Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Week Ends with Dragon Preps, Space Physics, and Human Research

Expedition 74 wrapped up the week with more preparations for the upcoming launch and arrival of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission. The orbital trio also studied space physics and human research while resupplying and inventorying lab supplies and tools aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams kicked off his shift with SpaceX Dragon operations. Williams first transferred some completed experiments, used hardware, and trash inside a Dragon spacecraft that arrived on August 25, 2025. Next, he staged a variety of gear that will be used by the four Crew-12 members shortly after their arrival to the space station following their launch targeted for no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 11.

After lunchtime, Williams focused on science hardware first injecting gas into physics experiment hardware installed inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. He was testing ways to control spacecraft fuel tank pressure due to cryogenic fuel propellants evaporating as a result of the surrounding heat. Next, he resupplied Human Research Facility kits with DNA oral swabs, blood sample tubes, and gloves to ensure ongoing biomedical research.

Station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev, both Roscosmos cosmonauts, joined each other for a respiratory test at the beginning of their shift on Friday. The duo took turns wearing tracheal acoustic sensors that recorded their exhalation rate as they performed controlled breathing maneuvers. Researchers will use the sound data to assess how the lack of gravity affects a crew member’s respiratory function.

Afterward, Kud-Sverchkov inventoried tools throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment. Next, he refreshed his Soyuz spacecraft piloting skills familiarizing himself with return to Earth operations using a computer simulator. Mikaev configured data and processing hardware that controls a variety of research projects including material science, plasma physics, and advanced technology demonstrations. Finally, he joined Kud-Sverchkov for the Soyuz descent simulations before ending his shift swapping cargo in and out of the Progress 92 cargo craft.

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

Dragon Preps, Artificial Intelligence, and Medical Gear Fill Crew’s Day

SpaceX Dragon arrival preparations and artificial intelligence research to improve crew operations continued aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 74 crew also checked out new medical hardware and trained to use emergency gear while keeping up orbital lab maintenance.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission continues its countdown to a launch targeted for no earlier than 6:01 a.m. EST on Feb. 11, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The four Crew-12 members Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, both from NASA, Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency), and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos will dock to the orbital outpost’s space-facing port on the Harmony module the following day. They will spend nine months conducting advanced microgravity research aboard the orbital outpost benefitting humans living on and off the Earth.

Station Flight Engineer Chris Williams kept up his Dragon training and station configurations ahead of Crew-12’s planned arrival next week. Williams spent an hour continuing to review the procedures he will use while monitoring Dragon’s automated approach and rendezvous toward Harmony. Afterward, he began gathering and organizing standard spacecraft emergency hardware that will be transferred into Dragon shortly after it arrives.

Williams also checked out the new Ultrasound 3 biomedical device that is replacing the Ultrasound 2 scanner on the station. He powered on the device in the Columbus laboratory module and tested its configurations and electrical connections with a laptop computer and the Human Research Facility. The Ultrasound 3 was delivered to the orbital outpost on Sept. 18, 2025, aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft. It can be used for advanced imaging of a crew member’s cardiovascular, abdominal, and musculoskeletal systems in weightlessness with real-time guidance from doctors on the ground.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, station commander and flight engineer respectively, joined each other on Thursday exploring using artificial intelligence to boost crew efficiency aboard the orbital outpost. The duo tested AI-assisted tools to convert speech-to-text for speedier documentation and improve data handling and communications between the crew and ground controllers.

Kud-Sverchkov also conducted crew medical officer training familiarizing himself  a variety of emergency hardware, including an automated external defibrillator and respiratory support pack, to treat a crew member in the unlikely event of a medical situation aboard the space station. The two-time station resident continued experiment operations for the Plasma Kristall-4 investigation that explores complex plasmas to advance spacecraft designs, better understand planetary formation, and improve fundamental physics research.

Mikaev began his shift testing space-to-ground communications hardware with mission controllers in Russia. Afterward, the first-time space flyer checked the Elektron oxygen generator’s water tanks for air bubbles to ensure the life support device’s continuous operation.

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

Crew Studies Health, Earth Photography, and Works Dragon Preps

Biomedical research to promote astronaut health and Earth observations to understand the effects of natural catastrophes topped the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 74 trio is also gearing up for the arrival of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission while continuing lab maintenance for the upkeep of the orbiting lab.

A second day of CIPHER human research operations awaited NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams as doctors on the ground continuously monitor how an astronaut’s body adapts to weightlessness. Williams began his shift collecting his blood samples then processing them in a centrifuge. Next, he photographed the sample tube configurations after the centrifuge activities, then stowed the samples in a science freezer for preservation and later analysis. Researchers are using the biomedical data collected from this investigation to understand how human health changes before, during, and after a spaceflight —critical knowledge for safeguarding crews on future missions farther from Earth

After lunchtime, Williams called down to Earth for a video conference with the four SpaceX Crew-12 members, who are targeted to launch to the orbital outpost no earlier than Feb. 11. Commander Jessica Meir and Pilot Jack Hathaway, both from NASA, and Mission Specialists Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos called up to the station from NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston for station familiarization activities prior to their arrival the day after launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Afterward, Williams continued his computer training to prepare for his monitoring role as Crew-12 approaches the station aboard the SpaceX Dragon.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev once again pointed a camera out a station window and photographed Earth landmarks to capture areas struck by natural disasters. Mikaev targeted regions from Portugal to Kazakhstan then downloaded the imagery to a hard drive for return and analysis on Earth. Researchers will study the imagery to understand how the landscape is affected by and adapts to events such as storms, landslides, and earthquakes.

Station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov from Roscosmos began his shift setting up video gear to record experiment operations for the Plasma Kristall-4 physics study. Next, Kud-Sverchkov replaced a laptop computer, installed a new computer battery, then photographed the completed job inside the Nauka science module. The two-time space station visitor wrapped up his shift on orbital plumbing and life support maintenance in the orbiting lab’s Roscosmos modules.

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

Biomedical Research, CubeSat Deployments Top Crew Schedule

Biomedical research to keep crews healthy and CubeSat deployments for educational research topped the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The Expedition 74 crew also focused on cargo swaps and life support maintenance throughout the day.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams processed his body samples during the first half of his shift for the long-running CIPHER astronaut health study. He collected then stowed his urine samples inside a science freezer for preservation and later analysis. The human research investigation looks at a broad range of physiological and psychological parameters before, during, and after a spaceflight to understand how the human body adapts to weightlessness. Doctors will use the insights to keep crews healthy as they travel farther away from Earth.

Williams also pointed a camera out a window on the cupola as a set of CubeSats were deployed outside the Kibo laboratory module by a small satellite orbital deployer into Earth orbit. Students from Mexico, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan designed the shoe-boxed satellites for a series of Earth observations and technology demonstrations.

Williams also logged onto a station computer and studied procedures to monitor the approach and rendezvous of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission aboard a Dragon spacecraft targeted to launch no earlier than Feb. 11 from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The first-time space flyer then continued packing completed science experiments and station hardware for return to Earth inside a Dragon spacecraft docked to the Harmony module’s forward port.

Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev started his shift in the Nauka science module replacing battery controllers to maintain safe operations of the Roscosmos segment’s electrical power system. After lunchtime, Mikaev inspected and cleaned a pair of laptop computers before removing hardware and crew supplies from the Progress 92 cargo craft and stowing them inside the orbital outpost.

Station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov spent his shift primarily on lab maintenance in the station’s Roscosmos’ modules. He first verified the location and configuration of a variety tool kits then inventoried and photographed the tools for analysis on the ground. Afterward, Kud-Sverchkov cleaned and inspected station smoked detectors and their components verifying they were in functional condition.

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

Expedition 74 Kicks Off Week with Dragon Preps and Science Gear Work

The Expedition 74 crew kicked off the week with SpaceX Dragon spacecraft preparations and science hardware maintenance ensuring research continues providing pristine results aboard the International Space Station. The orbital trio is gearing up for a pair of missions targeted to arrive and depart the station this month while keeping up ongoing microgravity science impossible to achieve in Earth’s gravity environment and benefitting humans on and off the Earth.

The next mission to the orbital outpost, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12, is targeted to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, no earlier than Feb. 11. Two NASA astronauts, commander Jessica Meir and pilot Jack Hathaway, will ride a SpaceX Dragon alongside mission specialists Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos. After docking to the Harmony module’s space-facing port, they will join Expedition 74 and begin a nine-month space research mission.

Expedition 74 Flight Engineer Chris Williams studied the monitoring tools and techniques he will use when Crew-12 aboard Dragon begins its approach and rendezvous maneuvers toward Harmony. Williams reviewed the variety of computers that control the station’s orientation and the procedures he will use during Dragon’s approach to Harmony.

Later in his shift, Williams focused on cargo operations packing some of the completed experiments and associated research samples, as well as used hardware and trash, inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft for retrieval and analysis on the ground. Dragon delivered a host of science experiments, crew supplies, and more on August 25, 2025.

In between the Dragon operations, Williams serviced advanced science gear supporting different research operations aboard the orbiting lab. He first replaced power, control, and stowage components inside the TangoLab facility that supports numerous investigations including virulent bacteria research and early cancer detection. Next, he swapped a hard drive inside the Advanced Space Experiment Processor-4 that houses and processes research samples for an array of microbiology and physics studies and can be operated on Dragon and Cygnus cargo spacecraft, as well as the space station.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev began his shift pedaling on an exercise cycle while attached to electrodes and a blood pressure cuff. Station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos assisted Mikaev during the fitness evaluation that monitors how a crew member’s heart activity and blood pressure are affected by living in weightlessness. Afterward, Mikaev packed obsolete hardware and trash for disposal inside the Progress 92 cargo craft then cleaned the ventilation system inside the Zvezda service module.

Kud-Sverchkov also set up the Plasma Kristall-4 physics study and switched from neon to argon gas inside the Columbus laboratory module. The experiment explores complex plasmas to advance spacecraft designs, better understand planetary formation, and improve fundamental physics research. The two-time space station resident later conducted a photographic inspection of windows inside Zvezda for analysis.

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