Ax-4 Go for Monday Undocking, Finalizing Research
Mission managers have given the “go” for the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and undock from the International Space Station’s space-facing port on the Harmony module at 7:05 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 14. Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson will lead Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu back to Earth completing a two-and-a-half-week research mission aboard the orbiting lab.
The Ax-4 private quartet had a full schedule on Friday first collecting blood samples for analysis as part of its biomedical research. Next, microalgae was studied as a food source for crews and a key part of biological life support systems on spacecraft. Nanomaterials were also investigated as a basis for constructing wearable devices that comfortably monitor crew health.
Ax-4 will go into Saturday finalizing science experiments including an electrical muscle stimulation study, testing suit fabrics that promote thermal comfort while exercising, and filming crew activities for a behavioral health study. On Sunday, they will begin packing science gear filled with research samples and loading personal items and other cargo inside Dragon for retrieval on Earth.
Station Flight Engineer Anne McClain from NASA began helping the Ax-4 crew turn its attention to Monday’s undocking gathering hardware and other items for packing inside Dragon. McClain also continued assisting the private crewmates as they kept up their science investigations using space station resources.
NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers began her day in the Columbus laboratory module also assisting the Ax-4 crew spinning the astronaut’s blood samples in a centrifuge and stowing them in a science freezer for preservation. She later worked inside the Quest airlock transferring water in a pair of spacesuits. NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim assisted Ayers with the blood sample processing then spent the rest of his day inspecting electronics gear and swapping computer cables.
Station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) started his day processing saliva samples for analysis then recording his sleep experience for a computer questionnaire. He later worked in the Tranquility module replacing orbital plumbing hardware before deactivating and stowing a microscope in the Kibo laboratory module.
Roscosmos Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy took turns pedaling on an exercise cycle while wearing electrodes for a physical fitness evaluation. Researchers will use the data to understand the energy requirements crew members need for strenuous activities such as spacewalks. Fight Engineer Kirill Peskov replaced fire extinguishers in the Poisk, Rassvet, and Zvezda modules then checked computer hardware that supports the European robotic arm.
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
