Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Botany, Physics, and Spacesuits Wrap Up Station Workweek

The workweek wrapped up with the Expedition 68 crew working on botany and physics hardware aboard the International Space Station. Spacesuit maintenance is still proceeding as the astronauts and cosmonauts continue preparing for more spacewalks before the end of the year.

Growing fresh food off the Earth is a key mission objective as NASA and its international partners plan longer human missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA Flight Engineer Josh Cassada spent all day on Friday configuring hardware and installing components on the Veggie space botany facility located in the Columbus laboratory module. Soon the plant growth unit will host a small crop of dwarf tomatoes growing for the Veg-05 study investigating ways to maintain a continuous fresh-food production system in space.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio was working in the Microgravity Science Glovebox at the end of the day exchanging samples for a fluid physics study. The investigation explores the coarsening and coalescence of foams in weightlessness with potential applications for the firefighting, petroleum, and medicine industries among others.

Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) took turns with Rubio on Friday collecting blood and urine samples, processing them, then stowing them in science freezers for later examination. Wakata also cleaned and serviced components inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace, an experimental facility that enables safe research of high temperature physics above 2,000 degrees Celsius.

Several more spacewalks are scheduled before the end of the year. The first is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 14, and a second for Dec. 19. Both spacewalks will be broadcast live on NASA TV, on the agency’s app and website.

NASA Flight Engineer Nicole Mann was back on spacesuit duty on Friday removing and replacing life support components inside the Extravehicular Mobility Units, or EMUs. She later removed a small satellite deployer from inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin partnered once again checking their Orlan spacesuits for leaks and reviewing procedures for the Dec. 14 spacewalk. The duo also took turns working out on the station’s exercise bike while attached to sensors for a fitness evaluation. Flight Engineer Anna Kikina wrapped up her week transferring water and repressurizing nitrogen from the docked ISS Progress 82 resupply ship to tanks aboard the space station.

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

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Station Crew Works Spacesuits, Science Hardware, and Human Research

Spacesuit maintenance and research hardware topped the task list for the Expedition 68 crew on Thursday. The orbital residents aboard the International Space Station also worked on biomedical activities and ensured life support systems continue operating in tip-top shape.

NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann worked together throughout Thursday servicing an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), or spacesuit, inside the Quest airlock. The duo spent the entire day swapping electronics and life support components inside the spacesuit ahead of a spacewalk planned for Monday, Dec. 19. Two astronauts will exit Quest in their EMUs on that day and spend about seven hours installing another roll-out solar array on the station’s Port-4 truss segment.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio had his hands full during the day working on a variety of science gear supporting everything from satellite deployments, fluid physics, and ultra-high resolution video technology. Beginning his day in the Harmony module, Rubio disassembled a small satellite deployer that had ejected four CubeSats from outside the Kibo laboratory module last week. Next, he opened up the Fluids Science Laboratory and installed samples to investigate the coarsening and coalescence of foams with potential applications for the firefighting, petroleum, and medicine industries among others. Finally, the first time space-flyer assembled the SphereCam-1 to demonstrate capturing the highest resolution, groundbreaking 12K views from a spacecraft supporting future space exploration missions.

Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) drew a blood sample during the morning and processed it in a centrifuge before the stowing the sample in a science freezer for future examination. Wakata then worked on the Kibo lab’s water recovery system troubleshooting hardware inside the life support device. At the end of the day, the experienced space station veteran collected a urine sample and stowed it in a science freezer for later analysis.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev performed a leak check on the docking interface between the Poisk module and the ISS Progress 82 cargo craft. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin set up a video camera inside the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Finally, Flight Engineer Anna Kikina, with assistance from Petelin, attached sensors to herself and pedaled strenuously on the station’s exercise bike for a fitness evaluation.

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

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Spacesuit Work and Emergency Training Aboard Station Today

The Expedition 68 crew took a break from its intense space research activities and focused on spacesuits, biomedical tests, and lab maintenance on Wednesday. Four International Space Station flight engineers also reviewed the procedures necessary to depart the orbiting lab in the unlikely event of an emergency.

Flight Engineers Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann spent some time during the afternoon studying instructions to replace life support components inside Extravehicular Mobility Units, or the spacesuits that astronauts wear during spacewalks. Cassada gathered tools at the beginning of the day to support the spacesuit maintenance work. Mann then took a few minutes shaking research bags containing particle-filled fluids for a study to understand the formation of asteroids and planets and possibly inform advanced manufacturing techniques on Earth.

Cassada also had time after lunch to join Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for vein scans using the Ultrasound 2 device. Cassada performed the medical duties scanning Wakata’s leg, neck, and shoulder veins with remote guidance from a flight surgeon on the ground. Earlier, Wakata took a robotics test for a behavioral study that measures crew performance. At the end of the day, he photographed sutured biological samples to investigate wound healing in space.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio spent the day working in the Combustion Integrated Rack relieving pressure, replacing components, and checking cable connections inside the device that enables safe research into flames, fuel, and soot in microgravity.

Mann, Cassada, Wakata, and Roscosmos Flight Engineer Anna Kikina, who rode aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endurance crew ship to the station on Oct. 6, gathered together for an emergency procedures review on Wednesday afternoon. The quartet studied together on a computer the steps necessary to board Endurance and quickly evacuate the station during an unlikely emergency event such as a depressurization or a fire.

Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin spent all day Wednesday continuing work on Orlan spacesuit maintenance. The duo serviced and replaced life support components inside the suits they will wear on an upcoming spacewalk to relocate a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Kikina started her day working on electronics and computer hardware before wrapping up her shift studying how to pilot robots or spacecraft on future planetary 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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

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Research-Filled Day and Spacesuit Work Keeps Crew Busy

Life science and space physics filled the research schedule on Tuesday for the four Expedition 68 astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts spent the day servicing Orlan spacesuits while maintaining electronics and life support systems.

Following a day off on Monday, the space station’s four astronauts turned their attention to a multitude of space science activities. The dominant research themes on Tuesday were biology and fluid physics with scientists on the ground using the observations to improve life for humans living on and off the Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio had his hands full on Tuesday with numerous science investigations requiring his attention. Rubio opened up the Fluids Integrated Rack in the morning to support the Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment that may provide insights into improving thermal systems in microgravity. Afterward, Rubio analyzed water samples collected from the station’s Water Processing Assembly. Next, he stowed research samples into a science freezer before attaching a protective cover on a specialized microscope that observes the fundamental nature of cellular and tissue structures. Finally, Rubio activated an experiment that is studying how weightlessness affects genetic expression in microbes to understand bacterial adaptation and protect astronauts.

Astronauts Josh Cassada of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency took turns nourishing biology samples for a study observing how bones heal in space. Cassada earlier filled water bags that will support the Plant Habitat on an upcoming botany experiment. Wakata began operations to conclude a series of student-designed experiments using NanoRacks commercial research hardware.

NASA Flight Engineer Nicole Mann spent Tuesday scrubbing cooling loops inside the Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, the Cassada and Rubio wore during a spacewalk on Dec. 3 to install a roll-out solar array. The next spacewalk planned for Cassada and Rubio is scheduled for Dec. 19 to install a second roll-out solar array on the station’s port-side truss structure.

Two cosmonauts continued replacing components inside a pair of Orlan spacesuits they will wear on a spacewalk planned before the end of the year. The next spacewalk for Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will see the duo relocate a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Flight Engineer Anna Kikina was back on lab maintenance on Tuesday installing a variety of electronics hardware, connecting cables and working on an oxygen generator.

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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

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Astronauts Take Day Off Following Spacewalk

Four Expedition 68 crew members took Monday off following a busy weekend of spacewalk activities. The rest of the International Space Station crew focused on electronics, life support, and Orlan spacesuit maintenance.

NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio are relaxing today following a spacewalk on Saturday that saw the successful installation of a roll-out solar array on the station’s Starboard-4 truss segment. The duo then spent Sunday cleaning up after the spacewalk in the Quest airlock and discussing the results of the excursion with specialists on the ground. Flight Engineers Nicole Mann of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) also took Monday off having assisted the spacewalkers over the weekend.

The next spacewalk is planned later this month to relocate a radiator from the Rassvet module to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin are replacing pumps inside their Orlan spacesuits today as they prepare for that spacewalk.

Flight Engineer Anna Kikina spent the day servicing a variety of electronics and life support hardware aboard the orbiting lab. She replaced gear and reconfigured cables then worked on the Nauka module’s ventilation system.

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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

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