Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

Station Waits Extra Day for Axiom Mission 4 Launch, Studies Eyes and Proteins

The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew is at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center counting down to a launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft targeted for 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday to the International Space Station. Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson is commanding Ax-4 and will be flying on her fifth mission to the orbiting lab. She is leading first time space flyers Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The four private astronauts are preparing for a two-week stay on the orbital laboratory to conduct a wide array of space research supporting human health, space commercialization, and more.

The Expedition 73 crew has had several days of Ax-4 reviews studying the mission’s profile and Dragon’s automated approach and rendezvous techniques. The orbital crewmates also readied space station systems, activated tablet computers, and installed sleep stations Ax-4 will use during its planned two-week stay aboard the station. NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers will be on duty monitoring Dragon as the Ax-4 quartet approaches the station for a docking at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Meanwhile aboard the orbiting lab on Monday, the orbital residents’ research schedule was composed of eye checks, space physics, and Earth observations. Ongoing lab maintenance rounded out the day with spacesuit cleaning, advanced exercise gear inspections, electronics and plumbing hardware swaps, and Soyuz seat checks.

McClain, Ayers, and station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) joined each other before their midday lunch and had their first set of eye exams. The trio participated in eye scans with the Ultrasound 2 biomedical device with remote guidance from doctors on the ground. The researchers were looking at the astronauts’ optic nerve, cornea, and lens to understand if microgravity is affecting their eye structure. The astronauts also got together at the end of their shift for a second set of eye checks peering into medical imaging hardware for more insight into space-caused vision issues.

Ayers began her shift in the Destiny laboratory module setting up physics research hardware inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The Ring Sheared Drop investigation looks at proteins in a liquid without a container for potential insights into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and new space commercialization opportunities.

Onishi also partnered with NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim and inspected the Enhanced European Exploration Exercise Device (E4D) inside the Columbus laboratory module. The duo checked out components and greased rails and rollers to ensure the E4D’s functionality and prevent corrosion. The E4D is being tested on the station for future use on missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Onishi then conducted leak checks and removed batteries from a spacesuit in the Quest airlock. Kim drained recycled water tanks and replaced hardware on the station’s bathroom located in the Tranquility module.

eteran cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryzhikov began his shift examining hatch seals in the station’s Roscosmos segment. Following that work, he cleaned and replaced ventilation system gear in the Poisk module then tested the functionality of communications hardware. Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritskiy transferred nitrogen from Poisk tanks then tested the operations of a 3D printer in the Nauka science module. The pair also performed a fit check of the seats they will ride in aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft when they return to Earth later this year with Jonny Kim. Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov pointed a specialized camera, called a hyperspectrometer, out a space station window and captured imagery of landmarks across Europe and Asia in visible and near-infrared wavelengths for analysis.

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 A. Garcia

NASA, Partners Update Axiom Mission 4 Launch Opportunity Due to Weather 

NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are standing down from the launch opportunity on Tuesday, June 10, of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station due to forecasted weather conditions in the ascent corridor along the flight path of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

Teams are targeting no earlier than 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 11, for the next launch opportunity of the fourth private astronaut mission. 

Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot. The two mission specialists are ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. 

The crew will lift off aboard Dragon on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

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 A. Garcia

Space Physics, Biology Studies Wrap Week Aboard Space Station

Space physics topped the International Space Station research schedule on Friday followed by ongoing biology studies. Earth observation duties and a variety of lab maintenance were also on the schedule for the Expedition 73 crew at the end of the week.

Observing how microgravity affects physics aboard the orbital outpost gives engineers an opportunity to design innovative products and solutions benefitting industries on Earth and in space. The insights unobtainable in Earth’s gravity have helped improved the quality of medicine, food, household products, and a wide array of other products and services.

Station Commander Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) wrapped up operations of the Colloidal Solids experiment studying the behavior of tiny particles (colloids) and proteins in water. He stowed the research hardware and returned the Microgravity Science Glovebox to its standard configuration in the Destiny laboratory module. The results from the physics investigation may inform the space-based production of pharmaceuticals and protein crystallization to improve human health.

NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain also worked in Destiny swapping sample cartridges inside the lab module’s Materials Science Laboratory (MSL). The MSL supports researching new applications for existing materials such as metals, alloys, polymers, and more, and developing new or improved materials. McClain later replaced a carbon dioxide controller inside the Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory, a research incubator supporting the study of biological systems and processes in microgravity.

NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers continued testing the performance of a 3D microscope, called the Extant Life Volumetric Imaging System, or ELVIS, inside the Kibo laboratory module. She processed samples of deep-sea bacteria for viewing inside ELVIS to demonstrate its ability to monitor water quality, detect infectious organisms on spacecraft, and research colloids, or suspensions of particles in a liquid.

NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim focused on orbital maintenance keeping up life support systems and stowing cargo throughout the day. He first inspected fan filters on an EXPRESS rack, a multipurpose research rack, in the Columbus laboratory module searching for potential debris not accessible during normal cleaning duties. Following that work he moved to the Pressurized Mating Adapter 1 that connects the Unity module to the Zarya module and stowed a variety of hardware.

Veteran Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov wore virtual reality glasses for an investigation exploring how a crew member’s sense of balance and visual tracking adjust to microgravity. Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov continued his Earth observation duties pointing a camera outside a space station window and photographing islands and volcanos around the globe. Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritskiy kicked off his shift filling the Elektron oxygen generator tank then transferred water stowed aboard the Progress 90 cargo craft to station tanks.

Axiom Mission 4 continues its countdown to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 8:22 a.m. EDT on June 10 aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson will command Ax-4 and lead Indian Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary to the orbital outpost. The Ax-4 astronauts will ride inside Dragon for an autonomous docking to the station’s space-facing port on the Harmony module at 12:30 p.m. on June 11. Watch the launch and docking coverage on NASA+.

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 A. Garcia

Astronauts Update Science Software and Hardware Keeping Up Ongoing Space Research

The Expedition 73 crew serviced a variety of science software and hardware on Thursday keeping up its advanced space research experiments and technology demonstrations. Eye checks, Earth observations, and life support maintenance rounded out International Space Station’s schedule.

The orbital outpost is filled with numerous science components enabling a wide range of investigations into space phenomena that is unable to be replicated in Earth’s gravity environment. The facilities range from entire laboratory modules, refrigerator-sized research racks that can support multiple experiments, to computers that control the devices, monitor the experiments, and record the research data. Scientists use the results to promote innovative health solutions for both astronauts and Earthlings and benefit public and private industries in space and on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Anne McClain took turns today working on computer gear ensuring microgravity research continues to provide pristine, quality results. Kim worked in the Columbus laboratory module and swapped out a processor cartridge inside the Spaceborne Computer-2. The commercial-off-the-shelf computer is demonstrating the ability to speed up research insights on orbit without reliance on Earthbound assets. McClain updated the firmware inside the Blood Analyzer, a handheld biomedical device located in the Destiny laboratory module that quickly tests a blood sample for numerous constituents aboard the orbital outpost.

Station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) removed the AstroPi camera from a window on the Unity module then connected and powered it up inside Columbus. There are two AstroPi computers aboard the orbiting lab designed by the European Space Agency to support scientific and engineering skills among students. Onishi also downloaded data measuring the station’s atmosphere for the Aerosol Monitors technology demonstration to protect astronaut health.

NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers once again processed deep-sea bacteria samples to test imaging operations inside a 3D research microscope, also known as the Extant Life Volumetric Imaging System, or ELVIS. The specialized 3D imaging device, located in the Kibo laboratory module, could be used to monitor water quality, detect potentially infectious organisms, and study liquid mixtures and microorganisms in space and on Earth.

Before all the science hardware work began on Thursday, Onishi, McClain, and Ayers took part in vision checks reading characters off a standard eye chart. At the end of their crew shift, the three astronauts joined Kim and called down to Earth for a ground conference with their mission’s flight director.

First time cosmonaut Kirill Peskov from Roscosmos wrapped an Earth photography session and downloaded imagery of landmarks he captured across the globe. Afterward, Peskov filled out a computer questionnaire to help researchers better understand how international crews and mission controllers from around the world communicate. Flight Engineers Alexey Zubritskiy and Sergey Ryzhikov spent their day on maintenance tasks filling an oxygen generator tank and cleaning a heater fan inside the Progress 90 cargo craft

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Mark A. Garcia

Blood, Oxygen Research for Crew Health, and Axiom Preps Fill Day

Blood and oxygen investigations to improve health in space dominated the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 73 crewmates also trained for the arrival next week of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew inside the Space Dragon spacecraft.

NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim completed a 48-hour session on Wednesday wearing a sensor-packed headband and vest that comfortably monitored his health data while he worked aboard the orbital outpost. He also downloaded his blood pressure measurements so doctors on the ground could review his cardiac health and compare the data collected from astronauts on previous missions.

Station Commander Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) attached electrodes to his neck and chest that measured blood flow from his brain to his heart. The Drain Brain 2.0 experiment is helping doctors test a rapid screening tool that may identify and prevent potential space-caused thrombosis, or blood clots, on future missions.

Next, Onishi turned his attention to Ax-4 checking out tablet computers the private astronaut crew will use aboard the orbiting lab. Finally, the two-time station visitor joined NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers and called down to mission controllers to discuss upcoming approach and rendezvous operations when Ax-4 docks autonomously aboard Dragon to Harmony module’s space-facing port on June 11. Earlier, McClain and Ayers reviewed on a computer a variety of approach scenarios Dragon may encounter as it nears the space station next week. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon crew spacecraft atop is targeted to launch Ax-4 no earlier than 8:22 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 10, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Before she began her Ax-4 mission review, McClain pedaled on the Destiny laboratory module’s exercise cycle for a long-running workout study. She wore chest electrodes and breathing gear to measure her aerobic capacity, or the maximum amount of oxygen the body uses during exercise, in microgravity. Researchers will use the data to improve space exercise programs and ensure astronauts are in shape to conduct intense physical activities such as spacewalk. Ayers began her shift transferring nitrogen from Harmony to the Quest airlock. Ayers then organized food packs inside the Unity module before beginning her Ax-4 preparations.

Working from the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment, Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritskiy was back on Earth observation duty photographing landmarks across Eastern Europe. Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov also pointed his camera at the Earth capturing imagery of the Volga River and Aral Sea for a study documenting the effects of natural and man-made disasters. Veteran cosmonaut and three-time station resident Sergey Ryzhikov electronically stored data collected for an investigation studying how to improve communication among 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 A. Garcia