Brain and Eye Studies, Advanced Life Support Tech Top Station Crew’s Day
The Expedition 74 crew studied how the brain receives signals in space and demonstrated advanced technology to remove humidity from spacecraft on Thursday. Other activities aboard the International Space Station included servicing a metal 3D printer and continuing to unpack a cargo resupply ship.
NASA flight engineers Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams joined each other in the Columbus laboratory module and explored how the brain processes balance and orientation in the microgravity environment. Hathaway led the study operating gear that sent visual signals to specialized goggles that Williams wore tracking his eye alignment and motion using high-speed video recordings. Researchers will use the data to understand any structural changes an astronaut’s sense of motion and balance may experience during a long-term spaceflight.
Afterward, the duo switched crew medical officer roles as Williams guided Hathaway during an eye exam inside the Harmony module. Williams operated medical imaging gear that Hathaway peered into while doctors on the ground viewed his retina, lens, and cornea in real-time. Vision is critical to a mission’s success and doctors regularly check the astronauts’ eyes to counteract the potential effects of living in space.
NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir kicked off her shift setting up advanced hardware in Harmony’s maintenance work area to demonstrate the removal of humidity aboard spacecraft. Capturing water from a spacecraft’s atmosphere will be a necessary part of regenerative life-support systems as human missions travel farther away from Earth and are unable to rely on resupply missions. Afterward, Meir ran a physics experiment in the Destiny laboratory module‘s Microgravity Science Glovebox exploring ways to control a spacecraft’s fuel tank pressure due to cryogenic fuel propellants evaporating from the surrounding heat. Results could lead to improved spacecraft designs and advanced storage systems on Earth.
Flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) connected water, gas, and electrical lines to complete the installation of the Metal 3D Printer inside Columbus. The Metal 3D Printer is being tested for its ability to print parts in space reducing the need to ship spare parts on missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Afterward, she worked inside the Quest airlock inspecting and stowing tethers astronauts use to stabilize themselves when working outside the space station.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev were back on cargo duty Thursday continuing to unpack the nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies the Progress 94 resupply ship delivered on March 24. Kud-Sverchkov also worked on communications hardware maintenance. Mikaev photographed microbe samples swabbed from inside the Nauka, Zvezda, and Zarya modules to document the station’s microbial environment.
Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev began his shift inside the Nauka science module swapping out a robotics power-switching unit and inspecting its cables. Fedyaev completed his shift checking out orbital plumbing components and cleaning vents and fans in the Zarya module.
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
