Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Station Crew Ends Week with Half-Shift Filled with Space Research

The Expedition 73 crew wrapped up the week with another light duty day working half a shift filled with vein scans, a pharmaceutical study, and International Space Station upkeep.

NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers kicked off her day with station Commander Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) taking turns operating the Ultrasound 2 device and scanning each other’s neck, shoulder, and leg veins. Afterward, Ayers handed over the biomedical hardware to NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain who scanned the veins of Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov. Doctors on the ground monitored the regularly scheduled scans in real time checking for potential blood clots arising due to blood pooling toward a crew member’s upper body in microgravity.

Onishi and McClain then spent some time on different maintenance duties in the Quest airlock. Onishi observed, photographed, and documented the condition and location of a variety of spacewalking tools, while McClain transferred wastewater collected from a spacesuit into a contingency water container bag.

NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim began his shift inside Quest searching for and locating a specialized socket that will be used on a future spacewalk. Next, he worked inside the Destiny laboratory module installing hardware and setting up samples inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox to explore the behavior of amyloids, or protein deposits that affects organs and tissues, in weightlessness. Results may lead to a better understanding and newer treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and promote space commercialization opportunities.

Peskov began his shift in the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment and attached himself to a device that applies a known force to a crew member and uses the resulting acceleration to accurately calculate mass. After his vein scans, Peskov worked in the Zarya module and cleaned life support equipment and checked lighting systems.

Veteran space station resident and cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov spent his half-day in Zarya organizing electronics hardware to create more stowage space. First-time space-flyer cosmononaut Alexey Zubritskiy transferred fluids from the station into the Progress 90 cargo craft’s tanks then copied science data collected from a protein crystallization investigation to a flash drive.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

NASA, Axiom Space Delay Axiom Mission 4 Launch to Space Station

NASA and Axiom Space are postponing the launch of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station. As part of an ongoing investigation, NASA is working with Roscosmos to understand a new pressure signature, after the recent post-repair effort in the aft most segment of the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module.

Cosmonauts aboard the space station recently performed inspections of the pressurized module’s interior surfaces, sealed some additional areas of interest, and measured the current leak rate. Following this effort, the segment now is holding pressure. The postponement of Axiom Mission 4 provides additional time for NASA and Roscosmos to evaluate the situation and determine whether any additional troubleshooting is necessary. NASA defers to Roscosmos to answer specific questions about the Zvezda module.

A new launch date for the fourth private astronaut mission will be provided once available.

Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.

The crew will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

Light Duty Day Aboard Station as Crew Awaits Axiom Mission 4

The Expedition 73 crew members lightened their schedule on Wednesday following several days of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) preparations including readying International Space Station systems, tablet computers, and temporary crew quarters. The orbital residents relaxed throughout the day while setting aside some time to continue ongoing human research and orbital maintenance.

NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX have postponed the launch opportunity on Wednesday, June 11, of Ax-4 to the orbital outpost to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair a liquid oxygen leak identified during post-static fire Falcon 9 rocket inspections.  A new launch date for the fourth private astronaut mission will be provided once repair work is complete, pending range availability. 

Four astronauts, three from NASA and one from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, moderated their shifts on Wednesday opening up time to relax after focusing on the upcoming arrival of the Ax-4 mission. The quartet still kept up some space science duties while maintaining the upkeep of the orbital outpost.

Station Commander Takuya Onishi from JAXA, during the middle of his short day, opened up the Microgravity Science Glovebox and installed samples into research hardware to study how proteins behave in a liquid in microgravity. Results may lead to a better understanding and newer treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and promote space commercialization opportunities.

The three NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim, Anne McClain, and Nichole Ayers worked on a variety of life support maintenance tasks during their light duty day ensuring the orbital outpost operates in tip-top shape.

Kim calibrated and checked the functionality of the total organic carbon analyzer, one of several on-orbit tools that measure the quality of the station’s water. McClain activated audio hardware and measured the station’s acoustic environment, with its continuously running science racks and ventilation systems, to learn how it affects a crew member’s hearing. Finally, Ayers inspected and cleaned fans inside the Destiny laboratory module.

The three cosmonauts had a full shift on Wednesday studying space biology and maintaining life support systems in the Roscosmos segment of the space station. Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy joined each other at the beginning of their day and studied how microgravity affects the exchange of blood between the bloodstream and surrounding tissues. Ryzhikov then pumped water from the Progress 90 spacecraft into station tanks and serviced the Elektron oxygen generator located in the Zvezda service module. Zubritsky photographed the condition of windows inside Zvezda and also partnered with Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov documenting and organizing cargo space inside the Nauka science module.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

NASA, Partners Delay Axiom Mission 4, Reviewing Launch Date 

NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are standing down from the launch opportunity on Wednesday, June 11, of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station to allow additional time for SpaceX teams to repair a liquid oxygen leak identified during post-static fire Falcon 9 rocket inspections.  A new launch date for the fourth private astronaut mission will be provided once repair work is complete, pending range availability. 

Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. 

The crew will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

Axiom Mission 4 Preps and Ongoing Space Science Fill Crew Schedule

Expedition 73 continues preparing for the arrival of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew targeted to launch to the International Space Station on Wednesday. Meanwhile, space science operations continued for advancing human health, promoting future missions, and observing Earth landmarks.

The Falcon 9 rocket that is targeted to launch Ax-4 inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the station at 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday stands at its launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Ax-4 Commander and veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson will lead Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The four private astronauts will ride inside Dragon to an automated docking on the Harmony Module’s space-facing port planned for 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 12. Live launch coverage on NASA+ begins at 7:05 a.m. on Wednesday.

Back on the orbiting lab, NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Nichole Ayers partnered together for eye checks today using standard medical imaging gear found in an optometrist’s office on Earth. Kim led the eye exam in Harmony operating the biomedical imaging hardware as Ayers peered inside. Doctors on the ground remotely monitored in real time to observe Ayers’ retinas for any space-caused issues.

Kim earlier collected station drinking water samples for analysis then continued setting up sleep stations for the arrival of Ax-4. Ayers swapped components on a U.S. spacesuit in the Quest airlock then cleaned and photographed the condition of metal oxide containers used to remove carbon dioxide from the spacesuits.

Station Commander Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) worked on a spacecraft fire safety experiment taking place in the Kibo laboratory module. He swapped sample cartridges inside Kibo’s Solid Combustion Experiment Module that safely observes how solids and fuels burn in weightlessness. Results from the combustion study in weightlessness may improve the design and safety of spacecraft systems and space habitats.

NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain began her shift draining orbital plumbing tanks that are part of the waste and hygiene compartment, also known as the space station’s bathroom, located in the Tranquility module. After her lunchtime, McClain gathered emergency hardware prepared ahead of every crew mission to the orbital lab and staged it for Ax-4’s arrival.

Working in the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment, cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov was back on Earth observation duties conducting a pair of ongoing investigations. He set up specialized cameras to image landmarks throughout Europe and Asia in a variety of wavelengths. Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritskiy configured research hardware to understand how neutron radiation caused by solar flares and gamma-ray bursts may affect spacecraft to plan for future missions. Three-time station resident and veteran Flight Engineer Sergey Ryzhikov checked communication and life support systems in the Zvezda and Rassvet modules.

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

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Mark A. Garcia