Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

NASA Astronauts McClain and Ayers Exit Station Soon for Spacewalk

NASA’s live coverage is underway on NASA+ as two astronauts prepare to conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 8:15 a.m. EDT and last about six and a half hours. 

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NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers will install a mounting bracket to prepare for the future installation of an additional set of International Space Station Rollout Solar Arrays, also called IROSA. The IROSAs will increase power generation capability by up to 30%, increasing the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts. The astronauts also will relocate a space station communications antenna.  

McClain will serve as spacewalk crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Ayers will serve as spacewalk crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit. This will be the third spacewalk for McClain and the first for Ayers. U.S. spacewalk 93 will be the 275th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. 

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

Station Maneuvers to Avoid Orbital Debris

The Progress 91 thrusters were fired at 6:10 p.m. EDT Wednesday for 3 minutes, 33 seconds, to raise the orbit of the International Space Station to provide an extra margin of distance from a piece of orbital debris from a fragment of a Chinese Long March rocket launched in 2005. The pre-planned Debris Avoidance Maneuver was coordinated by NASA, Roscosmos, and other space station partners.

Without the maneuver, NASA estimated the fragment could have come within around .4 miles of the station.

There is no impact to operations aboard the space station and it will not affect U.S. spacewalk 93 on Thursday, May 1, with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers. 

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

Astronauts Ready for Thursday Spacewalk as Biology, Earth Science Continues

Two NASA astronauts spent Wednesday finalizing preparations for a spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station’s power generation capabilities and relocate a communications antenna. Expedition 73 Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers began their shift staging their spacesuits and organizing their spacewalking tools inside the Quest airlock.

After a midday meal, McClain and Ayers teamed up with station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim and called down to mission controllers to discuss their spacewalk readiness. Onishi and Kim will be on duty Thursday helping the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits and monitoring their activities from inside the orbital outpost. The quartet also conducted a final review of the procedures necessary to ready the orbital outpost for a new rollout solar array and relocate an antenna that communicates with visiting vehicles. The planned six-hour and 35-minute spacewalk is set to begin at 8 a.m. EDT on Thursday and will be broadcast live on NASA+ beginning at 6:30 a.m.

McClain and Ayers also had a standard pre-spacewalk health checkout just before their lunch on Wednesday. Kim, a trained medical doctor, led the exams measuring the astronauts’ vital signs including temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and breathing rate.

Kim also had time to photograph tomato plants growing for a space agriculture experiment studying if crops can grow without photosynthesis in microgravity possibly increasing plant cultivation on Earth and in space. Onishi began his shift processing biological fluid samples for a biotechnology investigation that may lead to expanded research and commercial opportunities in space.

The station’s three cosmonauts from Roscosmos had a research-packed day studying the human cardiovascular system and photographing landmarks on Earth.

Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky took turns measuring each other’s blood pressure as electrodes monitored their circulation. The data will give doctors insight into how weightlessness affects blood flowing back and forth from the heart. The two crewmates later wrapped up their shift pointing their cameras toward Earth and photographing glaciers in the Patagonia region of South America.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov was also on Earth observation duties on Wednesday. He first powered down a camera used for photographing natural and manmade disasters across the planet. Afterward, he set up a specialized camera and pictured regions throughout North and South America in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths.

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

Synthetic DNA, Gravity Sensing Cells Top Research Ahead of Spacewalk

The Expedition 73 crew is learning how to manufacture nanomaterials today possibly leading to new therapeutics, vaccines, and regenerative medicine. The orbital residents also conducted vein scans and wrapped a cellular gravity sensing experiment aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Jonny Kim began their day inside the Kibo laboratory module mixing solutions to create DNA-like nanomaterials. The biotechnology experiment and may enable future in-space biomanufacturing and expand the commercial space economy. The microgravity environment enables high quality production of the synthetic DNA compared to commercially available nanomaterials on Earth. The samples will be analyzed on the station using an electromagnetic light tool then returned to Earth for further examination.

McClain is also getting ready for a spacewalk with fellow NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers. The duo is scheduled to set their spacesuits to battery power at 8 a.m. EDT on Thursday signifying the beginning of their spacewalk. They will spend six-and-a-half hours readying the orbital outpost for a new rollout solar array and relocating a communications antenna. McClain and Ayers took turns on Tuesday printing checklists highlighting their spacewalking tasks and inserting them into their spacesuit cuffs. NASA+ will begin its live spacewalk coverage beginning at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Kim later partnered with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky for vein scans inside the Columbus laboratory module. Station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) led the biomedical procedure operating the Ultrasound 2 device so doctors on the ground could look at the crew’s neck, shoulder, and leg veins in real-time.

Earlier, Onishi wrapped up the Cell Gravisensing experiment seeking to understand the mechanism that enables cells to feel the effects of gravity. He placed the cells inside a fluorescence microscope for one final observation session then stowed the samples and shut down the research hardware. Results may enable advanced treatments for conditions such as muscle atrophy, osteoporosis, and aging-like symptoms affecting both astronauts and Earthlings.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov was back on Earth observation duties first completing a photography session imaging the nighttime atmosphere in near ultraviolet wavelengths. Next he activated a different camera and photographed islands in the Pacific Ocean and other landmarks to study the effects of natural and manmade disasters on Earth.

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

Crew Kicks off Busy Research Week Before Thursday’s Spacewalk

Biotechnology, human health, and space botany kicked off the research week aboard the International Space Station on Monday. The Expedition 73 crew is also preparing for a spacewalk on Thursday to ready the orbital outpost for a new rollout solar array and relocate a communications antenna.

Numerous experiments exploring how blood pressure, eyes, and cells are affected by microgravity packed the schedule aboard the International Space Station on Monday. Scientists will take the unique data and pursue advanced therapies promoting healthy humans on and off the Earth.

Blood pressure checks awaited NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers on Monday for the CIPHER suite of 14 human research investigations. Ayers began her shift scanning McClain’s chest with the Ultrasound 2 device while electrodes measured her blood pressure. Doctors are observing the arterial structure and function of astronauts to assess the cardiovascular risk of living and working in space.

McClain later installed research hardware inside the Veggie space botany facility for the Advanced Plant Experiment-12 space botany study that will observe how space radiation affects plant genetics. Ayers then peered into medical imaging gear with assistance from NASA astronaut Jonny Kim so researchers could get a glimpse of her optic nerve to identify potential space-caused eye health issues.

Kim also set up physics research hardware inside the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Colloidal Solids experiment that may benefit the pharmaceutical, food, and personal care industries on Earth. The upcoming  investigation will observe how soft solids, such as gels, respond to weightlessness and may lead to the design of new materials.

McClain and Ayers are also preparing to exit the space station on Thursday for a six-hour and 35-minute spacewalk. The pair spent an hour on Monday reviewing the steps necessary in the vacuum of space to install a rollout solar array modification kit on the station’s port side truss structure and relocate an antenna that communicates with visiting vehicles. This will be McClain’s third spacewalk, Ayers first, and the 275^th in space station program history.

Station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) split his day between exploring how cells sense gravity and installing hardware containing biological fluid samples. He first relocated cell samples from an incubator into a microscope to observe the mechanism that enables cells to sense the effects of gravity. Results from the Cell Gravisensing investigation may lead to therapies treating space-caused and Earthbound muscle and bone conditions. Onishi then installed cassettes containing fluid samples in the Advanced Space Experiment Processor-4, a research facility that can be shipped back and forth from Earth to space, for the biotechnology study. That investigation may further research and commercialization opportunities in space.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov set up Earth observation gear and activated a camera to photograph landmarks in Canada and western Africa. Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky took a hearing test on Monday inside the Quest airlock using specialized audiometric hardware that eliminates the need to isolate oneself in a soundproof booth. The pair would spend the rest of the day on a variety of electronics and life support maintenance.

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