Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

Dragon Undocks to Return Science Experiments to Earth

At 12:25 p.m. EDT, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked from the forward‑facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module after a command from SpaceX ground controllers. Flight controllers delayed the undocking slightly to power‑cycle a navigation sensor and restore full redundancy before departure.

Dragon will reenter Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday, June 17, before splashing down off the coast of California at approximately 5:08 a.m. PDT. NASA will not stream the splashdown but will post updates on its space station blog.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

SpaceX Dragon Prepares for Undocking and Return to Earth

NASA’s live coverage of the undocking and departure of 34th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for NASA is underway on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

The unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will undock at approximately 12:05 p.m. EDT from the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module and fire its thrusters to move safely away from the orbital complex.

On Wednesday, June 17, Dragon will reenter Earth’s atmosphere before splashing down off the coast of California at approximately 5:08 a.m. PDT. NASA will not stream the splashdown but will post updates on its space station blog. 

Dragon will return to Earth with thousands of pounds of cargo in one of the most research-packed returns in commercial resupply mission history, carrying samples that could shape future space exploration and life on Earth. Research returning on this mission includes bioprinted organ and cartilage tissue, data on improving cryogenic fuel storage for future space missions, and DNA‑inspired materials to develop new cancer treatments. The returning hardware includes an ocular imaging device used to monitor crew members’ eye health, a sorbent bed that filters trace contaminants from cabin air, and a separator pump from the waste and hygiene compartment.  

Loaded with nearly 6,500 pounds of crew cargo and science experiments, Dragon arrived at the station on May 17 after launching two days earlier on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. 

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

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Mark A. Garcia

Crew Packs Dragon for Tuesday Departure and Preps for Spacewalk

The Expedition 74 crew members packed a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft on Monday with sensitive science experiments and lab hardware for return to Earth. The orbital residents also configured spacewalking tools and conducted cardiac research to kick off the week aboard the International Space Station.

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the Harmony module’s forward port at 12:05 p.m. EDT on Tuesday ending its stay at the orbital laboratory that began on April 17. NASA+ will begin its broadcast of Dragon’s undocking and departure at 11:45 a.m. Dragon’s parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California the following day will not be televised.

The astronauts are partnering together transferring portable science freezers loaded with critical research samples and packing lab equipment into Dragon following a month of intense research into a variety of space-designed therapies to protect human health. The freezers house the results of investigations into stem cell manufacturing, cartilage tissue printing, and more to treat a range of conditions from blood diseases, cancers, and cartilage injuries. Doctors on the ground will analyze the preserved samples to gain advanced health insights unobtainable in Earth’s gravity environment.

NASA flight engineers Chris Williams and Jack Hathaway started the cargo work early Monday packing and securing station hardware inside Dragon for the ride back to Earth. Next, flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) installed the sample-packed freezers in Dragon where they will stay powered on preserving the biomedical specimens for retrieval on the ground. Finally, NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir capped off Monday’s shift with more scientific transfers then cleaned and inspected hatch seals on Harmony’s port where Dragon is docked.

Meanwhile, preparations continue for a spacewalk planned for June 30 to replace a wrist joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Adenot began her shift in the Quest airlock charging lithium-ion batteries that power spacesuit glove heaters, helmet cameras, and pistol grip tools. Williams and Meir joined each other during a break in their Dragon packing and inspected tethers that secure astronauts to the orbiting lab during spacewalks.

Station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineer Sergei Mikaev, both from Roscosmos, took turns wearing a series of arm, wrist, and finger cuffs measuring how living in space affects their blood pressure. Next, Kud-Sverchkov attached electrocardiogram sensors to his chest that will monitor his cardiac activity for 24 hours. Mikaev turned his attention to Earth observations, pointed a camera out a station window, and photographed landmarks across the Pacific Ocean including islands and volcanos.

Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev began his shift transferring fluids and disinfecting tanks throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment. Fedyaev wrapped up his shift working on ventilation system maintenance and checking station lighting conditions and illumination levels.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

Botany and Biology Research Wrap Up Week as Dragon Preps for Earth Return

Space agriculture, stem cells, and cargo operations wrapped up the week aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 74 crew also conducted blood tests and installed a new food processor as a U.S. cargo spacecraft nears the end of its mission.

Launching a spacecraft on Earth packed with enough food for a yearslong crew mission or sending resupply ships to replenish a crew beyond low Earth orbit is prohibitive. Therefore, growing plants aboard a spacecraft is key to sustaining crews on long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. As a result, NASA and its international partners have been exploring growing crops in space to enable crews to feed themselves without support from Earth. NASA flight engineer Chris Williams contributed to the ongoing space agriculture research at the end of the week and configured a microscope to observe plant cell division in microgravity. Insights may lead to improved methods of growing food in space as well as on lunar and planetary surfaces.

Low Earth orbit may also be the next frontier for biomedical manufacturing as doctors seek to overcome the limitations of gravity on the ground. NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir harvested blood stem cells inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox (LSG) that have been growing aboard the orbital outpost since the arrival of a SpaceX Dragon cargo craft on May 17. Next, she looked at the density and viability of the live cells using the KERMIT fluorescent microscope. Researchers are exploring space-designed cell therapies to treat serious medical conditions such as blood cancers and immune diseases.

Dragon is due to depart the International Space Station at 12:05 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 16, to return the stem cell samples, including several tons of completed science experiments and lab hardware, for analysis on Earth. Live coverage of Dragon’s undocking and departure begins at 11:45 a.m. on NASA+.

Williams and Meir also partnered with flight engineers Jack Hathaway of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) packing Dragon with return cargo together throughout Friday. The quartet will intensify their cargo transfers early next week when they begin loading Dragon with sensitive research samples packed inside portable science freezers for preservation, retrieval, and analysis on Earth.

Williams and Meir began their Friday shift collecting blood samples for spinning in a centrifuge then stowing in a science freezer for future analysis. Hathaway removed a research freezer from inside Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox used the day before to preserve bacteria samples for genetic and chemical analysis. Adenot also spent some time assisting Meir during the stem cell operations then tested a new food processor in the Columbus laboratory module by cooking a Mediterranean dish.

The station’s three cosmonauts, station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and flight engineers Sergei Mikaev and Andrey Fedyaev enjoyed an off-duty day on Friday.

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

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Mark A. Garcia

Microbiology DNA and Chemistry for Health Insights Tops Research Schedule

Microbiology dominated the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Thursday helping doctors protect health on Earth and in space. The Expedition 74 crew also tested a new spacesuit, packed a U.S. cargo spacecraft, and kept up lab maintenance throughout the orbital outpost.

Scientists are comparing bacteria samples grown onboard the orbiting lab to similar samples living in simulated microgravity chambers on Earth to learn how microbes respond to space-like conditions. ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot kicked off the Odyssey biotechnology investigation processing microbe samples inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox (LSG) to document their genetic function. Next, NASA flight engineer Chris Williams collected the microbes for preservation and cleaned the research hardware inside the LSG for continuing operations. Finally, NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir took over and completed the day’s genetic study treating the sensitive samples to observe their chemical response. She immediately stowed the microbes for preservation afterward inside the LSG’s science freezer that she had installed the day before. Insights gained from the new study may lead to new ways of protecting humans and equipment exposed to harsh conditions on and off the Earth.

After completing her microbe work, Adenot moved to the Columbus laboratory module and tried on a prototype spacesuit designed by ESA to be worn inside a spacecraft. She tested the EuroSuit for its ease of donning on and off, as well as its comfort and mobility, then documented her experience for engineers to review. Results will inform the final design of the suit to meet the ergonomic requirements of living and working in space.

Williams also continued packing cargo inside a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft with assistance from NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway. Dragon is being loaded with several thousand pounds of station gear and science experiments that will be returned to Earth for analysis by engineers and scientists. Hathaway spent the majority of his shift inside the Tranquility module swapping orbital plumbing components and transferring water between tanks for life support maintenance.

Meir began her shift servicing fluid-containing sample processing hardware that is supporting the observation of pharmaceutical crystal growth to promote the production of advanced cancer therapies in weightlessness. Next, she activated tubes filled with microbial and botanical samples for a variety of student-designed experiments inside the Harmony module.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov inspected and cleaned ventilation equipment then repaired a thermal sensor inside the Zvezda service module. Flight engineer Sergei Mikaev disinfected surfaces inside the Zarya module and checked the functionality of video hardware. Flight engineer Andrey Mikaev spent his shift on orbital plumbing and oxygen generator maintenance in the space station’s Roscosmos segment.

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

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Mark A. Garcia