Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

Station Reboost, Health Investigations, and Spacesuit Work Top Schedule on Thursday

Cargo operations, health investigations, and spacesuit preparations topped Thursday’s schedule aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 70 septet gears up for another crew arrival.

The morning kicked off with NASA Flight Engineer Michael Barratt assisting Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps, also from NASA, with a blood sample collection for the Immunity Assay investigation. Afterward, Epps processed the blood samples to monitor how spaceflight impacts stressors on cellular immune function.

Barratt was then joined by NASA Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara to swap cargo in and out of the Cygnus space freighter. In the afternoon, O’Hara switched gears to complete some spacesuit work that began earlier this week. She installed battery packs, and checked the audio system, power and data cables, thermal covers, and helmets. O’Hara then powered up the spacesuits to assess if all components were working properly.

NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick set up equipment for two different health investigations throughout the day. He first set up the Cerebral Autoregulation investigation, which measures blood flow in the brain before, during, and after spaceflight to provide insights into how the brain regulates its blood supply in the microgravity environment. He then moved on to prepping ultrasound equipment for eye exams before completing some crew orientation activities.

Once the ultrasound equipment was set up, Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub of Roscosmos took turns conducting eye exams on one another. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin, also from Roscosmos, spent his day running a distillation cycle on the water processor, familiarizing himself with computer systems, and replacing condensate lines in the ventilation system.

Three crew members—NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, and Flight Engineer Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus—are preparing to launch aboard the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft near the end of March.

The space station is orbiting slightly higher after the ISS Progress 87 thrusters fired for 18 minutes and 17 seconds Thursday morning. The orbital reboost sets up the correct phasing for the upcoming Soyuz arrival.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Abby Graf

Human Health Studies Occupy Schedule on Wednesday

The International Space Station’s population is back down to seven as Monday saw the departure of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7. The seven orbital residents of Expedition 70 spent Wednesday conducting a variety of human health research, while four crew members continue to adjust to life in space.

Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency), Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos undocked from the forward-facing port of the Harmony module at 11:20 a.m. EDT Monday, March 11 before splashing down off the coast of Florida at 5:47 a.m. Tuesday, March 12. The quartet’s return to Earth marks the end of their six-month microgravity research mission.

Ahead of departure, Mogensen passed over command of the orbiting laboratory to cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko on Sunday, March 10. Now Commander, Kononenko will spend a few months more in space before heading back to Earth.

In the Columbus Laboratory Module, first-time station resident Jeanette Epps set up Kubik, a controlled-temperature incubator that is used to study biological samples in microgravity. The NASA Flight Engineer then moved onto some orbital plumbing tasks in the evening, before joining Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick for some crew orientation activities.

Dominick, also first-time station resident from NASA, collected blood samples in the morning for ongoing human health investigations in low-Earth orbit. By conducting human health research, doctors and scientists on Earth will gain a better understanding of how the body adapts to space. The data could be used to advance future science as missions stretch beyond low-Earth orbit.

Human health studies were also a main focus on Wednesday for Flight Engineers Michael Barratt and Loral O’Hara of NASA. The duo completed some tasks for the CIPHER investigation. CIPHER, or Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research, is an all-encompassing, total-body approach that examines how humans adapt to spaceflight.  In the afternoon, Barratt set up an ultrasound scanner and blood pressure measurement gear to conduct scans on O’Hara. In the evening, Barratt had his neck, clavicle, shoulder, and back of the knees scanned by Dominick, using another ultrasound scanning device.

Barratt and O’Hara also tackled some spacesuit prep on Wednesday. The duo removed and replaced components on spacesuits, including the water line vent tubes. Spacesuit work will continue throughout the week as the crew prepares for a round of spacewalks scheduled for later this year.

Over in the Roscosmos segment, Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin replaced condensate pump lines in the ventilation system before completing some crew orientation tasks as he continues to adjust to life in microgravity. Kononenko received an ultrasound eye exam guided by Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub of Roscosmos.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Abby Graf

Dragon Undocks From Station, Crew Headed Back to Earth

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov inside undocked from the forward-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 11:20 a.m. EDT to complete a nearly six-month science mission.

NASA coverage of Crew-7’s return will continue with audio only, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast. Real-time audio between Crew-7 and flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Audio stream will remain available and includes conversations with astronauts aboard the space station and a live video feed from the orbiting laboratory.

NASA TV coverage will resume at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday until Dragon splashes down at approximately 5:50 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, off the coast of Florida and Crew-7 members are recovered.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission launched Aug. 26, 2023, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Abby Graf

Dragon Hatch Closed; Crew Readies for Undocking From Station

At 9:15 a.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking and return to Earth of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.

NASA+, NASA TV, the NASA app and the agency’s website will air live coverage beginning at 11 a.m., for undocking scheduled at 11:20 a.m. Following conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA coverage of Crew-7’s return will continue with audio only, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast at 4:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday. Real-time audio between Crew-7 and flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Audio stream will remain available.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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Abby Graf

Dragon Hatch Closing Soon With Crew Aboard Live on NASA TV

Watch live coverage now on NASA+, NASA TV, the NASA app and the agency’s website as hatch closure and undocking preparations are underway for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov are in the process of boarding the SpaceX Dragon for departure from the International Space Station.

Crew-7 is targeting a return to Earth at about 5:50 a.m. EDT Tuesday, March 12, with a splashdown off the coast of Florida. The Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 11:20 a.m. on Monday, March 11, to begin the journey home.

Dragon will autonomously undock, depart the space station, and splash down off the coast of Florida. Dragon also will return important and time-sensitive research to Earth.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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Abby Graf