Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Space Physics, Cardiac Research Kickoff Last Week in January

Space physics and cardiac research kicked off the week aboard the International Space Station for the three-person Expedition 74 crew. The orbital residents explored storing cryogenic fluids in space and how their cardiovascular system is adapting to weightlessness.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams set up the Zero Boil-Off Tank investigation inside the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox on Monday. He injected gas into the experimental hardware to test ways to control spacecraft tank pressure due to cryogenic fuel propellants evaporating as a result of the surrounding heat. Results may lead to lightweight, more efficient cryogenic storage facilities benefiting both Earth and space industries.

Williams later joined Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev in the Columbus laboratory module for vein scans using the Ultrasound 2 device. The trio took turns scanning each other’s neck, shoulder, and leg veins, looking for potential space-caused blood clots with real-time assistance from doctors on the ground. Living in space long term induces fluid shifts in an astronaut’s body increasing the risk of blood clots—also called thromboembolism—that flight surgeons constantly monitor and seek to counteract.

Earlier in their shift, Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev partnered together and explored vascular health in microgravity. The duo took turns wearing a series of electrodes and cuffs measuring blood pressure in the arm, wrist, and thumb to understand cardiovascular adaptation in space. Doctors are researching how endothelial cells—the cells that line the blood vessels—behave in weightlessness since they are responsible for blood flow, blood pressure regulation, clot prevention, and inflammation.

The International Space Station is orbiting the highest it ever has after a docked SpaceX Dragon fired two Draco engines, located in the spacecraft’s trunk and use an independent propellant system, for a regularly scheduled orbital reboost on Friday, Jan. 23. The space station is now orbiting Earth at an altitude of 269 by 255 miles statute miles.

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 Cardiac Research, Artificial Intelligence as Dragon Boosts Station’s Orbit

Cardiac research and artificial intelligence were the main science topics for the Expedition 74 crew on Friday. The International Space Station also received an orbital boost when the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft fired its engines at the end of the week.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams started his shift inside the Columbus laboratory module setting up the Ultrasound 2 device and attaching electrodes to his chest. Next he scanned his neck, chest, and leg vessels with the Ultrasound 2 with assistance from doctors on the ground as the electrodes measured his heart’s electrical activity. Afterward, Williams jogged on the COLBERT treadmill while wearing a heart monitor then worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device as his movements were tracked. Doctors will use the biomedical data to understand how living and working in space long-term affects the cardiovascular system.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev joined each other in the Zvezda service module and studied using artificial intelligence to boost crew efficiency aboard the orbital outpost. The duo tested AI-assisted tools to convert speech-to-text and improve data handling and communications between the crew and ground controllers. Researchers seek to use the new technology to speed up and increase the accuracy of crew documentation benefitting operations aboard spacecraft.

Kud-Sverchkov also serviced the Elektron oxygen generator inside Zvezda, collected air samples from the station’s Roscosmos segment for analysis, and cleaned ventilation fans inside the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft. Mikaev deactivated physics research gear that enables observations of crystallization, plasma behavior, and radiation effects then inventoried computer and electronics gear to wrap his work shift.

On Friday, Jan. 23, SpaceX’s Dragon fired its thrusters for 26 minutes, 11 seconds, boosting the International Space Station’s orbit.

The two Draco engines, which are located in the spacecraft’s trunk and use an independent propellant system, increased the station’s altitude by 3.1 miles at apogee, or highest point of station’s orbit, and 2.3 miles at perigee, or lowest point of station’s orbit, placing the station in an orbit of 269 x 255 miles. 

This Dragon spacecraft, which is supporting SpaceX’s 33rd commercial resupply mission for NASA, arrived at the orbital complex on Aug. 25 and previously performed five reboosts of the station on Sept. 3, Sept. 26, and Oct. 14, Nov. 7, and Dec. 29. This is the final planned reboost for this Dragon spacecraft before it returns to Earth with critical research and cargo and splashes down off the coast of California.

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 Science and Hardware Top Thursday’s Schedule

The Expedition 74 trio aboard the International Space Station checked out ultrasound gear, inspected advanced sample processing hardware, and tested muscle-stimulating electrodes on Thursday.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams spent the first half of his shift servicing medical gear throughout the orbital lab’s U.S. segment. Williams first worked in the Columbus laboratory module configuring a computer tablet then installing new software to operate the EchoFinder-2 device. EchoFinder-2 enables an astronaut to conduct ultrasound scans of the human body without support from doctors on the ground. Next, he moved to the Kibo laboratory module and inspected sample holding cassettes and removed some of the internal hardware for stowage and return to Earth for analysis. The cassettes contained protein crystals being examined for their potential to help develop pharmaceuticals in space superior to medicines manufactured on Earth.

Williams also continued packing a variety of cargo inside a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for retrieval and analysis back on Earth in the spring. Some science experiments returning to the ground include material samples exposed to the external space environment, liquid crystal films developed in microgravity, and stem cells programmed to turn into brain and cardiac cells. Dragon, while docked to the Harmony module’s forward port, will also fire its engines one more time on Friday boosting the station’s orbit.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, station Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, joined each other and tested muscle-stimulating electrodes for operability. The duo first gathered and examined the electrodes then attached them to their legs and back for testing. Next, they sent electrical signals to the electrodes to stimulate the muscles and ensure the devices provide balanced muscle contractions. The devices complement space workouts reducing exercise times and enhancing muscle activation in weightlessness.

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

Sound and Hearing Studies, Earth Observations Fill Science Schedule

Sound and hearing studies as well as Earth observations kept the Expedition 74 trio busy on Wednesday. The International Space Station residents also worked on cargo transfers, downloaded radiation data, and kept up lab maintenance.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams began his day inside the Columbus laboratory module exploring how sound and shockwaves travel through small, solid particles, also called granular materials. Sensors measured the speed of sound and how the waves weaken and change shape as they move through the loose collection of tiny beads. Results may show how lunar or Martial soils behave as construction materials or during resource extraction. Insights could also lead to a better understanding of soil mechanics on Earth helping prevent landslides and sinkholes.

Williams also took turns with cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, station Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, taking a regularly scheduled hearing test. Using a quiet area in the orbital outpost, such as the Quest airlock, the crew wore a headset connected to a laptop computer and responded to a series of beeps and tones to check the health of the eardrum and inner ear in microgravity.

Williams spent the second half of his shift organizing cargo inside a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft due to return to Earth this spring. Dragon will bring back a variety completed experiments for analysis including material samples exposed to the external space environment, liquid crystal films developed in microgravity, and stem cells programmed to turn into brain and cardiac cells. Dragon will also fire its engines one more time, while docked to the Harmony module’s forward port, boosting the station’s orbit at the end of the week.

Mikaev continued his Earth observations at the beginning of his shift pointing a camera out windows on the Zvezda and Nauka modules and photographing African landmarks including the Nile Delta, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Lake Malawi. He also performed a monthly collection of radiation detectors and downloaded radiation dosages for review by mission controllers on the ground.

Kud-Sverchkov worked the first half of his shift on electronics and communications maintenance in the Rassvet module. During the second half of his day, the two-time station resident inspected and inventoried electrodes that help maintain muscle health in microgravity then finally replaced expired gas masks with new gas masks inside Nauka.

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Mark A. Garcia

Expedition 74 Spends Tuesday on Microbiology, Lab Maintenance

Microbiology research to protect astronaut health and spacecraft hardware topped the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. Earth observations and life support maintenance rounded out the day for the Expedition 74 trio.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams worked throughout his shift safely processing samples of a bacterial pathogen inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox. Williams was exploring a way to prevent the formation of biofilms, or a layer of microorganisms, anywhere water is found on a spacecraft where they pose human health risks and can damage equipment. The microbe samples are housed inside a specialized cell culture chamber, called a BioCell, and exposed to different levels of ultraviolet light to learn how to inhibit microbial growth and reduce reliance on chemical disinfectants. Results may lead to safer life support and medical systems, more durable spacecraft materials, and healthier humans on and off the Earth.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev spent his shift supporting a pair of ongoing Earth observation studies and servicing station equipment. Mikaev first deconfigured an automated overnight photography session that captured images of Earth’s nighttime atmospheric glow in near-ultraviolet wavelengths. The airglow is caused by atoms and molecules that are excited by solar ultraviolet radiation during the day and then release the energy as light at night. Next, he pointed a camera out a station window to photograph landmarks across Africa and the Middle East. Researchers will use the data to understand how natural disasters affect the surrounding landscape. Mikaev ended his day cleaning fans inside the Progress 92 cargo craft and transferring water between station tanks and inspecting water valves for microbes.

Station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov assisted Mikaev during his second Earth photography session setting up and installing the hardware then downloading the imagery for analysis on the ground. Kud-Sverchkov completed his shift with orbital plumbing transferring fluids and refilling tanks before cleaning fan filters in the Zarya module.

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Mark A. Garcia