Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Astronauts Relax as Cosmonauts Prep for Cargo Mission

Four Expedition 68 crew members are off-duty today following last week’s spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station’s power generation system. The rest of the crew is getting ready for a cargo mission due to arrive this week while continuing its ongoing cardiac research.

Four astronauts are relaxing today after a successful spacewalk on Thursday and all the preparations leading up to it. Flight Engineers Nicole Mann of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) spent six hours and 41 minutes in the vacuum of space during the Feb. 2 excursion. The duo completed the installation of a modification kit on the station’s starboard truss structure readying the orbital outpost for its next roll-out solar array.

The spacewalkers were assisted in the days leading up to last week’s spacewalk by NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada. The two spacewalking assistants helped Mann and Wakata in and out of their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, reviewed the mod kit installation procedures with them, and monitored the spacewalking job from inside the station.

The quartet will get back to work on Tuesday resuming their ongoing space research to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies. The four astronauts will work throughout the week exploring human research topics such as how microgravity affects blood pressure in the brain and the cardiorespiratory system. They will also look at space agricultural techniques and study the behavior of fuels in microgravity.

A cargo swap is planned for this week when the trash-filled ISS Progress 81 (81P) resupply ship undocks from the Zvezda service module’s rear port on Monday night. Next, the ISS Progress 83 (83P) cargo craft will launch at 1:15 a.m. EST on Wednesday then dock automatically at 3:47 a.m. on Friday to the Zvezda port vacated by the 81P.

Roscosmos Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin prepared on Monday for the weekend arrival of the 83P. The cosmonaut duo practiced on a computer for the unlikely event they would need to use the telerobotically operated rendezvous unit, or TORU, and manually guide the resupply ship to a docking.

Flight Engineer Anna Kikina attached sensors to herself on Monday morning for a 24-hour cardiac monitoring session without interfering with her normal work schedule. The electrodes not only recorded her heart’s electrical activity but also her blood pressure. Kikina then spent the rest of Monday on ventilation and communication maintenance tasks.

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/videupdate/

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Mark Garcia

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Spacewalkers Relax, Science Continues as Station Orbits Higher

Two astronauts took the morning off on Friday following a spacewalk the day before while the rest of the Expedition 68 crew conducted the latest space experiments and lab maintenance tasks. Meanwhile, the International Space Station is orbiting higher today to get ready for a pair of spaceships arriving this month.

Flight Engineers Nicole Mann of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) relaxed Friday morning after conducting a six-hour and 41-minute spacewalk on Thursday. The duo completed the installation of hardware on the station’s Starboard-4 truss readying the orbiting lab for its next roll-out solar array. The pair then went into the afternoon with standard post-spacewalk medical checks before cleaning up the Quest airlock where their spacewalking tools and Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, are stowed.

NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio had their hands full on Friday as they explored how weightlessness affects a wide range of phenomena including biotechnology, agriculture, and physics. The ongoing microgravity studies provide scientists and engineers new insights that could promote state-of-the-art industries both in space and on Earth.

Cassada began his day configuring the BioFabrication Facility, a research device that will investigate the 3-D printing of organ-like tissues in microgravity, in the Columbus laboratory module. Afterward, he was back inside Columbus watering tomato plants growing inside the Veggie space botany facility. The Veg-05 study is studying a continuous fresh-food production system for space missions. Rubio set up the new Particle Vibration experiment inside the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox. The physics study will investigate how particles organize themselves in fluids possibly advancing manufacturing techniques and providing new insights on astrophysics.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev assisted Flight Engineer Anna Kikina during her cardiac research early Friday as she attached sensors to herself to monitor her blood circulation in microgravity. Prokopyev then worked inside the Zvezda service module checking its systems. Kikina then spent her day inside Zvezda and the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module servicing their ventilation systems. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin spent all day Friday replacing air purification hardware before transferring filters from the ISS Progress 82 cargo craft to the Unity module.

The space station is orbiting higher, 260 miles above Earth at its highest point and 257.1 miles at its lowest, after the ISS Progress 81 resupply ship fired its engines for nearly fifteen minutes early Friday morning. The new orbiting altitude places the station at the correct altitude for the arrival of the new ISS Progress 83 cargo craft on Feb. 11 and the unpiloted Soyuz MS-23 crew ship on Feb. 21.

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/videupdate/

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Mark Garcia

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Spacewalkers Complete Construction Job to Upgrade Station Power

NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata concluded their spacewalk at 2:26 p.m. EST after six hours and 41 minutes.

Mann and Wakata completed their major objective for today, which was to complete the construction of a mounting platform on the 1A power channel that was started during a spacewalk on Jan. 20. In addition, they relocated an articulating portable foot restraint from the P6 truss for future spacewalk tasks and deployed cables for the installation of the next pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs).

The installation was part of a series of spacewalks to augment the station’s power channels with new iROSAs. Four iROSAs have been installed so far, and two additional arrays will be mounted to the installed platforms during future spacewalks following their arrival later this year on SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for NASA.

It was the 259th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, upgrades, and maintenance, the second spacewalk of 2023, and the second spacewalk for both astronauts.

Mann and Wakata are in the midst of a planned six-month science mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions, including to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis missions.

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/videupdate/

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Mark Garcia

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Astronauts Begin Spacewalk to Continue Power System Upgrades

NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata began a spacewalk at 7:45 a.m. EST, approximately 30 minutes ahead of schedule, to complete the construction of a mounting platform on the 1A power channel that was started during a spacewalk on Jan. 20, relocate and install an articulating portable foot restraint from the P6 truss for future spacewalk tasks, and if time permits, complete cable routing on the 1B power channel.

The installation is part of a series of spacewalks to augment the station’s power channels with new International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs). Four iROSAs have been installed so far, and two additional arrays will be mounted to the installed platforms during future spacewalks following their arrival later this year on SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for NASA.

Mann, designated extravehicular crew member 1, is wearing a suit with red stripes. Wakata, designated extravehicular crew member 2, is wearing an unmarked suit. The spacewalk is the second for both Mann and Wakata.

Coverage of the spacewalk continues on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

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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Heidi Lavelle

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NASA TV is Live as Astronauts Prep for Spacewalk to Continue Power System Upgrades

NASA Television coverage of today’s spacewalk with NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata is now underway and is also available on the NASA app and the agency’s website.

The two Expedition 68 crew members are preparing to exit the International Space Station‘s Quest airlock for a spacewalk expected to begin at about 8:15 a.m. EST and last up to seven hours.

Mann and Wakata will work to complete the construction of a mounting platform on the 1A power channel as part of a planned solar array augmentation on the starboard side of the station’s truss.

The duo will complete the installation of the mounting platform that was started during a spacewalk on Jan. 20, relocate and install an articulating portable foot restraint from the P6 truss for future spacewalk tasks, and if time permits, complete cable routing on the 1B power channel.

The installation is part of a series of spacewalks to augment the station’s power channels with new International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs). Four iROSAs have been installed so far, and two additional arrays will be mounted to the installed platforms during future spacewalks following their arrival later this year on SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for NASA.

Mann will serve as extravehicular crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Wakata will serve as extravehicular crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. The spacewalk will be the second for both Mann and Wakata.

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

Get The Details…

Heidi Lavelle

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