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Spacesuit Work and Life Science Wrap Up Week Aboard Station

The week ended aboard the International Space Station with spacesuit maintenance and research into how microgravity affects blood pressure and breathing. The Expedition 72 residents also serviced a variety of hardware supporting science experiments and life support systems aboard the orbital outpost.

Two NASA astronauts, Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, continued gearing up for a spacewalk scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 30. Williams worked throughout Friday in the Quest airlock completing the charging of lithium-ion batteries that power spacesuits for the duration of a spacewalk. Next, she filtered and cleaned the water loops that cool astronauts in their spacesuits in the extreme environment of outer space. Wilmore pitched in and verified the functionality of spacesuit components including glove heaters, cameras, and helmet lights. The duo is preparing for a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk next week to remove radio antenna hardware and search for microbes outside the orbital outpost.

NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague began his day inside the Columbus laboratory module installing experiment containers on the BioLab, a biology research device that enables observations of microbes, cells, tissues, and more in weightlessness. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit activated life support gear in the Unity module and removed more life support hardware from the Tranquility module. The pair later met at the end of the day and reviewed procedures they will use in the future to service the external thermal control system that cools hardware on the outside of the orbital lab.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner started their day on human research. This time, Ovchinin wore sensors that measured his exhalation following a deep breath helping doctors understand how microgravity affects the respiratory system. Vagner wore a separate set of sensors for a study observing how a crew member’s vascular system functions during a long-term space mission. Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov spent the first part of his day on orbital plumbing tasks in the Nauka science module then wrapped up his shift auditing stowage space throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.

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

Combustion, Biology Studies and Housecleaning Duties Fill Station Crew’s Day

The Expedition 72 crew took a break from spacewalk preparations on Thursday and focused on combustion and biology research. The seven orbital residents also worked on housecleaning duties and lab maintenance ensuring the upkeep of the International Space Station.

Station Commander Suni Williams turned her attention to cleaning crew quarters and filming an educational video following several days of preparing for her spacewalk with NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore. Williams first cleaned ducts, fans, and air sensors inside the Harmony module’s port side crew quarters. Next, she filmed a video demonstrating how water moves and evaporates in microgravity for students and teachers on Earth.

Wilmore worked in the Unity module and inventoried tools that fellow NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Don Pettit will use to support the spacewalkers next week. Williams and Wilmore are planning to begin a spacewalk at 8 a.m. EST on Jan. 30 to remove radio antenna hardware and search for microbes outside the orbital outpost. Hague and Pettit will help the spacewalking duo in and out of the spacesuits, in and out of the Quest airlock, and maneuver the Canadarm2 robotic arm during the planned six-and-a-half-hour excursion.

Hague had the first half of his day off before he spent the second part of his shift cleaning ducts, fans, and air sensors inside Harmony’s overhead crew quarters. Pettit worked throughout the day configuring research hardware inside the Combustion Integrated Rack for a spacecraft fire safety investigation.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner began their day working on separate human research experiments. Ovchinin attached sensors to himself measuring how microgravity affects a crew member’s vascular function. Vagner participated in a breathing study that monitors crews for potential space-caused respiratory system issues.

Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov inventoried hardware stowed throughout the space station’s Roscosmos segment then serviced an oxygen generator in the Zvezda service module. Next, he installed and configured observation hardware to image Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet 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 Garcia

Spacewalk Preps Focus on Robotics; Earth and Piloting Studies Round Out Day

Spacewalk preparations continue aboard the International Space Station to remove communications gear and search for microbes next week. The Expedition 72 crew members also worked on a host of advanced science experiments and housecleaning duties throughout the day on Wednesday.

Station Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore are slated to begin their spacewalk at 8 a.m. EST on Jan. 30 and spend about six-and-a-half hours removing a radio frequency group antenna assembly and searching for microbes on the orbital outpost. The duo kicked off their day inside the Quest airlock reviewing their spacewalk procedures and servicing their spacesuit helmets. Afterward, Williams and Wilmore checked the fuel and power capacity of their SAFER or Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue. A spacewalker would use the SAFER installed on their spacesuit to maneuver back to the station in the unlikely event they became untethered from the station.

NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Don Pettit will assist the spacewalkers next week and studied on Wednesday the spacewalking tasks and the Canadarm2 robotic maneuvers they will use to support the removal of the radio communications gear. Hague, with Pettit as backup, will be at the controls of the Canadarm2 carefully guiding Williams, who will be attached to the robotic arm’s tip, or latching end effector. Pettit and Hague will also help the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits, guide the duo in and out of Quest, and monitor the spacewalking activities.

At the end of their shifts, the four NASA astronauts regrouped inside the Harmony module to clean up and reorganize cargo. The quartet disposed of trash, relocated hardware to gain more space, and conducted a photographic inspection of Harmony for analysis on the ground.

More Earth observations and advanced space piloting studies were on the schedule aboard the orbiting lab’s Roscosmos segment. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov first set up a camera with a spectrometer and pointed it out a window on the Zvezda service module to photograph the effects of Earth disasters in numerous wavelengths. Next, he strapped on a sensor-packed cap that recorded his reactions as he practiced on a computer spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques crew members may use on future planetary missions.

Roscosmos Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin began his shift servicing audio and ventilation systems in the Zvezda and Zarya modules then wrapped his day exploring 3D printing tools in microgravity. Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner spent his day activating video gear and uninstalling electronics hardware before taking a questionnaire documenting his experience communicating with international crews and mission controllers from around the world.

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

Crew Stays Busy with Spacewalk Preps and Advanced Research

The Expedition 72 crew members began the day preparing for the second spacewalk of 2025 outside the International Space Station, this time to remove communications gear and search for potential microbes. The orbital residents also kept up ongoing research studying advanced space navigation, analyzing microbial DNA, and exploring futuristic piloting techniques.

Station Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore worked throughout Tuesday organizing spacewalk tools such as tethers, stowage bags, foot restraints, and more inside the Quest airlock. The duo also reviewed procedures they will use to remove and stow a radio frequency group antenna assembly and swab external station surfaces to test whether microbes can live outside the orbital outpost. They are scheduled to set their spacesuits to battery power signifying the start of their spacewalk at 8 a.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Don Pettit also took part in the spacewalk preparations. Hague started first as he studied the steps he will take when he helps the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits, guides them in and out of Quest, and monitors the duo during the science and maintenance excursion. Later, he joined Pettit and practiced installing the spacesuits’ jetpacks a spacewalker would use to maneuver back to the station in the unlikely event they became untethered from the orbital outpost.

Hague and Pettit were also on science duty keeping up advanced research benefitting humans living on and off the Earth. Hague worked inside the Columbus laboratory module installing the NAVCOM technology demonstration. The space navigation hardware is being tested as a backup solution to the Global Navigation Satellite System in support of future lunar missions. Pettit, in the Harmony module’s maintenance work area, sequenced the DNA of bacteria samples to quickly analyze and identify the microbes that live in space station water systems. The GISMOS biotechnology study increases DNA research on orbit without returning the samples to Earth for analysis and is critical to protecting crew health on spacecraft.

Working in the orbiting lab’s Roscosmos segment, Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin wore a sensor-packed cap and explored on a computer how crews may operate spacecraft and robots on future planetary missions. Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner spent his day servicing electronics hardware and unplugging cables inside the Zarya module. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov pointed a camera installed with a spectrometer out a window in the Zvezda service module and photographed the effects of natural and man-made disasters on Earth 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.

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Mark Garcia

Post-Spacewalk Cleanup, Physics and Biology Research Wrap Up Week

Two NASA astronauts took a half-a-day off on Friday following a spacewalk the previous day then cleaned up spacesuit gear and held a conference with specialists on the ground. Meanwhile, science continued aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 72 crew studied space physics and biology.

Flight Engineer Nick Hague and Commander Suni Williams worked six hours in the vacuum of space on Thursday servicing astrophysics hardware and replacing orientation and navigation components. The duo relaxed a few hours on Friday before packing gear removed from the outside of the station and recharging spacesuit water tanks and lithium-ion batteries.

Williams also worked with NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit in the Quest airlock stowing a rate gyro assembly and planar reflector that she had removed and replaced the day before on the outside of the orbital outpost. The rate gyro assembly, which provides data on the space station’s orientation, and the planar reflector, which provides navigational data, will both be returned to Earth for examination.

NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore assisted Williams and recharged water tanks and the lithium-ion batteries that power the spacesuits during spacewalks. The day before, Wilmore photographed the spacesuit gloves following the completion of the spacewalk for inspection by engineers in Mission Control. At the end of his shift on Friday, Wilmore joined Pettit, Williams, and Hague and held a standard debriefing session with mission controllers and discussed their experiences before, during, and after Thursday’s spacewalk.

Hague and Wilmore also had time for science as they swapped physics hardware inside the Destiny laboratory module. The advanced research gear supports a physics furnace that operates in Destiny’s Microgravity Science Glovebox for an experiment that is exploring semiconductor crystal manufacturing in space.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner once again joined each other and explored how microgravity affects blood flow to the human circulatory system’s tiniest vessels. The pair attached sensors to their forehead, fingers, and toes providing data researchers studying how blood circulates to crew member’s limbs in space. Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov inventoried hardware in the Zarya and Zvezda modules then activated Earth observation gear that monitors man-made and natural disaster 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.

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Mark Garcia