Crew Members Carry Out More Vision Checks and Station Maintenance Today

Crew Members Carry Out More Vision Checks and Station Maintenance Today

iss069e032151 (July 12, 2023) --- Expedition 69 Flight Engineers (from top) Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Woody Hoburg of NASA are pictured inside the Tranquility module working on life support maintenance tasks aboard the International Space Station.
Expedition 69 Flight Engineers (from top) Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Woody Hoburg of NASA are pictured inside the Tranquility module working on life support maintenance tasks aboard the International Space Station.

Eye scans and station maintenance continue for the Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station today.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg started his day observing and taking photos of satellites that were recently deployed from a Small Satellite Orbital Deployer in the Japanese Experiment Module. He then moved into the station’s Tranquility module to troubleshoot and inspect the Air Revitalization System rack, which removes Carbon Dioxide from the air and monitors the cabin atmosphere.

Near the end of the day, Hoburg joined United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi for an eye ultrasound exam following Alneyadi’s earlier set up of the equipment. Frequent exams of the sort are necessary for the crew to mitigate any noticeable effects or changes to the eyes.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen began his morning collecting saliva samples for ongoing research. In the afternoon, he performed six-month maintenance on the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) and ended his day with an eye ultrasound scan as well.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio stayed busy with an abundance of tasks throughout the day. Rubio inspected tools and hardware used during Extravehicular Activities (EVAs) to ensure they’re ready for future use. Afterward, he set up the drain and replaced the exhaust filter in the station’s wastewater processor system. To wrap up his day, Rubio separated Hicari-2 samples from their cartridges in preparation for their return and future inspection. Hicari, an experiment led by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), investigates high-quality crystal growth of semiconductors.

Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos joined their crew members for end-of-day eye scans. Petelin also resumed his experimental work that studies behavior of liquid diffusion in microgravity, while cosmonaut Commander Sergey Prokopyev worked on inventory and cargo plans for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 mission.


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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Abigail Grace Graf

Vision Checks, Communications Hardware Installs, and Rubio’s 300th Day in Space

Vision Checks, Communications Hardware Installs, and Rubio’s 300th Day in Space

NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is pictured working inside the International Space Station's Quest airlock.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is pictured working inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock.

After a well-deserved day off yesterday, the Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station is back to work performing a variety of maintenance activities, science experiments, and vision exams.

NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is on track to set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut later this year; Today, he spent his 300th day in space. Rubio’s day consisted of installing the Surface Avatar laptop, which investigates how haptic controls, user interfaces and virtual reality could command and control surface-bound robots from long distances. Additionally, he analyzed water from the station’s Water Processing Assembly located in the Tranquility module and performed EVA battery maintenance.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg started his morning performing monthly maintenance on the station’s treadmill. Following maintenance, he set up for vision exams that four astronauts, including himself, completed later in the day. Hoburg, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev all took turns using imaging hardware to complete eye exams that help researchers better understand how living in space affects vision.

Hoburg also completed an assortment of other tasks, including surveying and measuring airflows in the station’s U.S. Orbital Segment. With the assistance of Alneyadi, the two also installed ethernet cables and a communications data converter. Ahead of station upgrades and eye exams, Alneyadi spent his morning in the Window Observational Research Facility observing and taking photos of Earth.

Along with vision exams, Bowen also participated in an ARED Kinematics session—a test that assesses current exercise programs to allow for the improvement of future regimens.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos conducted cable maintenance and worked on inventory and cargo plans for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 mission. Cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin prepped for a Pilot-T experiment, in which Fedyeav later donned the sensor-packed cap to practice piloting techniques that explore how spacefarers may react and control spacecraft on future planetary missions.


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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Abby Graf

Crew Spends Monday Off-Duty; Look Ahead to Upcoming Crew and Cargo Missions

Crew Spends Monday Off-Duty; Look Ahead to Upcoming Crew and Cargo Missions

The Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm as ground controllers remotely install the cargo craft to the International Space Station's Unity module.
The Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm as ground controllers remotely install the cargo craft to the International Space Station’s Unity module.

The Expedition 69 crew members took a well-deserved day off after working on past weekends aboard the International Space Station.

Looking ahead, August is shaping up to be a busy month with crew and cargo missions. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft will be delivering new science investigations—including studies of fire suppression, gene therapy, and atmospheric monitoring—as well as crew supplies and hardware to the station. This will mark the company’s 19th commercial resupply mission for NASA.

In addition to science deliveries, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission will make its way to the station in August as well. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andres Mogensen, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will launch to the station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, marking the seventh rotational mission of the company’s human space transportation system.

Following the arrival of Crew-7, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission will come to an end as four astronauts will undock from the station aboard Dragon and return to Earth.

August mission events will be broadcasted live on NASA TV. To stay up to date, visit the NASA TV schedule.


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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Abby Graf

Light-Duty Day for Crew; System Maintenance and In-Flight Surveys Continue

Light-Duty Day for Crew; System Maintenance and In-Flight Surveys Continue

iss069e031305 (July 13, 2023) -- NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio poses for a photo as he inspects blankets and blanket covers in crew quarters for future replacements.
iss069e031305 (July 13, 2023) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio poses for a photo as he inspects blankets and blanket covers in crew quarters for future replacements.

A light-duty day for the Expedition 69 crew is underway following a busy week aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg began his day reconfiguring cable connections on the Multipurpose Experiment Platform. He then moved into completing computer maintenance. Following Monday’s installation of a Small Satellite Orbital Deployer, Hoburg resumed that work in the Japanese Experiment Module in preparation for future mini satellites to deploy.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen completed maintenance in the station’s Harmony module. Afterward, he moved around the station to document the reconfiguration of NASA payload racks which support and store research experiments aboard the orbital lab. Bowen finished out his day charging and swapping batteries on the free-flying robots, Astrobee, a task that has been ongoing all week.

After yesterday’s installation of new handle brackets on the Human Research Facility in the Destiny module, NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio performed a video survey of the hardware. Additionally, Rubio resumed inspections of the blankets in crew quarters, another task that began earlier in the week.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi conducted maintenance on a system used for short-term water storage and water transportation between facilities.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos carried out surveys and maintenance of the Zvezda module while Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin continued the ongoing experiments that study the behavior of liquid diffusion in microgravity. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev began his day checking the performance of computer hardware and cleaning electrical systems. After five days of the system running, he later turned off and stowed the EarthKam, a program that allows students to take photographs of Earth from a remotely controlled camera mounted to the station.


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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Abby Graf

Space Biology, Hardware Installs, and Earth Observations for Crew Today

Space Biology, Hardware Installs, and Earth Observations for Crew Today

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi poses for a selfie while taking photos of Earth from the International Space Station.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi poses for a selfie while taking photos of Earth from the International Space Station.

Another Genes in Space investigation is underway today on the International Space Station. The Expedition 69 crew members also installed brackets, completed inspections, and observed Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio took a few moments in the morning to activate the Internal Ball Camera—a free-flying system that helps the crew monitor operations—in the Japanese Experiment Module. The rest of his day was dedicated to running the Genes in Space-10 operation. This specific experiment measures and analyzes DNA length aboard the station using fluorescent samples. The Genes in Space program includes ongoing investigations that allow middle and high school students to design DNA experiments that address a challenge in space exploration.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg started his day reorganizing and consolidating stowage in the Columbus Laboratory Module. He then moved into the Destiny module with NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen to install drawer handle brackets to the Human Research Facility. Hoburg also completed a safety video survey of the station that will allow the ground team to assess the orbital lab’s current configuration.

Additionally, Bowen gathered items that will be disposed on Northrop Grumman’s 19th commercial resupply mission launching no earlier than Tuesday, August 1.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi spent his day charging and swapping batteries on Astrobee—the station’s free-flying robots—inspecting blankets and blanket covers in crew quarters, and observing and photographing Earth from the Window Observational Research Facility.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos charged and reconfigured a cordless, portable microscope then prepped and ran the 3D printer in the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin continued his work that began two days ago, running experiments that studies the behavior of liquid diffusion in microgravity, while Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev installed cables in Zvezda.


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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Powered by WPeMatico

Get The Details…

Abby Graf