Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Science and Spacewalk Preps Fill Station Crew’s Day

Wednesday was packed with an array of advanced microgravity research promoting fire safety in space, exploring the effects of exercising in weightlessness, and testing futuristic piloting techniques. The Expedition 72 crew is also gearing up for a spacewalk to repair and upgrade science hardware on the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Nick Hague had their hands full with a variety of space science and spacesuit activities. Pettit began his shift collecting his urine samples and stowing them in a science freezer for later analysis. Later he replaced experiment samples inside the Combustion Integrated Rack to safely observe how flames spread on a variety of materials in microgravity potentially improving fire safety on future space missions.

Hague spent the first half of his shift wearing the Bio-Monitor vest and headband that recorded his heart and breathing rate while he worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device and jogged on the COLBERT treadmill. Afterward, he joined NASA Commander Suni Williams organizing the Quest airlock and readying a pair of spacesuits for a Jan. 16 spacewalk.

NASA managers will talk about that spacewalk and a second one planned for Jan. 23 during a spacewalk preview briefing that will be broadcast on NASA+ beginning at 2 p.m. EST on Friday. During the first spacewalk, Hague and Williams will exit Quest to repair a “light leak” on the NICER X-ray telescope and prepare the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer for future upgrades. The second spacewalk will see two yet-to-be announced astronauts remove radio communications gear and collect samples for analysis of potential microbes living outside the space station. Both spacewalks will begin around 7 a.m. with NASA+ coverage starting at 5:30 a.m.

NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore started his shift inside the Kibo laboratory module stowing and photographing space biology gear. Afterward, he ended his day conducting cargo operations inside the Cygnus resupply ship and inventorying medical kits inside the orbital outpost’s two Human Research Facilities.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Aleksandr Gorbunov started their day taking turns wearing a sensor-packed cap that measured their reactions as they practiced on a computer futuristic planetary and robotic piloting techniques. Future crews may use the data gained from these tests to plan missions farther away from Earth. Ovchinin later joined Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner and checked out audio hardware in the Zvezda service 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 Garcia

Most of Crew Relaxes as NASA Announces Two January Spacewalks

Most of the Expedition 72 crew was off duty on Tuesday while a pair of NASA astronauts conducted human research and studied biotechnology. Two spacewalks are now planned this month for science maintenance and station upgrades.

Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Nick Hague kept up a host of advanced space research aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The NASA duo explored how microgravity affects the human body and studied ways to produce fresh food and oxygen in space.

Pettit focused on human research Tuesday as he collected his saliva, blood, and urine samples. He processed and stowed those samples in a science freezers for later analysis to understand how weightlessness affects station crew members. Hague serviced samples of micro-algae exposing them to various light intensities to observe how they produce oxygen and nutrients in microgravity. Observations may promote crew health and advance life support systems on future spacecraft.

At the end of his shift, Hague refilled tanks and liquid cooling ventilation garments with water preparing a pair of spacesuits for a pair of upcoming spacewalks. He and Commander Suni Williams of NASA are scheduled to begin the first spacewalk at 7 a.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 16. The pair will exit the orbital outpost’s Quest airlock and spend about six-and-a-half hours replacing a rate gyro assembly, servicing the NICER X-ray telescope, and preparing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer for future upgrades.

Mission managers will discuss that spacewalk and a second one planned for Jan. 23 on NASA+ beginning at 2 p.m. EST on Friday. NASA+ will also broadcast both spacewalks beginning at 5:30 a.m. with the Jan. 23 excursion also starting at 7 a.m.

Meanwhile, Williams and NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore had the day off on Tuesday following a busy day on Monday. Cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov also relaxed Tuesday as they observed the Eastern Orthodox Christmas holiday.

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 Garcia

Spacewalk Preps, Science, and Cargo Work Kick Off New Year

Expedition 72 is beginning the New Year preparing for an upcoming spacewalk to service science hardware and install communications gear. The International Space Station residents also conducted space agriculture and worked on cargo duties at the beginning of the week.

Two NASA astronauts are scheduled to exit the orbital outpost’s Quest airlock this month for a spacewalk to checkout a pair of astrophysics experiments attached to the outside of the space station, as well as conduct other tasks. First, the NICER X-ray telescope will be serviced with a patch to prevent unwanted sunlight from entering the instrument and corrupting research data. Next, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will be prepared for future upgrades tasked for spacewalks planned later this year.

The four astronauts aboard the station including Commander Suni Williams and Fight Engineers Nick Hague, Don Pettit, and Butch Wilmore worked throughout Monday preparing for the science maintenance spacewalk. These preps included collecting and organizing spacewalking tools inside Quest and practicing installing the jetpacks on spacesuits a spacewalker would use to maneuver back to safety in the unlikely event they became untethered from the space station. The quartet also reviewed the procedures planned for the first spacewalk of 2025.

Pettit and Wilmore rounded out their day conducting science and transferring cargo. Pettit worked in the Columbus laboratory module thinning Red Romaine lettuce seedlings to learn how to grow food crops on space missions. Wilmore transferred cargo in and out of the Cygnus cargo craft that has been berthed to the Unity module since Aug. 6, 2024.

The three cosmonauts from Roscosmos spent their shift in the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting lab performing a variety of science and maintenance tasks. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov photographed microorganisms being incubated for a space biology study. Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner spent his day pumping water and transferring cargo from inside the Progress 90 resupply ship that docked to the Poisk module on Nov. 23. Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin inventoried hardware inside the Zarya, Zvezda, Nauka, and Poisk 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 Garcia

Station Crew Works Science Installs and Spacewalk Cleanup Before Holidays

Science hardware installations wrapped up the week for the Expedition 72 crew members aboard the International Space Station. The cosmonauts also slept in on Friday following a spacewalk the day before.

NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Nick Hague finalized the installation of the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device that provides advanced bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities in the Columbus laboratory module. The astronauts checked the fit of the workout gear’s vibration isolation system, installed grounding brackets, greased rails, and tested the device’s motion. The small and compact futuristic exercise hardware will be evaluated in the orbital outpost’s microgravity environment before being used on longer term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Hague also joined Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, in the Tranquility module for more installation work. The trio outfitted the Nanoracks Bishop airlock with a variety of hardware after it was berthed to Tranquility and pressurized following robotic transfers for scientific work at the beginning of the week. Wilmore completed the Bishop configurations at the end of the day after he installed computer hardware.

The orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts from Roscosmos slept in on Friday following a seven-hour and 17-minute spacewalk on Thursday. Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner installed a celestial X-ray investigation and removed older experiments for disposal during the spacewalk. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov remained inside the space station monitoring the spacewalkers and maneuvering Ovchinin with the European robotic arm (ERA). The trio spent Friday cleaning spacesuits and returning the ERA to its stowage position on the Nauka science module.

The seven astronauts and cosmonauts will spend Christmas and New Year’s Day orbiting Earth taking time to relax, open gifts, share a meal, and talk to family. The orbital septet will go into 2025 continuing more advanced space research benefitting humans on and off the Earth. The next space station blog is planned to publish on Jan. 6.

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 Garcia

Roscosmos Spacewalkers Finish External Science Work

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner concluded their spacewalk Dec. 19 at 5:53 p.m. EST after seven hours and 17 minutes.

Ovchinin and Vagner completed all of their major objectives, which included installing an experiment package designed to monitor celestial x-ray sources and new electrical connector patch panels and removing several experiments for disposal. The two cosmonauts were unable to complete their non-critical final objective due to time constraints, which was to relocate a control panel for the European robotic arm, which is attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.

This was the second spacewalk in Ovinchin’s career, and the first for Vagner. It is the 272nd spacewalk for 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 Garcia