Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Astrobee Powered On, Safety Drills, and Health Measurements Top Today’s Schedule

Another round of safety training is underway today on the International Space Station. The Expedition 69 crew members were also tasked with robotic activities, ultrasound scans and station maintenance.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi powered on the station’s free-flying robots, Astrobee, in the morning. Later in the day, NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg performed a Zero Robotics dry run with Astrobee in the Japanese Experiment Module and assisted grounds teams with multiple software test runs. In dry run sessions, the Astrobee robots verify various aspects and programming for the Zero Robotics student competition—a program that provides students the opportunity to write software that controls one of three Astrobee robots, helping inspire the next generation of explorers, scientists and engineers.

Alneyadi was also tasked with consolidating food as the crew preps for the berthing of Northrop Grumman’s 19^th commercial resupply mission, targeted for launch on Tuesday, August 1 and capture on Friday, August 4.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen was joined by Hoburg in the afternoon to take ISAFE measurements. In the microgravity environment, blood and fluids shift toward the head, which can cause structural changes to the eye. ISAFE measures eye, brain and blood vessel changes in microgravity using an ultrasound device in order to help researchers better predict eye changes on future long-duration spaceflight.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio performed computer maintenance in the Japanese Experiment Module in the morning. He then completed maintenance tasks on the Confocal Space Microscope, a Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency facility that provides fluorescent images of biological samples. At the end of the day, Rubio, joined by Alneyadi, Hoburg, Bowen and Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos, all completed a second set of safety drills.

Ahead of training, Prokopyev completed maintenance tasks in the Zvezda service module while Fedyaev took inventory in the Functional Cargo Block, or Zarya module, and Petelin ran additional experiments studying liquid phases in microgravity.

Mission Control Center Houston is back to normal operations after full communication with the International Space Station was restored July 25, following a loss of power to the space station’s primary ground communication equipment at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The issue occurred during planned upgrades to the ground power system to ensure the mission control power grid remains robust and reliable. Ground teams activated the backup control center systems located at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to regain communications with the space station while engineers addressed the power issue in Houston. The backup systems typically are used in events such as a hurricane when evacuation from Mission Control Center Houston may be necessary. Flight controllers in Houston were able to stay in contact with the Expedition 69 crew aboard the space station through Roscosmos, as well as backup channels and the crew was not in any danger. All check-outs of the equipment went as planned following repowering.

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

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Abby Graf

Safety Training, Space Botany, Robotics Practice and Spacesuit Maintenance Today

The seven-member Expedition 69 crew is keeping busy Tuesday with a round of training, prepping for an upcoming cargo delivery and tending to plants aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio, joined by Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos began the day with a round of safety training. The rest of the crew, including NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi and Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos completed the same training midafternoon.

Rubio then tended to seedlings growing aboard the orbital lab in Plant Habitat-03, thinning the Arabidopsis sprouts to retain a singular healthy plant per unit. These ongoing investigations assess if adaptations in one generation of plants grown in space can transfer to the next.

Meanwhile, Hoburg continued collecting samples for the Standard Measures investigation and was later joined by Rubio to complete the first robotics practice session to get set for the upcoming rendezvous and capture of Northrop Grumman’s commercial cargo spacecraft, Cygnus. The company’s 19^th commercial resupply mission—packed with new science, hardware, and supplies for the crew—is targeted to launch at 8:31 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, August 1.

Bowen spent his morning consolidating stowage in the Japanese Experiment Module, then worked in tandem with Alneyadi performing cooling loop scrubs of spacesuits, or Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), through the afternoon. Alneyadi ended his day by initiating Iodination of the spacesuits, both activities required to remove contaminants from the transfer loops.

Following his morning training, Prokopyev carried out additional cargo plans for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 mission arriving to the station in August. Additionally, he ran the Cardiovector investigation, which assesses cardiac function to study crew health in a low-gravity environment. Meanwhile, Petelin continued ongoing research of liquid phases in microgravity, while Fedyaev performed maintenance in the Poisk module.

Around 9 a.m., a power issue in Mission Control Houston resulted in the loss of command, telemetry, and voice from the ground to the International Space Station. The issue was isolated to the ground, and flight controllers were able to talk to the crew onboard station through Roscosmos channels, and at no point was the crew in any danger. The mission control team worked to transition to back-up hardware for telemetry, commanding, and audio. It is expected that by the end of the day the issue will be resolved and the system will be back into a normal configuration.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Abby Graf

Space Biology, Human Health Research and Robotics Work to Kick off Week

The Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station is keeping busy on Monday with Genes in Space operations, human health research, robotics work, and station maintenance.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio started his day removing hard drives for future return. Following last week’s session, Rubio once again booted up the Surface Avatar laptop computer in the Columbus Laboratory module and ran another session to investigate how haptic controls, user interfaces and virtual reality could command and control surface-bound robots from long distances.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg began his day installing a carbon analyzer that determines the quality of recovered water aboard the orbital lab. He then set up hardware for the Standard Measures investigation—research that collects a set of core measurements from astronauts related to human spaceflight before, during and after long-duration missions—then later collected saliva samples to contribute to ongoing human research.

Midday, Hoburg moved into the Japanese Experiment Module to install new ethernet cables. He ended his day with Rubio and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi in the U.S. Orbital Segment performing maintenance on the Oxygen Generation System (OGS), which converts water into oxygen and hydrogen from the Water Recovery System.

Alneyadi was also tasked with performing maintenance on Astrobee, the station’s free-flying robots that are designed to help the crew with daily duties.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen ran another round of the Genes in Space-10 operation to measure and analyze DNA length using fluorescent samples. The Genes in Space program includes ongoing investigations that crews aboard the station have performed for years, allowing middle and high school students to design DNA experiments that address challenges in space exploration.

Cosmonaut Commander Sergey Prokopyev spent his morning in the Zvezda module performing maintenance and ended his day continuing cargo plan preparations for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 mission. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev worked in Nauka, installing brackets and stands for laptops, while Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin carried out ongoing investigations of the behavior of liquid diffusion in microgravity.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Abby Graf

Space Biology, Upcoming Mission Training and Eye Checks End Work Week

Two Expedition 69 crew members are preparing for the upcoming Northrop Grumman cargo resupply mission. Space biology and another round of eye exams are also underway today aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Woody Hoburg spent most of their morning reviewing procedures and completing training for Northrop Grumman’s 19^th commercial resupply mission bound for the station in August. Rubio and Hoburg will assist with the rendezvous and docking of the Cygnus spacecraft as it delivers new science investigations, hardware and supplies for the crew. The duo also worked on the BFF-Meniscus investigation, retrieving samples and printing with cells using the BioFabrication Facility—a 3D printer that investigates the feasibility of printing organ-like tissues in microgravity.

Later in the evening, Rubio assisted and guided another set of eye exams on NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen. Ahead of exams, Bowen collected saliva samples for ongoing research and replaced filters in the station’s Waste and Hygiene Compartment.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi ran Genes in Space-10 operations which measure and analyze DNA length using fluorescent samples. The Genes in Space program consists of ongoing investigations that allow middle and high school students to design DNA experiments that address a challenge in space exploration.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos wore a sensor-packed cap for the Pilot-T experiment, an investigation that provides crew members the opportunity to practice piloting techniques and explore how spacefarers may react and control spacecraft on future planetary missions. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev assessed device operations in the Nauka module, and was later given an eye exam using imaging hardware that Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin guided.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Abby Graf

A Third Round of Eye Exams for the Week; Maintenance and Clean-up Activities Underway

Three Expedition 69 crew members completed another round of eye exams today aboard the International Space Station. Various maintenance and clean-up activities were also underway in multiple service modules.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen collected salvia samples early in the morning then began installation work in the Japanese Experiment Module on a system that provides fluorescent images of biological samples. Later in the day, Bowen and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi worked in tandem to troubleshoot the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED), following yesterday’s six-month maintenance. The two were joined by NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg later in the evening to complete a third round of eye exams using imaging hardware.

Ahead of the exams, Hoburg inspected a system that controls temperature and humidity in the U.S. Orbital Segment. He then spoke with grounds teams for a briefing on the Food Physiology diet. Ongoing Food Physiology investigations help researchers better understand the effects of an enhanced spaceflight diet on astronauts.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio was tasked with performing maintenance on the Internal Ball camera—a free-flying system that helps crews monitor operations—in the Japanese Experiment Module. Later in the day, he worked with Bowen on clean-up activities for a system that measures vibrations and acceleration of the station. Rubio ended his day performing EVA battery maintenance.

The three cosmonauts aboard the station worked independently in separate modules. Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscomos performed station maintenance and inspections in Zvezda, while Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev did the same in the Nauka module. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin worked in Rassvet taking equipment inventory.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Abby Graf