Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Space Biology, Student Robotics Top Day as Cargo Craft Departs

Space biology to improve health and robotics to promote education were the primary research topics aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The Expedition 72 crew members also saw the departure of a cargo craft as another one prepares for launch.

NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit continued nourishing research samples and servicing an artificial gravity-generating incubator housing the samples inside the Kibo laboratory module. Pettit will process the samples during the week inside Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox helping researchers prevent space-caused immune system dysfunction and protect astronaut health.

NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague reviewed the biology study’s operations and will soon assist Pettit as they process the samples. Hague also unpacked health accessories from the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft resupplying medical kits inside the space station. He later joined Pettit troubleshooting cargo-securing hardware located inside Dragon.

Commander Suni Williams collected station water samples for microbial analysis at the beginning of her shift. Then with assistance from Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore she serviced engineered bacteria and yeast samples for a biomanufacturing study and installed the specimens in cold stowage and a variable gravity simulator for later examination.

Wilmore also activated an Astrobee robotic free-flyer and tested its operation inside Kibo supporting a robotics competition to choose student-written algorithms that control the device. Wilmore worked in conjunction with engineers on the ground monitoring the Astrobee’s flight trajectory and its gesture recognition software. The Astrobee-Zero Robotics contest is meant to inspire students from around the world to pursue STEM and space-related careers.

The trash-packed Progress 88 cargo craft ended its resupply mission today undocking from the orbital outpost at 7:53 a.m. EST after six-months docked to the Poisk module. The Progress 88 descended into Earth’s atmosphere just over three hours later for a fiery, but safe destruction above the South Pacific Ocean.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner deactivated computer and video monitoring gear after the Progress 88’s departure. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov spent his day on orbital plumbing and cleaning duties throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.

The Progress 90 resupply ship now stands at its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan counting down to a lift off 7:22 a.m. on Thursday. It will dock to the vacated Poisk module at 9:35 a.m. on Saturday loaded with about 5,500 pounds of cargo.

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

Space Station Raises Orbit Avoiding Orbital Debris

The Progress 89 thrusters were fired at 2:09 p.m. CST today for 5 minutes, 31 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 defunct defense meteorological satellite that broke up in 2015. The Pre-determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM) was conducted in coordination with NASA, Roscosmos and the other space station partners.

Without the maneuver, ballistics officials estimated that the fragment could have come within around 2 ½ miles of the station.

The maneuver had no impact on station operations and will not affect Thursday’s scheduled launch of the Progress 90 cargo craft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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

Monday’s Research Boosting Astronaut Health Amid Cargo Mission Preps

The Expedition 72 crew members began the week exploring the numerous ways living in space affects the human body to develop advanced therapies promoting health on and off the Earth. The orbital residents are also preparing for the departure of a cargo ship and the arrival of another this week at the International Space Station.

Preventing space-caused changes in eye pressure, inflammation, and blood clotting were the dominant research themes aboard the orbital outpost on Monday. The insights can be achieved only in the microgravity environment and may provide new strategies researchers can use to treat space-caused and Earthbound symptoms and conditions.

NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore tested a thigh cuff as a way to draw body fluids into their extremities. In microgravity, the human body adjusts by eliminating fluids no longer needed in an astronaut’s torso and head. The fluid shifts can apply pressure to an astronaut’s eyes affecting eye structure and vision. Wilmore assisted Hague at the beginning of the day, imaging his eyes to measure his retina’s thickness then attaching the tight-fitting, fluid-shifting thigh cuffs to both of his legs. Next, Wilmore conducted scans with the Ultrasound 2 device to observe Hague’s cardiac activity and collected blood pressure measurements. Hague had a second round of the same tests at the end of the day before stowing the biomedical hardware. The data was downloaded for doctors on the ground to analyze the effectiveness of the thigh cuff that may help protect astronauts on missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit serviced biology hardware in the Kibo laboratory module to prepare for an upcoming study exploring ways to prevent space-caused inflammatory changes. He installed components inside Kibo’s artificial gravity-generating incubator to observe how weightlessness and radiation affect the immune system, bones, and muscles creating symptoms that are similar to age-related issues on Earth. Insights may lead to therapies counteracting the stresses of living in space as well as aging conditions on Earth.

Commander Suni Williams inserted cell samples inside a fluorescence microscope that scientists remotely controlled to observe inflammation and immunity response changes in microgravity. Researchers seek to identify genes regulated by gravitational forces and understand their impact on the human immune system to protect astronaut health on future missions.

A Roscosmos cargo mission swap is due to take place beginning at 7:53 a.m. EST on Tuesday when the trash-packed Progress 88 resupply ship undocks after six months attached to the Poisk module. The next cargo craft to replace it, the Progress 90, has already rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Loaded with about 5,500 pounds of cargo, the Progress 90 will launch at 7:22 a.m. on Thursday for a two-day trip to the station. The space delivery will arrive at 9:35 a.m. on Saturday for an automated docking to Poisk beginning another six-month cargo mission.

Cosmonaut Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner trained on Monday for the departure and arrival of the two Progress spacecraft. The Roscosmos duo practiced operating on a computer the telerobotically operated rendezvous unit, or TORU, in the unlikely event it would be necessary to remotely control the Progress spacecraft if they lost their automated capabilities. The duo then split up as Vagner closed the Progress 88 hatch and checked for leaks while Ovchinin serviced the treadmill inside the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov assisted Ovchinin with the treadmill maintenance and synchronized cameras with space station clocks.

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

Advanced Life Support, Robotics, and Repair Tech Studies Wrap Up Week

The Expedition 72 crew explored new technologies on Friday including life support systems supported by photosynthesis, capturing satellites with robots, and cold welding in microgravity. The International Space Station residents also continued checking out spacesuits while keeping up standard lab maintenance tasks at the end of the week.

Using micro-algae to remove carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, and create food in the spacecraft environment is an important test for NASA as it plans longer human missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague worked in the Columbus laboratory module servicing samples of the Arthrospira C micro-algae for incubation and analysis. Scientists will expose the radiation-resistant samples to different light intensities while monitoring their cell growth and oxygen production. Results may advance life support systems and fresh food production in space.

Engineers are studying how satellites interact in close proximity with each other to learn how to capture space objects for servicing or removal. NASA Commander Suni Williams checked out the Astrobee robotic free-flyer in the Kibo laboratory module and installed tentacle-like arms containing gecko-like adhesive pads to demonstrate satellite capture techniques. Engineers on the ground then remotely-controlled the cube-shaped, toaster-sized robotic assistant testing its ability to conduct docking maneuvers and capture free-flying objects. Development of this robotic technology may increase the life span of satellites and enable the removal of space debris.

NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Butch Wilmore worked on installing new scientific hardware to explore materials exposed to space radiation and test a spacecraft repair technique. Pettit set up external research gear inside Kibo that will be placed in the vacuum of space to observe how a variety of materials react to the extreme thermal environment, different types of radiation, micrometeoroids, and more to promote the space industry. Wilmore installed the Nanolab Astrobeat space repair experiment hardware in the Destiny laboratory module that will explore a cold-welding technique to repair micrometeoroid impacts to spacecraft.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner were back on spacesuit duty Friday conducting leak checks, valve tests, and servicing the suits’ life support components. The duo is readying the suits for a spacewalk planned in mid-December. Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov primarily spent his day on orbital plumbing tasks before wrapping up his shift on computer maintenance in 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 Garcia

Station Crew Studies Immunity, Digestion Systems to Benefit Health

The Expedition 72 crew’s space biology research on Thursday explored how the human immune and digestion systems react to weightlessness to improve health on Earth and in space. The seven residents aboard the International Space Station also worked on a variety of other experiments while continuing the upkeep of the orbital lab.

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Nick Hague , Expedition 72 Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, partnered together in the Kibo laboratory module processing cell samples using the Life Science Glovebox. The duo was exploring how spaceflight and radiation affect the immunity system and blood clotting possibly providing insights to advance health protecting astronauts in space and humans on Earth.

Space physics is also a key science topic as researchers study phenomena that can only be observed in the microgravity environment to build stronger, higher quality materials benefitting Earth and space industries. Working in Kibo’s Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF), a research facility that exposes materials to high temperatures, NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Butch Wilmore removed samples from inside the device stowing them for return to Earth. The ELF enables measurements of thermophysical properties unobtainable on the ground.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Aleksandr Gorbunov scanned their stomachs with an ultrasound device after breakfast again to observe how the gastrointestinal tract, part of the digestion system, changes in microgravity. The ultrasound scans, just one part of the long-running study, were looking at the system’s biochemistry, organs, and vessels.

Vagner later joined Roscosmos Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin and checked out a pair of Orlan spacesuits ahead of a planned spacewalk. Vagner then packed trash inside the Progress 88 resupply ship ahead of its departure next week. Ovchinin also took inventory of Roscosmos cargo and serviced communications gear. Gorbunov finished his charging video camera batteries and conducting orbital plumbing.

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