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Expedition 73 Crew Works Cardiovascular Research and Spacesuits on Thursday

Cardiovascular research and spacesuit maintenance topped the schedule for the Expedition 73 crew aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The orbital residents studied how living in space affects blood circulation, swapped advanced gear on a spacesuit, and installed a new life support experiment.

NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim spent the first half of his shift in the Columbus laboratory module wearing electrodes scanning his chest with an ultrasound device to help doctors understand how his heart function and structure is adapting to weightlessness. After lunchtime, Kim jogged on the COLBERT treadmill then worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device while wearing a heart rate monitor that recorded his cardiac activity. The data collected throughout the day may inform researchers of the cardiovascular risk astronauts face as NASA and its international partners plan missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, station commander and flight engineer respectively, partnered together exploring how blood circulates to and from the smallest vessels in the human body in microgravity. The duo took turns wearing sensors on their forehead, fingers, and toes to monitor blood flowing to the microcirculatory and tissue systems. Results may help researchers develop techniques to protect long-duration space crews and prepare them for the return to Earth.

Flight Engineers Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke of NASA worked together throughout Thursday servicing a spacesuit inside the Quest airlock. Cardman and Fincke first swapped a life support device inside the suit that provides ventilation and cooling during a spacewalk. Afterward, the pair installed a radio inside the suit that enables communications between spacewalkers, crew members inside the station, and mission controllers on the ground.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui spent his day inside the Kibo laboratory module installing a new carbon dioxide removal system delivered aboard the HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft on Oct. 29. The advanced life support technology seeks to demonstrate the efficient removal of carbon dioxide from a spacecraft to promote future Artemis missions to the Moon.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov started his day wearing sensors and a blood pressure cuff observing how his blood vessel health is affected by weightlessness and radiation. Afterward, he and Ryzhikov took turns pedaling for an hour on the station’s exercise cycle while wearing chest electrodes and a blood pressure cuff for a fitness evaluation.

Daily health monitoring and exercise are essential for astronauts living in microgravity for months or years at a time. The health and research data collected informs strategies to protect future crews on deep space missions.

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Mark A. Garcia

Crew Works Advanced Science Hardware and Conducts Lab Inspections

Space science hardware once again topped the schedule for the Expedition 73 crew aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. Life support and electronics maintenance to keep the orbital outpost in tip-top shape filled the rest of the day for the space lab residents.

Spacecraft humidity removal gear and ultra-high temperature physics were the focus for Flight Engineers Jonny Kim of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). Kim installed and activated a new technology demonstration in the Harmony module testing the removal of moisture from a spacecraft’s environment for recycling. Results may advance regenerative life support systems on future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond such due to the inability to resupply crews living and working farther away from Earth. Yui worked in the Kibo laboratory module on the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) processing samples inside the experimental device. ELF uses lasers to safely heat materials to ultra-high temperatures as sensors and cameras measure thermophysical properties difficult to obtain in Earth’s gravity.

NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke installed the new Heat Transfer Host 2 fluid physics research hardware inside the Columbus laboratory module. The advanced gear will look at two-phase heat transfer, or condensation when gas turns to liquid, potentially leading to the design of advanced thermal systems for spacecraft carrying humans on deep space missions.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman spent her day primarily on life support maintenance first transferring fluids inside the Destiny laboratory module. Afterward, she collected airflow measurements and inspected ventilation systems throughout the space station’s U.S. segment with assistance from Kim. Finally, Cardman inspected cables and insulation for signs of corrosion and degradation in the Unity and Harmony modules. At the beginning of her shift, Cardman spent a few minutes swapping samples cassettes inside the Advanced Sample Experiment Processor-4 for an experiment investigating how to manufacture pharmaceuticals off the Earth.

Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos spent most of his shift replacing power supply components inside the Zarya module. He wrapped up his day jogging on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill  for a regularly scheduled space fitness test. Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky concentrated on maintenance throughout Tuesday servicing the Elektron oxygen generator in Zvezda and conducting the yearly inspection inside the Roscosmos segment’s modules for moisture, corrosion, or damage. Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov explored how blood circulates to the microcirculatory system, the smallest blood vessels, in a crew member’s limbs using specialized blood pressure cuffs and electrodes.

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Mark A. Garcia

Crew Begins Week Configuring Advanced Physics, Space Tech Demo Hardware

Science hardware was the focus on Monday as the Expedition 73 crew configured foam and material physics research gear and installed a space technology demonstration. Meanwhile, blood circulation studies and cargo operations rounded out the day aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineers Mike Fincke and Jonny Kim kicked off their day in the Columbus laboratory module gathering hardware, swapping power cables, and installing foam coarsening samples inside the Fluid Science Laboratory. The investigation may advance applications for Earth and space industries such as food, medicine, firefighting, and more.

Fincke then moved into the Tranquility module and installed the Voyager Flytrap tech demo inside the NanoRacks Bishop airlock. Flytrap will test an inflatable capture bag that could be used to capture orbital debris or sample containers returning from Moon and Mars missions. Flytrap may also promote space mining techniques on small asteroids. The bag will demonstrate its ability to deploy, inflate, and secure space objects while remaining airtight in microgravity.

Kim then took over the NanoRacks airlock operations with NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman and configured Bishop for the upcoming Flytrap experiment. Afterward, Cardman closed Bishop’s hatch and depressurized the airlock. Earlier in her shift, Cardman checked out the seating configuration inside the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft as part of standard emergency preparations.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui began his shift in the Kibo laboratory module configuring cables and swapping sample hardware inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace. The experimental research device uses lasers to safely heat materials to ultra-high temperatures as sensors and cameras measure thermophysical properties difficult to obtain in Earth’s gravity. Yui then moved to the Harmony module and installed a power supply for a spacecraft humidity removal investigation then continued unpacking science and supplies packed in the Cygnus XL cargo craft.

Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky took turns on Monday wearing specialized cuffs measuring how blood circulates through a cosmonaut’s arm, wrist, and fingers for a Roscosmos circulatory system investigation. Ryzhikov also inspected docking module hatch seals and cleaned vent fans. Zubritsky joined Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov and installed a docking mechanism on the Poisk module where the Progress 92 resupply ship is docked. Platonov later took a fitness test on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill then worked on ventilation system maintenance in the Nauka science module.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia

Crew Studies Space Orientation, DNA Data Storage as Dragon Reboosts Station

The Expedition 73 crew ended the work week exploring how living and working in space affects the sensory system and DNA. The International Space Station residents also continued researching how digestion is impacted by microgravity and unpacking a U.S. cargo craft.

A pair of experiments taking place simultaneously aboard the orbital outpost on Friday used two different sets of virtual reality goggles to examine how astronauts adjust to the lack of an up-and-down reference in microgravity. The vestibular system helps humans on Earth stand upright, keep their balance, and maintain a sense of motion. Those signals change in space as an astronaut’s brain adjusts to weightlessness and begins relying on visual tracking and muscle memory to figure out balance and spatial orientation.

NASA Flight Engineers Zena Cardman and Jonny Kim joined each other in Columbus laboratory module and explored what happens to the structure of the vestibular system, such as the inner ear, fluid, and tiny hairs, that detects gravity and movement when living off the Earth. Cardman operated computer software that sent visual stimuli to a virtual reality headset that Kim was wearing as doctors on the ground monitored his eye movements and other responses for the CIPHER human research study. The data will inform countermeasures to space dizziness, help crews train for longer missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, and prepare astronauts for the return to Earth after months or years in space.

Afterward, Kim sequenced DNA samples in the Harmony module for a biotechnology study investigating using DNA as a way to store and encrypt digital data to reduce reliance on traditional and heavier storage methods in space. Cardman worked in the Kibo laboratory module servicing scientific samples stowed inside combustion research hardware.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov wore virtual reality glasses for another sensory system study that took place in the Nauka science module. Platonov responded to computer-generated visual stimuli as his eye movements and other physiological reactions were monitored. Once again, results from the experiment may improve crew training techniques, help with the readaptation to Earth’s gravity, as well as advance treatments for balance disorders on Earth.

Flight Engineers Mike Fincke of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) partnered together on Friday continuing to unload new science and supplies delivered aboard the Cygnus XL cargo craft on Sept. 18. Fincke earlier installed a CubeSat on the NanoRacks external platform that will soon be placed outside the space station. The CubeSat will be deployed into Earth orbit to test plasma propulsion. Yui configured a pressure management device in the Tranquility module then downloaded station air quality data collected from atmospheric monitors in the Destiny laboratory module.

Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky, both Roscosmos cosmonauts, continued their gastrointestinal study scanning each other’s bellies with an ultrasound device after breakfast on Friday. Results from the experiment will help doctors understand how a crew member’s digestion, metabolism, and nutrient delivery adapt to weightlessness. The duo then split up to work on a variety of life support maintenance tasks throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft fired its Draco thrusters, located in the vehicle’s trunk, for 15 minutes on Friday reboosting the International Space Station’s orbit for the third time this month. The reboost maneuvers lifted the orbital outpost’s altitude to prepare for Soyuz crew swap operations later this year.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia

Space Medicine Protecting Crews, Station Reboost Aborted

Eye structure, digestion, and heart health were the top research subjects for the Expedition 73 crew aboard International Space Station on Thursday.

Doctors constantly monitor the health of station crew members to understand how living and working in space for months or years at a time affects the human body. The medical data collected since the beginning of the human spaceflight program provides continuous insight into the effects of microgravity on crews helping NASA and its international partners plan safe, successful missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond

One effect of living off the Earth is the flow of fluids toward an astronaut’s head since Earth’s gravity is no longer pulling on the human body. Astronauts have reported eye and vision changes caused by this headward shift, a condition known as Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome, or SANS. Flight Engineers Jonny Kim of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) explored using a specialized thigh cuff on Thursday as way to reverse those headward flows and protect crews on long term space missions. Yui wore a thigh cuff that applied pressure on his leg for the investigation that has been taking place inside the station’s Columbus laboratory module since September 2023. Kim collected Yui’s blood pressure measurements, scanned his veins with the Ultrasound 2 device, and imaged the inside of eyes using optical gear to evaluate the effectiveness of the thigh cuff.

Station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky, both Roscosmos cosmonauts, joined each other after their breakfast and scanned their bellies with an ultrasound device. Results from the long-running gastrointestinal study will help doctors understand how a crew member’s digestion, metabolism, and nutrient delivery adapt to weightlessness.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman wrapped up a 48-hour session wearing the sensor-packed Bio-Monitor headband and vest for the CIPHER human research investigation. She removed the biomedical gear and downloaded her health data for review by doctors on Earth. The data will also be compared to wellness metrics collected from other astronauts before, during, and after a spaceflight.

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke worked in the Tranquility module and opened up the NanoRacks Bishop airlock ahead of scientific payload operations. Bishop can be used to transfer cargo inside and outside of the space station. The airlock can even be detached from Tranquility with the Canadarm2 robotic arm for experiment operations, satellite deployments, or trash disposal.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov filled the Elektron oxygen generator in the Zvezda service module and serviced orbital plumbing gear in the Nauka science module during the first half of his shift. Afterward, Platonov collected air samples throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment to analyze the quality of the orbiting lab’s breathing environment.

On Thursday, SpaceX’s Dragon was conducting a reboost of the International Space Station using the company’s CRS-33 Trunk Draco thrusters when the burn was manually aborted approximately 3 minutes, 45 seconds into the planned 19-minute, 22-second burn. All systems aboard the space station are operating as expected, and the Expedition 73 crew is conducting its normal complement of work.

Ground controllers at SpaceX, in close coordination with NASA’s Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, commanded the abort when operators noticed a swap of the Draco thruster fuel tanks did not occur as planned. Teams stopped today’s burn to conserve propellant on the spacecraft.  

Ground teams are reviewing plans for a follow-up reboost at 2:24 p.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 26. Dragon previously conducted space station reboost on Sept. 3, which lasted the full duration.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia