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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

Spacewalkers Exit Station for Science and Robotics Work

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner began a spacewalk at 10:36 a.m. EST to install an experiment package designed to monitor celestial x-ray sources and new electrical connector patch panels and remove several experiments for disposal. The two cosmonauts will also relocate a control panel for the European robotic arm, which is attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexsandr Gorbunov will operate the arm during the spacewalk from inside the station.

Coverage will continue on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Ovchinin is wearing an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Vagner is wearing the suit with blue stripes. This is the second spacewalk in Ovchinin’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

Cosmonauts Prepare for Science and Robotics Spacewalk

NASA coverage is underway for today’s spacewalk with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The duo will venture outside the station’s Poisk airlock to install an experiment package designed to monitor celestial x-ray sources and new electrical connector patch panels and remove several experiments for disposal. Additionally, the two cosmonauts will relocate a control panel for the European robotic arm, which is attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexsandr Gorbunov will operate the arm during the spacewalk from inside the station.

The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:10 a.m. EST, and last about six hours and 45 minutes. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Roscosmos spacewalk 63 will be the second for Ovchinin and the first for Vagner. Ovchinin will wear an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, and Vagner will wear a spacesuit with blue stripes. It will be the 272nd spacewalk in support of 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

Crew Works Advanced Exercise and Space Tech, Gets Ready for Thursday Spacewalk

A new exercise system, spacecraft fire safety, and advanced life support gear were the main research priorities aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 72 crew is also ready for a spacewalk to conduct science and robotics work on Thursday.

Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both from NASA, were back inside the Columbus laboratory module continuing to install futuristic exercise gear for space crews. The duo is spending the rest of the week assembling the workout hardware in Columbus where it will be tested by the station crew using its advanced bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities. The small and compact European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device will be evaluated in the orbital outpost’s microgravity environment before being used on longer term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Working from the Destiny laboratory module, NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague swapped samples of thin plastic sheets inside the Combustion Integrated Rack. Those samples are being observed for how they burn in weightlessness to learn how to prevent fires on spacecraft. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit spent his day in the Harmony module setting up the Microgravity Sediment Trap hardware. The advanced technology demonstration gear will test new filters to protect and extend the life of spacecraft cooling systems.

Two cosmonauts are ready to exit the space station’s Poisk airlock at 10:10 a.m. EST on Thursday for a planned six-hour and 40-minute spacewalk to remove science experiments and relocate robotic hardware. The duo from Roscosmos wrapped up their spacewalk procedure reviews, completed the installation of Orlan spacesuit components, and finished charging the video cameras they will wear on their suits to record their spacewalk activities. NASA+ will begin its live spacewalk coverage at 9:45 a.m. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will assist the spacewalkers in and out of the airlock as well as their Orlan spacesuits on Thursday. Gorbunov will also be at the controls of the European robotic arm as the spacewalkers relocate a robotics control panel on the device attached to 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