Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Biomedical, Physics Research as Cargo and Crew Missions Near Launch

The Expedition 69 crew pointed its research program toward cancer therapies, vein scans, and space manufacturing on Thursday. The International Space Station will also see a Roscosmos cargo craft and a SpaceX crew spacecraft arrive next week.

Science on the orbital outpost can help doctors develop innovative treatments for a variety of health conditions on Earth. The weightless environment can reveal new phenomena offering unique insights impossible to discover in laboratories on Earth.

Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates), working out of the Microgravity Science Glovebox, serviced stem cell samples to learn how to increase their production in space. Scientists will use the research data to understand the potential of these space-grown stem cells for developing improved blood disease and cancer treatments.

Rubio later joined NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg for vein scans using the Ultrasound 2 device in the Columbus laboratory module. The duo imaged their neck, shoulder, and knee areas looking for potential space-caused blood clots with real-time assistance from flight surgeons on the ground.

Hoburg earlier in the day assisted NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen as he swapped graphene aerogel samples for a space manufacturing study. The physics investigation seeks to produce a superior, uniform material structure benefitting power storage, environmental protection, and chemical sensing.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Andrey Fedyaev once again tried on a specialized suit on Thursday testing its ability to help them adapt to Earth’s gravity. The cosmonauts are evaluating the lower body negative pressure suit for its potential to redistribute fluids that have pooled in the upper body due to microgravity toward the lower body.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin tested piloting and robotic techniques that may be used on future planetary missions. He also worked throughout the day on Earth photography and science hardware maintenance.

The ISS Progress 83 cargo craft is due to end it six-month stay at the orbital lab on Sunday when it undocks from the Zvezda service module’s aft port at 7:48 p.m. EDT. It will be replaced on Thursday Aug. 24, when the ISS Progress 85 cargo craft docks to the same port on Zvezda two days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Just four hours after the Progress 85 arrives, four crew members aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft will launch from the Kennedy Space Center to the space station. The SpaceX Crew-7 mission will dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing just one day after its liftoff and the four crew mates will enter the orbiting lab to begin a six-month space research mission.

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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Mark Garcia

Exercise, Physics, and Robotics Research Ahead of Cargo Mission

Exercise, physics, and robotics were the main science objectives aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 69 crew also expanded the orbital lab’s stowage volume while it waits for upcoming cargo and crew missions.

The lack of gravity while living and working in space requires crew members to exercise every day for two hours to maintain muscle and bone health. Doctors evaluate the effectiveness of space exercise to ensure astronauts remain healthy in microgravity and are prepared to return to Earth’s gravity environment.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg began the day taking turns pedaling on the station’s exercise cycle while attached to sensors and wearing a breathing mask. The two flight engineers were being observed by support personnel on the ground to monitor their aerobic fitness after living in space since March 2.

Bowen later joined NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio to complete the installation of an overhead stowage platform in the Quest airlock. Rubio wrapped up the platform work installing an oxygen recharge tank to transfer oxygen to Quest. The new platform expands the equipment stowage volume inside the airlock. Rubio earlier began his day swapping graphene aerogel samples in the Microgravity Science Glovebox for a space manufacturing study.

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) spent his day on educational activities inside the orbital outpost. Alneyadi first set up the free-flying Astrobee robotic helper testing its operation ahead of an opportunity for students to test their software programming skills that would control the toaster-sized device. The first-time space flyer then filmed simple microgravity physics experiments for viewing on Earth by junior high school students and their teachers.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Andrey Fedyaev tested a specialized suit during the morning that will help them adapt to Earth’s gravity. The lower body negative pressure suit is worn a few weeks before a crew member returns to Earth and redistributes fluids that have pooled in the upper body towards the lower body. Afterward, Prokopyev activated a 3D printer then photographed the Earth below. Fedyaev tested future piloting and robotic techniques then worked on ventilation maintenance in the Zvezda service module.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin started the Zvezda ventilation work in the morning. He then worked throughout the day on a variety of other maintenance activities including life support tasks and orbital plumbing duties.

The Roscosmos Progress 83 cargo craft is due to end its mission and depart the space station on Sunday, Aug. 20, after six months docked to the aft port of Zvezda. It will be replaced by the Progress 85 cargo craft on Aug. 24 two days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

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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Mark Garcia

Busy Crew Assists Each Other for Space Science and Lab Upkeep

The seven-member Expedition 69 crew conducted a wide variety of experimental work on Tuesday including more life science and physics research and installing new science hardware. The maintenance duties aboard the International Space Station included lab stowage work and orbital plumbing tasks.

The station astronauts split their day assisting each other on a host of space research and lab upkeep on Tuesday. NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg began his day swapping samples inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for a space manufacturing study with help from UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi.

Afterward, Hoburg moved on to support NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen as he loaded the NanoRacks External Platform inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock to place science experiments in the harsh environment of outer space. Alneyadi wrapped up his day in the Tranquility module replacing components in the station’s bathroom, also known as the Waste and Hygiene Compartment.

Hoburg would finally end his day in the Quest airlock installing a new overhead stowage platform. Bowen and Alneyadi started the work first removing and transferring the old stowage platform. The platform replacement work increases the equipment stowage volume inside Quest.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio also worked in Quest at the beginning of the day installing a battery charger and new components that power the spacesuits to sustain astronauts during spacewalks. Rubio ended his day inside Kibo consolidating and stowing hardware making room for upcoming activities planned inside the lab module from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

Heart research was on the Roscosmos work schedule for Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev as he attached sensors to himself for a study measuring his cardiac performance in microgravity. Commander Sergey Prokopyev installed and configured hardware to image Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in the ultraviolet wavelength. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin started his day checking for leaks between the ISS Progress 84 cargo craft and the Poisk module. In the afternoon, Petelin swapped cargo between Poisk and the Zarya module to accommodate the next Soyuz crew to visit the station in mid-September.

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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Mark Garcia

Crew Studies Life Science to Improve Health on Earth and in Space

Life science to benefit humans on Earth and in space was the top research priority aboard the International Space Station on Monday. The Expedition 69 crew also worked on housekeeping tasks and cargo craft duties to start the workweek.

Research in microgravity reveals new phenomena that would be impossible to discover or observe in Earth’s gravity environment. The unique insights help scientists and doctors promote innovations and develop advanced therapies benefitting humans living on and off the Earth.

Two astronauts partnered together on Monday investigating how to produce stem cells in space using the Life Science Glovebox inside the Kibo laboratory module. Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) worked in the glovebox servicing stem cell samples that give rise to blood and immune cells with the potential to improve blood disease and cancer therapies on Earth. The StemCellEX-H Pathfinder biotechnology study may expand commercial and research opportunities in space as well as patient remedies on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen wore a specialized vest and headband that monitored his cardiac activity and blood pressure while pedaling on an exercise cycle. The Bio-Monitor wearable sensors are being tested for their ability record astronaut health data without impeding normal activities. Bowen wore the biomedical gear as he exercised for the Cardiobreath cardiovascular and respiratory experiment that seeks to improve crew health.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg spent his day mostly on maintenance work with some time set aside for a space manufacturing study. He worked throughout the day unpacking hardware stowed in the Quest airlock so he could prepare it for the installation of a new overhead stowage platform. After lunchtime, Hoburg swapped graphene aerogel samples in the Microgravity Science Glovebox to learn how to manufacture a superior, more uniform structure in weightlessness. The SUBSA-μgGA physics study seeks to benefit Earth and space industries for better power storage, environmental protection, and chemical sensing.

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin tested hardware that can remotely control an approaching or departing spacecraft from the Zvezda service module. The duo activated the telerobotically operated rendezvous unit, or TORU, and evaluated its operation with the docked ISS Progress 83 (83P) cargo craft. The 83P is due to end its six-month stay at the orbital lab on Sunday. It will be replaced on Aug. 24 when the ISS Progress 85 resupply ship docks to Zvezda’s rear port two days after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev had the day off on Monday spending time on personal activities and his daily two-hour workout. After lunch, Fedyaev spent about a half-hour checking life support gear in the Nauka science module.

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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Mark Garcia

Crops and Manufacturing Studies as Station Orbits Higher

Botany and physics topped the research schedule as spacewalk cleanup duties continued aboard the International Space Station on Friday. The Expedition 69 crew also focused on life support maintenance as a U.S. cargo craft fired it engines to boost the orbital outpost.

Sustaining crews independently of cargo missions and taking advantage of microgravity for better manufacturing techniques are key targets for NASA’s and its international partners research programs. Friday’s science specifically looked at growing crops in space and advancing manufacturing techniques.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio set up seed bags for the Plant Habitat-03B study to understand how characteristics of plants grown in space change from one generation to the next. Results may inform ways to grow repeated generations of space crops to support future crewed missions. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi worked in the Microgravity Science Glovebox servicing samples to learn how to manufacture superior graphene aerogel in microgravity. The SUBSA-μgGA physics study seeks to benefit Earth and space industries for better power storage, environmental protection, and chemical sensing.

The duo also assisted NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg who worked throughout Friday swapping life support gear in the Tranquility module. A failed heat exchanger was removed and a new one was installed then connected to new low temperature loop hoses. NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen aided his crewmates on Friday photographing Alneyadi’s research work and helping Hoburg during his life support maintenance. Bowen later removed sensors that measured his blood pressure and downloaded the data to doctors on the ground.

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin continued cleaning their spacesuits and stowing tools and accessories following Wednesday’s spacewalk to install orbital debris shields and relocate a portable workstation. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev assisted with the spacewalk cleanup work finalizing operations with the European robotic arm and stowing medical kits on Friday.

The Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft’s delta velocity thruster fired at 10:35 a.m. EDT Friday for 22 minutes, 48 seconds in a reboost of the International Space Station. The planned maneuver was designed to further refine the phasing for the Roscosmos Progress 85 cargo spacecraft launch on Tuesday, Aug. 22, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and its docking to the station Thursday, Aug. 24. It was one of two scheduled reboosts to target the proper trajectory for the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-24 launch and two-orbit rendezvous to the orbiting complex on Sept. 15, as well as the Soyuz MS-23 undocking and landing on Sept. 27.

The reboost also continued the certification of the use of Cygnus as a second spacecraft currently capable of conducting such a maneuver. The Cygnus reboost increased the station’s altitude by 3/10 of a mile at apogee and 2.8 miles at perigee and put the space station in an orbit of 262.5 x 257.6 statute miles.

Crew members who will soon fly aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission will enter quarantine Friday in one of the major milestones before they head to the launch site in Florida to start their mission to the International Space Station. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is targeted to launch Crew-7 no earlier than 3:49 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 25 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

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/

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

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Mark Garcia