Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Wednesday Boasted Health Scans in Space and More Dragon Cargo Stowage and Advanced Science Experiments for the Expedition 73 Crew

The International Space Station‘s Expedition 73 crew was busy this Wednesday with completing health scans, transferring more dragon cargo stowage, and carrying out additional advanced science experiments.

Three NASA Flight Engineers Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, Jonny Kim and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and station commander Takuya Onishi spent considerable time on Wednesday working on cargo stowage inside SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft that arrived on April 21 as part of the 32nd commercial resupply services mission for NASA.

McClain, Ayers, and Onishi also collectively received medical scans via the Health Maintenance Systems (HMS) which provides in-flight preventive medicine, diagnostic and therapeutic care, and routine treatment for the majority of medical conditions expected to be encountered while in space. They each received their own Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Scan of the neck, clavicle, shoulder, and behind the knee.

Ayers worked through various steps replacing and installing the crystallizer in the Advanced Space Experiment Processor Industrial Crystallization Cassette. Kim was photographing Ayers work with the ADSEP-4 for historical documentation. Ayers also guided an eye ultrasound.

McClain continued her work with the Bio-Monitor garment and headband from Monday. She reapplied the electrode lubricant on the electrocardiogram electrodes, then transferred data to the ground, and finally removed the garment and headband upon the session’s competition. McClain also returned to her work recording the progress of tomato plant growth as part of a space agricultural study.

Onishi also recorded data on the station’s environment for the student coding experiment AstroPi after he set up the Nikon z9 camera.  Later he docked the Japanese Experiment Module camera Robot 2 and performed a platform checkout.

Onishi and Kim spent some time on in-flight station maintenance. Onishi worked to reinforce video cables to while Kim performed visual inspections of various parts of the space station.

Kim also terminated the autocycle on spacesuit batteries in the Battery Stowage Compartment. He later went on to perform a routine drying agent pack swap on the Glacier2. GLACIER provides a double middeck-locker-size freezer/refrigerator for a variety of experiments that require temperatures ranging from +4 °C (39 °F) and -160 °C (-301 °F). 

The station’s three cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy, and Kirill Peskov worked on space station maintenance in the Russian segment. Peskov and Zubritskiy also worked specifically on water maintenance. Peskov continued his work with Potable water with the Water Process Assembly, while Zubritskiy was ensuring the maintenance of coolant and working with regeneration of micro purification systems with water transfer.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts. Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: https://www.nasa.gov/subscribe.

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Kelcie Nicole Howren

NASA, Partners Adjust Summer 2025 Space Station Flight Planning

After reviewing the International Space Station flight schedule, NASA and its partners are shifting launch opportunities for several upcoming missions. The schedule adjustments provide more time to finalize mission plans, spacecraft readiness, and logistics.

The new targeted no-earlier-than-launch opportunities, pending operational readiness, are:

• Axiom Mission 4: 9:11 a.m. EDT, Sunday, June 8
• NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11: Late July
• NASA’s SpaceX 33rd Commercial Resupply Services: Late August

Axiom Mission 4 will launch Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The private crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The private astronauts will work alongside the Expedition 73 crew aboard the orbiting laboratory for a short time, conducting mission-related science, outreach, and commercial activities.

As part of Crew-11, NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will launch to the space station aboard a Dragon and Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A. There, the crew of four will hand over with the agency’s SpaceX Crew-10 crew before embarking on a long-duration mission aboard station.

In August, SpaceX’s 33rd commercial resupply mission for NASA will deliver science, supplies, and hardware to the orbital complex. This Dragon cargo spacecraft also will be equipped with a robust reboost kit to aid in providing propulsive boosts to maintain the space station’s altitude. This capability will help reduce Russian segment propellant use aboard the space station and maintain reserve levels.

NASA continues to review operations and will make future adjustments, as necessary, to support the space station’s needs, crew safety, and maximize science capability as the agency prepares for station’s retirement.

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Kelcie Nicole Howren

Biotech, Fire Safety Research and Station Maintenance topped Tuesday’s Schedule for the Expedition 73 Crew

Biotechnology research exploring DNA-inspired nanomaterials and researching how fire behaves in microgravity to expand on station fire safety topped the science schedule for the Expedition 73 crew aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The crew also scheduled in time for more station maintenance.

A Bio-Monitor garment and headband were donned by NASA astronaut Anne McClain as part of an experiment that monitors astronauts’ psychological responses before, during, and after a mission to the International Space Station to assess the effect of space travel on heart health. 

McClain and NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers experimented with the Life Sciences Glovebox and the DNA Nano Therapeutics Mission 2 which produces a special type of molecule formed by DNA-inspired nanomaterials. Together these flight engineers were mixing mRNA and/or protein solutions as part of the nanomaterials mixing operations. This investigation could help identify the best formulations and methods for cost-effective in-space production. These nanomaterials also could be used to create new ways of targeting therapy delivery that improve patient outcomes with fewer side effects.

Ayers continued her work with the Life Sciences Glove Box and worked to plug-in the spectrophotometer to perform light wave measurements as part of the DNA Nano Therapeutics Mission 2 Spectrophotometer setup. Throughout her day she also checked and charged the batteries in the Astrobees, which are cube-shaped robots designed to help scientists and engineers develop and test technologies for use in microgravity and to assist astronauts with routine chores, and give ground controllers additional eyes and ears on the space station. 

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim worked on installing the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SoFIE) experiment mist hardware used to extinguish flames. He also worked with the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) which enables investigators to perform combustion research to understand the fundamentals of the combustion process, understand fire safety, and methods for suppression of fires in space. 

Station commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) performed work in the Japanese Experiment Module with fire safety as well as some station maintenance. Onishi worked with the Solid Combustion Experiment Module (SCEM) exchanging gas bottles in the Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack to perform leak checks as well as exchanged samples. Onishi also worked on orbital plumbing installing recycle tanks and configuring drain valves.

Maintenance was at the forefront of the station’s three cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy, and Kirill Peskov’s day while working in the Russian segment. Zubritskiy removed Russian cargo, completed replacing and repairing thermal sensors as well and verifying a flow sensor installation position. Peskov completed an ethernet cables audit as well as worked on the intermodular ventilation system that connects the Russian module to the U.S. module.

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Kelcie Nicole Howren

Crew Kicks off the Week with Cargo Stowage, Health Research, and Maintenance and Agricultural Work

This week begins with a focus on cargo stowage inside SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft and health research aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 73 crew members also scheduled in time for maintenance and agricultural work.

The morning consisted of NASA Flight Engineer (or astronaut) Anne McClain setting up the CIPHER Falcon Goggles hardware for Vestibular Exams that she and fellow NASA Flight Engineer (or astronaut) Jonny Kim later performed. They were aided by an operator and remote guide on the ground. The CIPHER investigation, or the Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research, is one of many ongoing health-focused studies in microgravity that looks at how various systems in the body—the heart, muscles, bones, and eyes—adapt to longer missions.

Work later began with the Life Sciences Glovebox by Kim as he worked to support the DNA Nano Therapeutics Mission 2 which produces a special type of molecule formed by DNA-inspired, customizable building blocks known as Janus base nanomaterials. It also evaluates how well the materials reduce joint inflammation and whether they can help regenerate cartilage lost due to arthritis. He moved on to work on ADSEP-4, which is Advanced Space Experiment Processor where he replaced and removed the Crystallizer in the Advanced Space Experiment Processor Industrial Crystallization Cassette.

NASA Flight Engineer (or astronaut) Nichole Ayers, McClain, and station commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) then spent a portion of their day transferring cargo from the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft onto the International Space Station. Ayers and Onishi also continued some spacewalk clean-up as they stowed tools used from preparing the space station for the ISS Roll Out Solar Array (IROSA).

Photography consumed parts of McClain’s day on station as she recorded the progress of tomato plants as part of a space agricultural study. She later closed out her tasks documenting Kim’s work on the ADSEP-4 as he was holding the Advanced Space Experiment Processor Industrial Crystallization Cassette.

Onishi carried out several station maintenance tasks starting with the setting up, analyzing, and recording data from water samples taken from the Water Processor Assembly using the TOCA (Total Organic Carbon Analyzer) Water Sample Hose. TOCA helps ensure reclaimed water is safe to drink by providing capabilities to measure total organic carbon, total inorganic carbon, total carbon, pH and conductivity in water.  He later moved on to maintenance for the 4-Bed CO2 Scrubber, which is an integral part of crew life support through the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on the International Space Station.

In the Roscosmos segment, the station’s three cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy, and Kirill Peskov spent much of their day working on space station maintenance. Peskov worked with potable water with the Water Process Assembly, while Ryzhikov was ensuring the maintenance of coolant. Both he and Zubritskiy also oversaw finding an adaptor cable.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts. Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: https://www.nasa.gov/subscribe.

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Kelcie Nicole Howren

Crew Works Tech Demos and Maintenance on Friday

Friday’s schedule aboard the International Space Station included maintenance and tech demonstration set up for the Expedition 73 crew.

In the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers teamed up in the morning to remove MISSE hardware and sample carriers before bagging them for return to Earth. The facility provides a unique platform for the testing of materials, coatings, and components in the space environment.

Afterward, the duo split up for a majority of the afternoon to focus on other tasks. McClain photographed tomato plants for a space agricultural study, while Ayers set up ELVIS—a microscope for 3D imaging of objects such as bacteria—in the Life Sciences Glovebox. She then inserted Colwellia bacteria samples into GLACIER, one of the station’s ultra-cold freezers, before conducting a sample run to analyze the active behavior and genetic changes in the bacteria. Ayers and McClain were then joined by NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim and current station commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) for a conference with ground support.

Kim spent most of the day on maintenance and IT activities. He first set up hardware on the orbital lab’s bicycle, CEVIS, then scanned the disk drive of the Microgravity Science Glovebox for any system errors. Later on, he conducted some computer hard drive tests, then took inventory of supplies in the Human Research Facility.

Onishi had a light-duty morning before work picked up in the afternoon. In the Harmony Module, he installed a crystallizer in the ADvanced Space Experiment Processor, or ADSEP, a biotech facility that contains three thermal zones to accommodate a variety of experiments, including crystal growth. He then replaced the controller card in the Potable Water Dispenser before setting up a tech demo in JEM that will more efficiently transfer space-to-ground data.

The station’s three Roscosmos cosmonauts, Alexey Zubritsky, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Kirill Peskov, all enjoyed a day off, relaxing and completing their routine two hours of daily exercise.

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

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: https://www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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Abby Graf