Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

Cellular Immunity, Robotics, and Cargo Departure Preps Top Crew Day

The Expedition 72 crew members explored ways to protect their immune and circulatory systems in microgravity and tested robotic docking procedures aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The orbital residents also finished packing a U.S. cargo craft ahead of its departure on Friday.

Without Earth’s gravity pulling down, an astronaut’s body begins quickly changing in a multitude of ways that teams of doctors study every day to keep crews healthy on long-duration missions. One experiment, the Immunity Assay investigation, collects blood and saliva samples from crew members for processing and stowage in science freezers. Afterward, the samples are returned to Earth for analysis to detect space-caused cellular stress and tissue damage possibly leading to treatments for crews. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi submitted his samples for the study on Thursday that may help researchers prevent stress-related immunity conditions in space and on Earth.

Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner, both Roscosmos cosmonauts, continued their space biology investigation exploring how blood flows from the brain to their limbs in microgravity. The duo took turns wearing sensors attached to their forehead, fingers, and toes revealing how the circulatory system adapts to spaceflight. The veteran cosmonauts are in the middle of a weeklong study adding to the vast knowledge of space medicine doctors will use to protect crews traveling farther away from Earth.

As humans begin spending more time off the Earth the space industry continuously advances promoting new technologies benefitting crews in space as well as society on Earth. A pair of toaster-sized Astrobee robotic free-flyers were maneuvering inside the Kibo laboratory module testing autonomous docking techniques on Thursday. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit activated the devices and monitored them in collaboration with engineers on the ground. The technology demonstration may enable satellite servicing, orbital refueling, spacecraft repair, and manufacturing in space.

The Cygnus cargo craft is in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm and still attached to the Unity module’s space-facing port. Robotics controllers will remotely command Canadarm2 to detach Cygnus from Unity overnight then release it into Earth orbit at 6:55 a.m. EDT on Friday. NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers will be on duty monitoring Cygnus as it departs the space station completing a seven-and-a-half-month stay at the orbital lab. NASA+ will begin its broadcast of Cygnus’ release and departure at 6:30 a.m.

Ayers and fellow NASA astronaut Anne McClain finished packing Cygnus and configured the spacecraft for its removal on Thursday. The duo exited Cygnus, closed its hatch, conducted leak checks, then depressurized the vestibule, or the area in between Cygnus and the orbiting lab.

Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov spent the first half of his shift servicing an oxygen generator in the Zvezda service module. In the afternoon, Peskov tested a video camera that can image natural and manmade catastrophes on Earth in a variety of wavelengths. He wrapped up his day continuing to replace life support gear that condenses and purifies water in Zvezda.

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Mark A. Garcia

Science-Packed Day Advancing Crew Health Before Cargo Mission Ends

Vision studies, a blood investigation, and more were underway aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday informing scientists how astronauts adapt to long duration spaceflight. The knowledge gained from the ongoing investigations is helping NASA and its international partners protect crews while planning missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Expedition 72 Flight Engineers Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, both NASA astronauts, joined each other on Wednesday for two sessions of the CIPHER investigation to learn how microgravity affects a crew member’s eye structure and vision. The duo first set up a variety of medical imaging hardware to examine the retina and optic nerve. Ayers led both biomedical studies starting with the first research session that saw McClain wear electrodes measuring her retinal response to light. For the second session, McClain peered into a device, operated by Ayers, that provides high resolution images of the retina and optic nerve.

Veteran NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit also spent his day on space biology first collecting his blood, saliva, and urine samples, then processing them, and finally stowing them in a science freezer for future analysis. Pettit also took a standard vision test looking at an eye chart to measure his visual acuity, or ability to recognize small details with precision. Doctors on the ground are constantly monitoring astronauts’ eyes to counter well-known space-caused symptoms and ensure long-term crew health.

Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) joined in Wednesday’s biomedical studies first assisting Pettit with his blood collection activities then photographing Ayers and McClain during their eye studies. Onishi, who is on his second space station mission, spent the rest of his shift on even more space research as he checked out a spherical robot camera and turned on a Kubik research incubator for a cellular immunity study. At the end of his shift, he joined Ayers and set up the T-Mini wearable research hardware that measures an astronaut’s core body temperature and provides wireless medical evaluation capabilities.

Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner were back together on Wednesday continuing to study how living in weightlessness affects the circulatory system. Doctors are exploring how blood circulates back and forth from a crew member’s head to their limbs in space to assess cardiac health.

Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov, during the first half of his shift, continued replacing life support gear that condenses and purifies water in the Zvezda service module. Next, the first-time space flyer downloaded radiation data collected to measure the amount of radiation the orbiting lab and its crew is exposed to.

The Canadarm2 robotic arm is being readied for its upcoming grapple and release of the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter scheduled for 6:55 a.m. EDT on Friday. Robotics controllers on the ground reconfigured the Canadarm2 for spacecraft operations on the orbital lab where it will visually inspect Cygnus on Thursday before removing it from the Unity module and releasing it into Earth orbit on Friday completing a seven-and-a-half-month cargo mission.

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 Study, Blood Research Top Schedule Ahead of Cargo Missions

Bone, muscle, and blood studies topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday as the Expedition 72 crew continued exploring how microgravity affects human physiology. The orbital residents are also preparing for cargo missions coming and going at the orbital lab while keeping up life support maintenance.

Exercising in space for two hours, every day is critical to maintaining bone and muscle health due to the lack of gravity affecting the human body. Scientists are exploring ways to maximize a space workout to offset the effects of weightlessness and keep crews healthy during long-duration missions. Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Takuya Onishi teamed up on Tuesday setting up a motion capture system in the Tranquility module to track their exercise movements on the advanced resistive exercise device. Researchers want to understand the forces applied to bones and muscles during a space workout possibly leading to improved exercise and physical therapy programs for humans living on and off the Earth.

NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers joined each other for blood pressure checks and ultrasound scans in the Columbus laboratory module. The duo was collecting biomedical data adding to the voluminous knowledge doctors have gained over years of space research and will use to promote crew health, safety, and performance on missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

McClain later familiarized herself with cargo operations for the Cygnus space freighter attached to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port. Cygnus will end a seven-and-a-half-month mission at the orbital lab at 6:55 a.m. EDT on Friday when the Canadarm2 robotic arm releases it into Earth orbit packed with trash and discarded gear. Ayers began staging cargo for return to Earth on the next SpaceX Dragon cargo mission targeted to launch no earlier than April 21 to resupply the Expedition 72 crew.

Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner partnered together for a circulatory system study taking turns wearing sensors measuring how blood flows in microgravity. The sensors attached to their forehead, fingers, and toes provide data revealing how blood circulates back and forth from a crew member’s head to their limbs in space.

New Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov started his shift cleaning ventilation systems in the Nauka science module. Afterward, he spent the rest of the day replacing life support gear that condenses water vapor and purifies it into potable water in the Zvezda service 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 A. Garcia

Expedition 72 Astronauts Relax as Cosmonauts Keep Up Research, Maintenance

Four Expedition 72 astronauts took a well-deserved break on Monday following last week’s busy period of crew swap activities and advanced microgravity research. The rest of the International Space Station residents kicked off the week with ongoing space science and life support maintenance duties.

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are in their second week aboard the orbiting lab. They arrived at the space station on March 15 as SpaceX Crew-10 members inside a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. McClain and Onishi are both space veterans on their second station mission while Ayers and Peskov are first-time space flyers.

The four crewmates continue getting up to speed with living in weightlessness and the numerous space station systems they will use every day. They are also beginning a series of both new and ongoing station experiments benefiting humans living on and off the Earth.

However, McClain, Ayers, and Onishi relaxed on Monday with NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit who has been aboard the space station since Sept. 11, 2024. Pettit assisted the new crewmates last week helping them adjust to life on orbit and start their first space science investigations. The quartet used the free time for catching up with family on the ground, personal activities such as reading and listening to music, and looking at the Earth below from the cupola.

Peskov stayed busy on Monday along with his fellow cosmonauts station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner. Peskov began his day with water transfers then ended his shift inspecting and cleaning the station’s Roscosmos modules. Ovchinin installed and activated a camera remotely controlled by students to photograph landmarks on Earth from the Harmony module. Vagner worked in the Nauka science module’s glovebox exploring methods to create sterile conditions aboard spacecraft for safe biological research activities.

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

New Crew’s First Week Ends with Space Biology and Advanced Technology

The renewed seven-member Expedition 72 crew wrapped up its week researching how blood flows from the brain to the heart and how muscles and bones respond to exercising in space. The International Space Station residents also conducted vision checks and serviced a variety of science hardware.

New NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers kicked off her first run of the Drain Brain 2.0 experiment on Friday setting up gear in the Columbus laboratory module and collecting data to measure the volume of blood flowing through her neck. Doctors want more insight into how the lack of gravity impacts cardiac function from the brain to the heart to improve health screening for crews in space and promote new treatments for heart conditions on Earth.

Takuya Onishi, JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and flight engineer, worked throughout Friday setting up a space exercise experiment in the Tranquility module. Onishi first installed a motion capture system and its associated components then recorded his workout on the advanced resistive exercise device that mimics free weights on Earth. Results may help researchers design effective exercise programs to counteract the effects of weightlessness including bone loss and muscle atrophy.

Working in the Harmony module, NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Don Pettit joined each other for regularly scheduled eye checks. McClain took charge as crew medical officer and peered into Pettit’s eyes using standard medical imaging gear as doctors on the ground monitored in real time. Doctors have been continuously monitoring how living in space affects vision due to space-caused fluid shifts toward a crew member’s head applying pressure on the back of eye.

Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin partnered with Fight Engineer Ivan Vagner, both from Roscosmos, at the start of their day and studied methods to refine the orbital outpost’s location in space using Earth photography techniques. Results may enable future spacecraft on missions to the Moon or Mars to navigate without using satellites or mission controllers. Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov worked on building an audio database to train an artificial intelligence system and serviced life support gear throughout the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment completing his first full week in space.

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