA aboard the space station. The advanced science gear is part of the Genes In Space-6 experiment researching how space radiation impacts DNA and the cell repair mechanism.
Commander Oleg Kononenko and Alexey Ovchinin were back on spacesuit duty today. The Roscosmos cosmonauts transferred their Orlan spacesuits to the Pirs airlock and installed portable repressurization tanks in the Russian lab module. Next week they will review procedures and timelines for their approximately six-hour spacewalk for external maintenance scheduled for Wednesday, May 29.
A docked Russian Progress cargo craft will fire its engines for 20 minutes raising the station’s orbit on Thursday. The reboost will place the orbiting complex in the correct trajectory for the undocking and landing of three Expedition 59 crewmembers June 24.
Mark Garcia
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Neil Melville-Kenney PA9N wearing FUNcube Patch on ESA PFC 71 – Credit Novespace and ESA
Neil Melville-Kenney, PA9N, has been a long time supporter of amateur radio space since the days of the SSETI Express mission. He is presently the ESA Parabolic Flight Coordinator and today took the opportunity to fly a FUNcube patch during the ESA PFC 71 microgravity mission.
https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Research/Science_on_a_plane_ESA_s_next_parabolic_flight_campaign
Neil presented an account of his activities during the 2018 AMSAT-UK Colloquium and the three FUNcubes, AO73, EO88 and JO97 continue to provide a 24/7 service with their 2 metre downlinks.
You can follow Neil on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NMK_ZeroG
The FUNcube Mission Patch is available from the AMSAT-UK shop at
https://shop.amsat-uk.org/FUNCube_Mission_Patch/p3815740_15628523.aspx
m5aka
AMSAT-UK
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NASA is conducting field demonstrations of small drones navigating urban landscapes.
NASA Image of the Day
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The Expedition 59 crew is spending all day Tuesday exploring how astronauts adjust with Earth’s gravity no longer bearing down on them. Spacewalk preparations and lab maintenance are also ongoing aboard the International Space Station.
Station crewmembers and future astronauts going to the Moon in 2024 have to adjust to the lack of a sunrise/sunset cycle humans experience everyday on Earth. As a result, time perception is impacted and may affect sleep and work patterns. Astronauts Anne McClain, Nick Hague and David Saint-Jacques started the day on a study, going on since July 2017, exploring subjective changes in time that can alter physical and cognitive performance.
Hague later sequenced DNA samples for a study exploring how increased exposure to space radiation impacts crew health. He used the Biomolecule Sequencer for the investigation to demonstrate DNA sequencing in space. The Genes In Space-6 experiment is researching how space radiation damages DNA and how the cell repair mechanism works in microgravity.
Immune system studies continued full speed ahead today to test the hypothesis the immune response decreases in space. Astronaut Christina Koch teamed up with McClain and Saint-Jacques throughout the day observing mice for the study. Observations may help scientists develop advanced vaccines and therapies benefiting both astronauts and Earthlings.
Commander Oleg Kononenko continues to set up a pair of Russian Orlan spacesuits and outfit the Pirs airlock as the May 29 spacewalk approaches. Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin worked on space cardiology research before switching to space plumbing and pumping urine into the Progress 71 cargo craft.
Mark Garcia
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