Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

Station Orbiting Higher to Welcome Next Crew Mission

The International Space Station is orbiting higher today after the Progress 91 cargo craft fired its thrusters for over 17 minutes while docked to the Zvezda service module. The reboost places the orbital outpost at the correct altitude for the arrival of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft and its three crew members next week.

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexander Zubritsky will lift off aboard the Soyuz MS-27 at 1:47 a.m. on April 8 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They will orbit Earth twice before docking to the Pirs docking compartment just over three hours later. The trio will stay in space for an eight-month research mission.

Less than two weeks after the new crew’s arrival, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit will return to Earth with Expedition 72 Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner, both Roscosmos cosmonauts. The veteran crewmates will board the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship, undock from the Rassvet module, and parachute to a landing in the steppe of Kazakhstan less than three-and-a-half hours later ending a seven-month mission.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi will take over command of the space station from Ovchinin the day before he leaves with Pettit and Vagner. Expedition 72 will end and Expedition 73 will officially begin the moment the Soyuz MS-26 undocks from Rassvet.

Onishi stayed focused on lab upkeep on Wednesday first installing an air quality monitor in the Zarya module, with assistance from Pettit, then organizing food packs stowed in the station’s U.S. segment. Pettit cleaned crew quarters and installed airflow sensors in the Harmony module.

Ovchinin worked throughout Wednesday gathering items for return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-26 that he will command during the ride back to Earth. Vagner spent his day with fellow cosmonaut Kirill Peskov checking electronic systems in the Nauka science module. Peskov also conducted a hearing test then installed hardware to image Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in ultraviolet wavelengths.

NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain spent part of her day servicing life support gear and collecting water samples from an oxygen generator in the Unity and Destiny modules. She also tested streaming and downlinking ultra-high-definition video from a camera aboard the Kibo laboratory module.

NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers also spent her day on lab maintenance first inspecting and cleaning the ventilation system in the Destiny lab module. Next, she recorded the acoustic environment and measured the temperature and humidity of life support equipment in the Destiny and Harmony modules.

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

Exercise Research Main Focus Aboard Station on Tuesday

Exercise research was back on the science schedule for the Expedition 72 crew on Tuesday ensuring astronauts stay healthy and in shape while living and working in weightlessness. The International Space Station residents also continued a host of other microgravity research exploring robotics, combustion, and more.

Space-caused muscle and bone loss are key concerns for NASA and its international partners planning long-duration crew missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Scientists know that exercising two hours a day, seven days a week aboard the orbital outpost helps offset the effects of long-term weightlessness. However, continuous research is underway to learn how muscles and bones, including the heart and lungs, respond to a variety of space workouts to maximize the benefits of exercising in microgravity as crews spend more time off the Earth.

Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Takuya Onishi, during the first half of their shift, took turns pedaling on an exercise cycle while wearing breathing gear and electrodes attached to their chest inside the Destiny laboratory module. The data collected from the hardware measures the astronauts’ heart and breathing rate to evaluate aerobic capacity, or the bodies’ ability to deliver and use oxygen during strenuous physical activity, in space.

Afterward, Pettit from NASA activated an Astrobee robotic free-flyer and tested its abilities to recognize and respond to hand gestures ahead of a student competition to control the device using computer code. Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) opened up Destiny’s Combustion Integrated Rack, adjusted fire safety research gear, and photographed the final configuration for analysis.

NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device (ARED), located in the Tranquility module, for the CIPHER suite of 14 human research investigations. She performed squats on the ARED that mimics free weights on Earth for the portion of the study assessing any changes to her cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, and endurance due to living in weightlessness.

Next, McClain put on an experimental wearable dosimeter that measures radiation dosages crews are exposed to in real time. Finally, McClain joined NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers and replaced power distribution hardware inside Tranquility at the end of their shift.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner tested the lower body negative pressure suit for its ability to reverse the space-caused flow of body fluids toward a crew member’s head. Results may prevent microgravity-induced head and eye pressure and help crews adjust quicker to the return to Earth’s gravity. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov spent his shift cleaning ventilation systems, checking radiation detectors, and adjusting oxygen sensors on gas analyzers.

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

Wearables, Exercise Research on Station Help Doctors Protect Crews

Several Expedition 72 crew members began Monday attaching a variety of sensors to themselves and exercising so researchers can see how their bodies are adapting to living and working in microgravity. The International Space Station crewmates also kept up their science maintenance and life support duties at the beginning of the week.

Flight Engineers Nichole Ayers and Takuya Onishi worked on a pair of different space biology studies throughout Monday providing data scientists can use to keep crews healthy on long-duration missions. Ayers from NASA put on a sensor-packed vest and headband at the beginning of the day for a 48-hour session measuring her cardiovascular health. Her medical data is being collected for the Space Health investigation and can be viewed real-time on a computer tablet for rapid medical support off the Earth.

Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) wore markers attached to his legs as a motion capture system recorded his workout on the advanced resistive exercise device (ARED) that mimics weights on Earth. Doctors will use the insights from the ARED Kinematics study to understand how working out in space affects an astronauts muscles and bones to improve exercise in weightlessness.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner completed a weeklong space biology study on Monday exploring how blood flows from a crew member’s head to their limbs in space. The veteran duo once again attached sensors to their forehead, fingers, and toes observing how the circulatory system adapts to spaceflight.

NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Anne McClain partnered together on Monday removing physics research hardware from inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The science gear was being used to explore how particles move between hot and cold temperature regions and learn how to separate viruses from biological fluids to improve disease detection.

Flight Engineer Kirin Peskov spent Monday servicing electronics and life support gear throughout the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting lab. Peskov first restored the functionality of a thermal sensor on the Zvezda service module. Next, he measured the electrical properties of a compressor unit before wrapping up his day cleaning ventilation systems and transferring water between station tanks.

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

Cygnus Departs Station After Release from Robotic Arm

At 6:55 a.m. EDT, the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft was released from the Canadarm2 robotic arm, which earlier detached Cygnus from the Earth-facing port of the International Space Station’s Unity module. At the time of release, the station was flying about 260 miles over the Pacific Ocean. 

The Cygnus spacecraft successfully departed the space station more than seven and a half months after arriving at the microgravity laboratory to deliver about 8,200 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, commercial products, hardware, and other cargo for NASA. 

Following a deorbit engine firing on Sunday, March 30, Cygnus will begin a planned destructive re-entry, in which the spacecraft – filled with trash packed by the station crew – will safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. 

Cygnus arrived at the space station Aug. 6, 2024, following a launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It was the company’s 21st commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA. The spacecraft is named the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee in honor of the former NASA astronaut.   

Get space station news, images and features via 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

Cygnus Departing Station Soon Live on NASA+

Live coverage of the departure of the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee Northrop Grumman’s uncrewed Cygnus cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station is underway on NASA+, with its release from the robotic arm scheduled for 6:55 a.m. EDT. Coverage will conclude following departure from station.

Flight controllers on the ground sent commands earlier Friday morning for the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach Cygnus from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port and then maneuvered the spacecraft into position for its release. NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers will monitor Cygnus’ systems during its departure from the space station.

After a deorbit engine firing on Sunday, March 30, Cygnus will begin a planned destructive re-entry, in which the spacecraft – filled with trash packed by the station crew – will safely burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Cygnus arrived at the space station Aug. 6, 2024, following a launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It was the company’s 21st commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA. The spacecraft is named the S.S. Richard “Dick” Scobee in honor of the former NASA astronaut.    

Get space station news, images and features via the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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

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Mark A. Garcia