Archivo de la etiqueta: spacestation

Expedition 74 Advancing Space Health and AI Research on Station

The Expedition 74 crew’s research schedule was filled with biomedical duties and artificial intelligence on Thursday to promote crew health and spark innovation on and off the Earth. Spacesuit tailoring and advanced science hardware maintenance rounded out the day for the seven residents aboard the International Space Station.

Flight Engineer Chris Williams of NASA began his day collecting his blood and urine samples, processing them, then stowing them in a science freezer for later analysis. He also swapped out a sensor-packed Bio-Monitor vest and headband for a dry set and began a second day of health monitoring for the long-running CIPHER human research study. Doctors will examine his biomedical samples after they are returned to Earth and analyze his downlinked heart and lung activity to understand how microgravity is affecting his body.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev took turns testing a voice-based artificial intelligence system that records crew members vocally documenting their activities for more efficient reporting. The cosmonauts also each spent an hour in a quiet portion of the station wearing noise-reducing headphones for a computerized hearing test and responding to pre-programmed tones.

Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) spent his shift working on a pair of scientific instruments supporting a variety of experiments ranging from biology to physics. He started inside the Kibo laboratory module and set up a biology research imaging system that uses luminescence to observe tissues and genes in microgravity for deeper insights into disease mechanisms. Next, he moved into the Destiny laboratory module and powered on the KERMIT fluorescence microscope to image flat liquid crystal films to help engineers design advanced screen displays for touchpads and instrumentation panels.

Station Commander Mike Fincke of NASA spent most of his day working on spacesuits in the Quest airlock. Fincke began his shift adjusting the length of the arms and legs on one spacesuit. Next, Fincke practiced installing emergency jet packs on the spacesuits with assistance from Williams and Yui. The jet pack, officially called Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, or SAFER, is attached to the back of the spacesuit and enables a spacewalker to safely maneuver back to the station in the unlikely event they become untethered from the orbital outpost.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman worked primarily on computer and life support maintenance throughout Thursday. Cardman first worked in the Columbus laboratory module setting up a laptop computer and adjusting its settings so it can run specialized science experiment software. Afterward, she worked in the Tranquility module replacing atmospheric cleaning components that remove harmful contaminants from the air, such as ammonia, that can cause eye, skin, or respiratory irritation.

Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov worked throughout Thursday inside the station’s Roscosmos segment servicing a variety of life support equipment ensuring the orbital outpost operates in tip-tip shape. Platonov spent the first half of his shift replacing atmospheric monitoring hardware in the Zvezda service module and filling a water processing assembly tank. After lunchtime, the first-time space flyer cleaned the ventilation system inside 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

Today’s Advanced Exercise, Physics Research Benefits Earth and Space Industries

Exercise and physics research were the top scientific duties aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday advancing human health and industries both on the ground and in space. The Expedition 74 crew members also continued working on spacesuits and practiced an emergency drill.

Doctors continuously monitor astronauts’ health using sensors, tests, and sample collections to understand the long-term effects of spaceflight, helping to keep crews fit for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond while also advancing medical treatments on Earth. A key part of this effort is exercise to prevent space-caused muscle and bone loss. During workouts and daily activities, astronauts periodically wear the sensor-packed Bio-Monitor vest and headband that monitors heart health, respiratory health, and more for up to 48 hours. The data can be monitored by doctors on Earth in real-time or downloaded to the ground for later review.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams put on the Bio-Monitor wearables early Wednesday beginning a two-day health monitoring session. Afterward, he exercised on the advanced resistive exercise device (ARED)—that mimics free weights on Earth—then jogged on the COLBERT treadmill helping counter the effects of microgravity and providing doctors insight into his heart, lung, muscle, and bone health in weightlessness. The Bio-Monitor, a Canadian Space Agency-designed biomedical device, has been in operational use aboard the station since January 2019.

Williams later assisted NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman inside the Quest airlock as she installed charged lithium-ion batteries into a pair of spacesuits.

Station Commander Mike Fincke worked throughout Wednesday servicing a variety of exercise gear and science hardware. He first installed kinematics hardware on the ARED that monitors the muscle and bone forces crews experience when exercising in space. Researchers use the visual data to adjust workout programs to maximize crew fitness in microgravity. Next, he swapped a pair of hard drives and injected gas into the experimental Zero Boil-Off Tank being tested for its ability to preserve cryogenic fluids in spacecraft fuel tanks.

Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) started his shift inside the Kibo laboratory module checking for gas leaks inside combustion research hardware. Next, he powered on a fluorescence microscope to observe changes in the formation of flat liquid crystal films in microgravity. Results from the study may advance screen displays for touchpads and instrumentation panels benefitting both Earth and space hardware.

At the end of their shift, all four astronauts joined the cosmonauts from Roscosmos—Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev, and Oleg Platonov—and conducted an emergency drill. The orbital septet practiced their responses to unlikely events such as a depressurization, a chemical leak, or a fire onboard the orbital outpost. The seven crewmates used computer tablets and reviewed the procedures and communication protocols they would use in coordination with mission controllers on the ground.

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

Stem Cells, Robotics, and Spacesuits Top Station Crew Day

Stem cell research, a student robotics challenge, and spacesuit maintenance dominated the schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The Expedition 74 crew also rounded out its shift with Earth observations and cargo transfers throughout the day.

Repairing damaged organs or tissues is a key objective for a technology demonstration taking place onboard the orbital outpost that seeks to transform stem cells into any human cell type that are superior to those manufactured on Earth. The stem cells are reprogrammed from adult skin or blood cells and may lead to advances in regenerative medicine and cancer therapies. Station Commander Mike Fincke treated samples for the stem cell tech demo inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox then prepared them for preservation in cold stowage. The experiment hardware and research samples were launched to the station in October aboard JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) HTV-X1 cargo craft.

JAXA Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui spent his shift testing a pair of small robotic helpers ahead of an upcoming student challenge to program and maneuver the free-flying devices on the station. The main objective was a technical rehearsal of the toaster-sized Astrobee’s ability to identify and find hidden objects throughout the Kibo lab. The second objective was to monitor the Int-Ball 2, a small sphere-shaped robotic camera designed by JAXA, as it autonomously worked alongside Astrobee and recorded its search activities. Code written by student teams will operate the two robots together and will be judged for its accuracy, speed, and efficiency.

NASA Flight Engineers Zena Cardman and Chris Williams partnered together during the first half of their shift on Tuesday and resized a pair of spacesuits inside the Quest airlock. The duo adjusted the suits’ arms, legs, and waist ahead of a pair of maintenance spacewalks planned for early 2026. Afterward, Cardman moved on and cleaned and inspected hatch seals throughout the space station’s U.S. segment. Williams assisted Fincke and Yui during the second half of their shift as they loaded the HTV-X1 cargo craft with obsolete science hardware before the resupply ship’s departure in late January.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Platonov and Sergei Mikaev took part in a pair of Earth observation activities documenting the effects of natural and man-made conditions on the ground. Platonov turned off and uninstalled imagery hardware that automatically photographed landmarks from Asia to Africa during the crew’s sleep shift. Mikaev set up a digital multi-spectral camera linked to hardware that automatically operates and aligns the camera to target specific locations on Earth.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, on his second spaceflight, spent Tuesday inside the Nauka science module cleaning smoke detectors ensuring the safety gear operates in tip-top shape. Kud-Sverchkov also spent a few moments with his cosmonaut crewmates Platonov and Mikaev reviewing procedures for unlikely emergency events such as a depressurization, a chemical leak, or a fire onboard the orbital outpost.

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

Advanced Tech and Heart Health Top Monday’s Research Schedule

Expedition 74 kicked off the week exploring robotics, physics, and heart health aboard the International Space Station. The orbital residents also continued packing a Japanese cargo craft while servicing and inspecting lab hardware.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman swapped a memory card and verified the functionality of the docking interface that supports the Astrobee free-flying robotic helpers. The cube-shaped, toaster-sized Astrobees—being tested for their ability to assist astronauts with routine tasks—are attached to the docking station for recharging, data transfers, and systems monitoring. The maintenance work sets up the Astrobees for a test run of an educational robotic challenge that allows students to create programs that control the robotic devices on the station.

Cardman also set up hardware for an experiment that will demonstrate how Indium, a liquid metal, flows in space. The investigation takes place in an EXPRESS rack located inside the Destiny laboratory module, heats the Indium samples to between 200 and 400 degrees Celsius, and observes the metal’s behavior. Results may lead to advanced space repair techniques such as soldering metal parts and improved satellite thrusters for longer service life.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov began his shift exploring how microgravity and space radiation affect the thin layer of cells lining a crew member’s blood vessels, also called the endothelium. He wore electrodes on his chest and finger cuffs that measured his blood flow and blood pressure to help doctors protect crew health and advance cardiac research on Earth. At the end of his shift, Platonov installed a camera and programmed it to automatically photograph Earth landmarks from Asia to South America in a variety of wavelengths during the crew’s sleep shift.

Station Commander Mike Fincke spent his shift moving decommissioned life support station hardware from the Tranquility module and into the HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). Cardman, NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams, and JAXA Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui assisted Fincke with the hardware transfers that will see the obsolete gear disposed of when HTV-X1 departs the orbital outpost in late January.

Afterward, Williams peered at stem cell samples using the KERMIT fluorescence microscope for a study that may enable superior stem cell manufacturing in space and advance regenerative medicine for patients on Earth. When the stem cell observations were complete, Yui turned off the microscope and temporarily stowed the research components for a later experiment run.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov spent the first half of his shift inside the Zvezda service module replacing orbital plumbing gear. He spent the last half of his shift inspecting module hatches, cleaning smoke detectors, and inventorying personal hygiene items. Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev also started his shift in Zvezda but worked on ventilation system maintenance, then wrapped up his day photographing flow converters—instrumentation that manages water, air, coolant, and experimental fluids—for inspection and analysis.

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 Balance and Stem Cell Research Wrap Up Week on Station

The Expedition 74 crew wrapped up the week exploring how the body balances itself in space and growing stem cells to improve health. Meanwhile, ongoing cargo operations and lab maintenance rounded out the schedule aboard the International Space Station.

Scientists are investigating how a crew member’s sense of balance, movement, posture, and visual stability adapts to living in weightlessness. They are looking at potential space-caused changes to the brain’s network, or vestibular system, when interpreting motion, position, and equilibrium in space. Results may improve astronaut training and benefit therapies for patients on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams wore virtual reality goggles on Friday and responded to visual cues sent from a computer operated by NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman. The duo worked inside the Columbus laboratory module as doctors on the ground remotely guided the astronauts during the vestibular portion of the CIPHER human research experiment.

Williams later worked out for the exercise portion of the CIPHER study, this time looking at his cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, and endurance. Cardman treated and preserved stem cells growing in space to demonstrate their superiority to those manufactured on Earth and advance a wide range of patient therapies including regenerative medicine.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev also explored how a crew member’s vestibular system adapts to microgravity for their space agency’s Virtual experiment. They took turns wearing a different set of virtual reality goggles that tracked their vision helping researchers understand a crew member’s sensory interactions in weightlessness. Roscosmos scientists will also use the data to train crews for future missions and prepare them for the return Earth’s gravity.

Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui installed six material sample carriers inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock on Friday for robotic installation on the outside of the orbital outpost next week. The carriers house materials that will be exposed to space radiation, extreme temperature changes, and more to benefit a variety of Earth and space industries.

Station Commander Mike Fincke of NASA spent the end of the week on cargo and maintenance. Fincke first loaded cargo for disposal inside JAXA’s HTV-X1 cargo craft that will depart the station’s Earth-facing port on the Harmony module in late January. Afterward, he replaced pipes in the Tranquility module’s waste and hygiene compartment, also known as the space station’s bathroom.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov kicked off his day on orbital plumbing maintenance before moving on and photographing scientific hardware for analysis on the ground.

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