Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Free Flying Robotics, Space Agriculture Ahead of Cargo Mission Swap

Free flying robotics and space agriculture topped Tuesday’s research schedule as the Expedition 72 crew helps advance the space industry. The International Space Station will also see the departure of a cargo craft and the arrival of its replacement this week.

NASA’s station Commander Suni Williams began her day setting up and activating the Astrobee robotic assistant, a cube-shaped, toaster-sized technology demonstration device, inside the Kibo laboratory module. Next, she outfitted the Astrobee with tentacle-like grippers for a test of its ability to autonomously detect and capture simulated orbital debris. Afterward, ground controllers took control of Astrobee and programmed the robotic free flyer to perform maneuvers to locate a capture target then reach out and grapple the free-floating object. Researchers are testing the ability of robots to safely remove orbital debris and protect satellites.

Following the robotics demonstration, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit worked in Kibo installing research components on the Advanced Plant Habitat hosting growing Red Romaine lettuce. The space botany hardware divided the young plants into quadrants for observation and provided a temperature sensor device measuring leaf temperature between watering periods. Insights from the Plant Habitat-07 investigation may inform ways to grow crops on future space missions.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore spent their day primarily focusing on science hardware, life support maintenance, and cargo transfers. Hague started his shift in the Columbus laboratory module partially uninstalling the Navigation and Communication Testbed that could provide a more accurate alternative to satellite systems for lunar navigation. Hague then powered up a pair of incubators for biology research later in the week. Wilmore began his day draining recycling tanks then loaded trash inside the Cygnus space freighter ahead of its departure next month. Wilmore wrapped up his shift installing software on a science laptop computer in the Destiny laboratory module.

Roscosmos’ Progress 89 cargo craft is poised to depart the space station at 3:17 p.m. EST today when it undocks from the Zvezda service module’s aft port completing a six-month cargo mission. It will be replaced by the Progress 91 cargo craft after it launches at 4:24 p.m. on Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Progress 91, carrying three tons of food, fuel, and supplies, will dock to Zvezda’s vacant port at 6:03 p.m. on Saturday where it will stay for another six months.

Cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner prepared on Tuesday for the Progress 91’s arrival setting up the TORU, or tele-robotically operated rendezvous unit, inside Zvezda. The TORU can be used to command and control an approaching spacecraft from Roscosmos if necessary.

Vagner then moved on and scanned cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov’s eyes with the Ultrasound 2 device for a regularly schedule exam. Gorbunov also completed a 24-hour session that measured his cardiac activity and blood pressure with portable electrodes.

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 Off-Duty Monday Before Week of Research, Cargo Spacecraft Missions

The seven-member Expedition 72 crew relaxed on Monday before beginning a week with a host of advanced space research into robotics, biology, and more at the International Space Station. The orbital residents will also send off a cargo craft after a six-month mission before another resupply ship arrives to replace it this weekend.

The orbital outpost’s four NASA astronauts and three Roscosmos cosmonauts began the workweek with an off-duty day following a weekend of light science duties and housecleaning tasks. The crewmates will go into the rest of the week exploring a variety of science of topics running the gamut of advanced space technology, space agriculture techniques, and how astronauts adapt to long-term weightlessness.

Some of the experiments will include NASA’s station Commander Suni Williams setting up an Astrobee robotic free flyer for a demonstration of its ability to autonomously detect and capture space debris with tentacle-like grippers. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit will install space botany hardware for an investigation growing Red Romaine lettuce to learn how to grow crops on future space missions. NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague will focus his scientific attention on human research this week as he collects his blood and saliva samples for analysis and explores electrical muscle stimulation to supplement space exercise.

NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore is due to spend his week on spacesuits and cargo packing. Wilmore will join Pettit cleaning cooling loops and replacing components on a pair of spacesuits inside the Quest airlock. He will also complete a space physics experiment before packing trash and discarded gear inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner are gearing up for the undocking of the Progress 89 cargo craft from the Zvezda service module planned for 3:17 p.m. EST on Tuesday. The duo finalized packing the Progress 89 for its departure and Ovchinin will be photographing the resupply ship as it backs away from the orbital outpost.

The Progress 91 spacecraft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:24 p.m. on Thursday before docking to Zvezda’s vacated port 6:03 p.m. on Saturday. Ovchinin and Vagner will be on duty Saturday monitoring the Progress 91’s automated approach and docking.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov spent an hour-and-a-half on Monday attaching electrodes to himself for a 24-hour session monitoring his cardiac activity and blood pressure. He’ll spend the rest of the week on a variety of space biology studies looking at his eyes and digestion system as well as keeping up 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

Muscle, Eye, and Breath Research Keeping Crews Healthy in Weightlessness

The muscle, eye, and respiratory research that took place Friday on the International Space Station is helping doctors keep crews healthy on long term space missions and informing possible treatments on Earth. The Expedition 72 crew members also explored space agriculture while working on spacesuits and emergency training.

NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague attached electrodes to his legs that stimulated his muscles for an investigation exploring ways to counteract space-caused muscles loss. He worked in the Columbus laboratory module where a control unit sent electrical signals exciting his leg muscles. Results may improve muscle function, shorten workout sessions, and lead to lighter exercise equipment in space.

Afterward, Hague joined NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit for eye exams using standard medical imaging gear in the Harmony module. Pettit assisted Hague as he peered into the optical device while doctors on the ground observed Hague’s eyes in real time. Spaceflight can cause swelling where the optic nerve attaches to the back of the eye. Researchers are exploring a B vitamin supplement as a way to offset that condition, called Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome, or SANS, and protect astronauts as NASA and its international partners plan missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Earlier, Pettit removed samples from inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) and stowed them inside a bag for return to Earth. The ELF, located inside the Kibo laboratory module, safely heats materials with a high melting temperature to study thermophysical properties unobtainable in Earth’s gravity. The benefits of microgravity research inside the high temperature physics device may lead to the creation of new materials leading to new industrial applications.

NASA astronaut and current space station Commander Suni Williams spent her day inside the Quest airlock servicing spacesuit and spacewalking tool batteries. NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore also joined her activating communication and oxygen systems and swapping life support gear on two spacesuits. Earlier in his shift, Wilmore thinned the leaves of Red Romaine lettuce plants growing inside Kibo’s Advanced Plant Habitat. The lettuce is growing to study how to grow crops on future space missions.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner partnered together and wore sensors measuring their exhalation rate for an experiment to understand how microgravity affects the respiratory system. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov worked on life support systems throughout Friday then wrapped up his shift installing imaging hardware to observe Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in ultraviolet wavelengths.

At the end of the day, all seven Expedition 72 crew members gathered together and trained to use the Anomaly Gas Analyzer (AGA) emergency hardware. The AGA can measure and detect gases in the station’s environment that may require the crew wear protective masks. The orbital septet also reviewed ammonia leak emergency procedures then conducted a safety conference with ground teams.

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 Works Ongoing Spacecraft Operations, Robotics, and Combustion Science

Docked spacecraft operations were the main focus at the International Space Station on Thursday with crew departure training, cargo packing, and an orbital reboost also taking place. The Expedition 72 crew also worked on science hardware activating a free-flying robotic assistant and preparing for a fire safety experiment.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 members which includes NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov joined each other on Wednesday for a refresher session and practiced on a computer the procedures for reentering the Earth’s atmosphere aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft. The quartet is planned to undock from the space station about a week after NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission arrives carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Takuya Onishi. Crew-10’s four crew members are targeted to launch no earlier than March 12 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Hague and Gorbunov also trained to use a new tool that measures airflow velocity from vents aboard the station. Williams replaced ammonia leak emergency response procedures with new safety manuals delivered on Aug. 6, 2024 aboard the Cygnus space freighter. Wilmore swapped fuel bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack to prepare for a spacecraft fire safety study that explores how flames spread in microgravity.

NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit was back on robotics duty on Wednesday powering up an Astrobee robotic free-flyer for the Astrobee-Zero Robotics student competition to program the toaster-sized device to make a variety of maneuvers. Winning students had their algorithms uploaded to Astrobee testing its ability to autonomously detect and move objects within a time limit aboard the Kibo laboratory module.

The space station is orbiting higher after the Progress 89 cargo craft, which is docked to the rear port of Zvezda service module, fired its thrusters for over 22 minutes on Wednesday night. The reboost places the station at the correct altitude to receive the new Progress 91 craft after it launches on Feb. 27 then docks on March 1.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner packed the Progress 89 with trash and discarded hardware in preparation for cargo craft’s undocking on Feb. 25. Ovchinin also prepared the Progress 89 for its departure removing air ducts and checking its hatch. Vagner moved on and serviced Zvezda’s oxygen generator while Gorbunov photographed the condition of stowage areas in the Zarya module. Following the Progress 89’s departure, Zvezda’s rear port will be vacated where the Progress 91 will dock beginning a six-month cargo mission.

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

Spacesuits, Exercise Gear, and Spacecraft Operations Fill Wednesday Schedule

On Wednesday, the Expedition 72 crew aboard the International Space Station focused its efforts mostly on spacesuits and advanced exercise gear. The orbital residents also worked on crew and cargo spacecraft operations at the orbital outpost.

NASA Flight Engineers Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague joined each other in the Quest airlock and swapped components on a spacesuit in preparation for a spacewalk planned in the spring. Next, Wilmore wrapped up the suit work and stowed the spacewalking hardware in Quest. Hague relocated medical operations gear from Quest into the Tranquility module and checked their wireless configurations.

Station Commander Suni Williams worked inside the Columbus laboratory module on futuristic exercise gear designed by the European Space Agency. She powered up the Portable Pulmonary Function System (PPFS) and tested its network connectivity with other space station exercise systems. The PPFS measures a variety of respiratory and cardiovascular factors such as oxygen intake, heart rate, blood pressure, and more helping researchers learn more about space biology and determine the effectiveness of space exercise techniques.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts also joined Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and reviewed procedures on computer tablets for unlikely spacecraft emergency scenarios such as a fire or depressurization. The quartet is targeted to return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft in March several days after the SpaceX Crew-10 mission launches which is currently targeted for no earlier than March 12.

NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit kicked off his day in the Kibo laboratory module inspecting and swapping out wireless communications gear. Next, he documented his daily food and medicine intake before he installed a pair of temporary hatch window covers in the Unity and Harmony modules.

Gorbunov worked on water transfers between the U.S. and Roscosmos segments of the orbital lab then cleaned ventilation systems inside the Poisk module. His fellow cosmonauts, Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, continued packing trash and discarded gear inside the Progress 89 cargo craft due to leave the station on Feb. 25. Ovchinin, along with Gorbunov, then took a test documenting his experience communicating with mission controllers from around the world. Vagner pointed a camera with a spectrometer installed toward Earth and photographed landmarks in a variety of 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.

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

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Mark A. Garcia