Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Spacesuits, Exercise, and Cargo Ops Wrap Week Aboard Station

Spacesuit cleaning, exercise research, and cargo operations wrapped up the week aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 75 crew members also practiced an emergency drill to ensure familiarity with medical operations in weightlessness.

NASA flight engineer Anil Menon worked throughout Friday cleaning the cooling systems in a pair of spacesuits that station commander Jessica Meir of NASA and flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) wore during a spacewalk on Sept. 1. Menon and Adenot also took turns stowing spacewalking tools inside the Quest airlock. Meir competed work to clean the spacesuit helmets and visors worn during the spacewalk.

Adenot began her shift working out on the new European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D) in the Columbus laboratory module helping researchers evaluate its effectiveness for use on future long-duration missions. Afterward, NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway inspected and greased the E4D’s vibration isolation system that protects sensitive station research gear and other hardware when a crew member works out. Hathaway also joined Meir and replaced orbital plumbing components inside the Tranquility module.

The four astronauts will be off duty on Monday, Sept. 7, for the Labor Day holiday. However, the three Roscosmos cosmonauts will be busy monitoring the Progress 94 resupply spacecraft when it undocks on Monday, packed with trash and obsolete gear, from the Poisk module. It will be replaced by the Progress 96 resupply spacecraft after it launches from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sept. 9 for an automated docking two days later to Poisk’s vacated port.

Flight engineers Anna Kikina and Pyotr Dubrov are finalizing cargo transfers in the Progress 94 before closing the spacecraft’s hatch and conducting leak checks. The duo also tested the tele-operated robotic unit, or TORU, in the Zvezda service module. The TORU would be used to remotely control a Roscosmos spacecraft in the unlikely event its automated rendezvous and docking system failed.

At the end of their shift, Kikina and Dubrov joined Menon for an emergency drill and practiced cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), located medical gear, and reviewed communication procedures. The trio launched to the station together aboard the Soyuz MS-29 crew spacecraft on July 14 and docked the same day to the Prichal module.

Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his shift on camera maintenance first uninstalling Earth-imaging gear that photographed Earth landmarks during the crew’s sleep shift. Next, Fedyaev took inventory of a variety of hardware supporting Earth observations on the orbiting lab. Finally, he inspected video cameras for degraded sensors caused by space radiation.

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.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark A. Garcia

Station Crew Works Earth, Human Research and Preps for Cargo Missions

The Expedition 75 crew spent Thursday cleaning up after a spacewalk, servicing advanced Earth imagery gear, and studying how to protect the human body in microgravity. The International Space Station is also gearing up for a cargo mission swap next week to replenish the seven orbital residents.

Station commander Jessica Meir of NASA and flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) worked together throughout Thursday in the Quest airlock stowing the tools and tethers they used during a spacewalk on Sept. 1. Afterward, Meir joined NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway as he guided her during an eye exam that imaged her retina, cornea, and lens as researchers on the ground monitored in real time. Adenot wore the EasyMotion-2 suit, programmed it to send electrical impulses, then measured the muscle contractions that may supplement a space workout. Doctors are constantly monitoring astronaut health and comparing biomedical data collected from previous missions to ensure crew fitness and wellbeing on long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Hathaway spent most of his shift on Thursday transferring cargo in and out of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft berthed to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port. He also spent some time cleaning the Mochii miniature electron microscope and the MUSES high-resolution, hyperspectral Earth-imaging system. NASA flight engineer Anil Menon worked in the Kibo laboratory module removing advanced Earth observation gear placed outside in the vacuum of space to demonstrate streaming of ultra-high-resolution hyperspectral imagery and study atmospheric dynamics.

Roscosmos flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov is loading trash and obsolete gear for disposal inside the Progress 94 resupply spacecraft before it undocks from the Poisk module on Monday, Sept. 7. Progress 94 will be replaced by the Progress 96 resupply spacecraft after it launches from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome on Sept. 9 for an automated docking two days later to Poisk’s vacated port.

Roscosmos flight engineers Anna Kikina and Andrey Fedyaev partnered together and installed Earth observation gear to automatically photograph Earth landmarks during the crew’s sleep shift. Kikina also measured her blood pressure using arm, wrist, and finger cuffs for a long-running cardiovascular investigation. Fedyaev transferred fluids into the departing Progress 94 spacecraft, inspected laptop computers, and tested camera sensors.

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.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark A. Garcia

Station Crew Cleans Up, Relaxes After Busy Month of Spacewalks

The Expedition 75 crew members are coming off a busy period that saw four spacewalks take place in one month outside of the International Space Station. The orbital septet cleaned spacesuits, conducted cargo operations, and relaxed throughout Wednesday.

Astronauts Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) and Jessica Meir of NASA completed the last of four spacewalks during a monthlong period on Tuesday, Sept. 1. Adenot and Meir spent six hours and 49 minutes installing a spacecraft navigation aid, swabbing the station’s exterior for microorganisms, and preparing a cosmic particle detector for future upgrades. The duo spent Wednesday mostly relaxing taking time out for exercise and joining NASA flight engineers Anil Menon and Jack Hathaway for a post-spacewalk conference with mission controllers on the ground.

Menon worked throughout Wednesday refilling spacesuit tanks with water, photographing suit gloves for inspection, and downlinking video captured from cameras attached to the spacewalkers’ helmets. He also transferred cargo in and out of the Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft berthed to the Unity module since April 13. Hathaway swapped out orbital plumbing components in the Tranquility module and uninstalled gear from inside a research incubator. The duo also spent a portion of Wednesday relaxing following their daylong support of Tuesday’s spacewalking activities.

During August, three spacewalks were performed with the first taking place on Aug. 6 when Meir and Menon installed a modification kit on the station’s starboard truss structure preparing it for a future roll-out solar array. The next two spacewalks saw Menon and Adenot disconnect a failed space-to-ground antenna from the Z1 truss segment on Aug. 18, then install a spare antenna on Z1 on Aug. 25.

The station’s three cosmonauts from Roscosmos stayed busy throughout Wednesday with a variety of research, cargo, and inspection duties. Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev turned off a camera that automatically photographed wildfires on Earth in multiple wavelengths during the crew’s sleep shift. Next, he photographed the condition of light fixtures in the Zarya module for analysis. Flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov packed items for disposal inside the Progress 94 resupply ship then photographed the condition of windows inside the Zvezda and Nauka modules. Flight engineer Anna Kikina checked the operation of scientific equipment, deployed carbon dioxide monitoring hardware, then cleaned Roscosmos ventilation systems.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission now is targeted to launch no earlier than late September to the International Space Station. A new target launch date will be shared once confirmed.

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.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark A. Garcia

ESA, NASA Astronauts Complete Navigation and Science Spacewalk Outside Station

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 3:29 p.m. EDT.

During the 6-hour, 49-minute spacewalk, Meir and Adenot installed a new retroflector on the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module to support spacecraft navigation during rendezvous and docking operations. The duo replaced a high-definition camera on the station’s truss and completed a swab of the space station’s exterior for microorganisms. They also partially completed work to install jumper cables for electrical systems and started work to prepare for the replacement of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’s heat-rejecting radiator on a future spacewalk.

Mission Control deferred installing the remaining guide studs for the spectrometer’s replacement radiator so engineers can develop a plan to finish the work during a future spacewalk. As the crew fell behind the timeline, the mission control team also shifted completion of the remaining jumper cables and other noncritical tasks to a later date.

During the spacewalk, Adenot experienced some mobility issues with her left arm. Meir took a look at Adenot’s suit and determined the glove heater harness was likely getting caught and causing limited movement in the left shoulder joint. Unzipping the joint seemed to resolve the issue ahead of the crew entering the airlock.

U.S. spacewalk 99 was Meir’s seventh and Adenot’s third. Meir now ranks third all-time among woman at NASA for total spacewalks, behind Peggy Whitson (10) and Suni Williams (9). It also was the 284th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

It also was the 284th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

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.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark A. Garcia

ESA, NASA Astronauts Begin Spacewalk for Navigation, Science Maintenance

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot began a spacewalk at 8:40 a.m. EDT outside the International Space Station to replace a retroflector, install jumper cables, prepare the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer for future maintenance, and replace a high-definition camera.

The spacewalk is streaming through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online: https://www.nasa.gov/live

Adenot is spacewalk crew member 1, wearing the suit with red stripes. Meir is crew member 2, wearing the unmarked suit.

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.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Mark A. Garcia