Station Gets Ready for SpaceX Crew Swap During Health Research
Four Expedition 75 crew members are nearing the end of their stay aboard the International Space Station and are awaiting the crew that will replace them next week. Meanwhile, the orbital residents wrapped up their work week with biomedical science, a relaxation study, and a lunar landing simulation, all three experiments designed to assist crews on future missions beyond low Earth orbit.
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway along with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev are packing their personal items and other cargo inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that will fly them back to Earth in October. The quartet gathered together on Friday and joined flight controllers on the ground to run a simulation of the atmospheric reentry procedures they will use inside Dragon when they experience Earth’s gravity again after nearly eight months in space.
Fedyaev also tested the lower body negative pressure suit from Roscosmos that reverses space-caused fluid shifts from the head toward the feet with assistance from flight engineer Anna Kikina. The specialized suit may ease his adjustment to Earth’s gravity after the completion of his mission next month.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission will replace the homebound station crew after it launches inside a Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket Oct. 1 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins will command Dragon with NASA astronaut Luke Delaney piloting the spacecraft during the flight to the orbital complex. The NASA duo will be flanked by mission specialists Josh Kutryk of CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos. The quartet began its quarantine at Johnson Space Center and will travel to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, Sept. 26, for final mission preparations.
Back aboard the space station, science continues informing doctors how the human body adapts to living and working long term in weightlessness. Station commander Meir collected her blood sample, spun it in a centrifuge, then stowed it in a science freezer with assistance from flight engineer Hathaway. Scientists will analyze the blood sample as part of an effort to gain insights into space-caused bone loss, which looks similar to osteoporosis on Earth, to protect crews traveling farther away from Earth.
Adenot collected and stowed a saliva sample for the RelaxPro investigation that explores using mindfulness and meditation exercises to ease stress and promote relaxation during a long duration spaceflight. Doctors will analyze the saliva samples to detect biochemical evidence of how stress, sleep patterns, and the immune system change during spaceflight. Adenot later checked the functionality of lunar landing simulation hardware, including a headset and hand controllers, in coordination with specialists on the ground. The Manual Piloting study may help researchers understand how microgravity can affect cognitive function while operating a spacecraft.
NASA flight engineer Anil Menon focused on maintenance Friday as he tested and fitted components of a new cooling system that will soon be installed in the Destiny laboratory module. Afterward, Menon wrapped up his shift with a proficiency test to ensure his familiarity with Canadarm2 robotic arm operations.
Roscosmos flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov continued unpacking hardware and supplies from inside the Progress 96 cargo spacecraft on Friday. He also attached sensors to himself that measured his heart activity as he jogged on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill for a fitness assessment.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
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Mark A. Garcia
