New Expedition 74 Foursome Kicks off Science, Gets Used to Space
Vein scans and pharmaceutical research topped the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 74 crew rounded out the day with Dragon cargo transfers, lab familiarization activities, and life support maintenance duties.
NASA Flight Engineers Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir kicked off their shift with vein scans using the new Ultrasound 3 device delivered last year aboard the Cygnus XL spacecraft. Hathaway led the scans imaging Meir’s neck, shoulder, and leg veins while chest electrodes measured her heart cardiac activity as doctors on Earth assisted in real time. Hathaway then operated the Ultrasound 2 device and scanned the veins of ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot as doctors on the ground monitored. Living in space long term induces fluid shifts in an astronaut’s body increasing the risk of blood clots—also called thromboembolism—that flight surgeons constantly monitor and seek to counteract.
The trio, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, continued getting familiar with station systems and operations while getting used to living and working in weightlessness. At the beginning of his shift, Fedyaev wore acoustic sensors around his neck that recorded his rapid exhalation helping doctors understand how microgravity affects the respiratory system. Adenot serviced sample processing hardware supporting research into the development and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals in space. Meir wrapped up her day unpacking crew supplies and station hardware delivered aboard Dragon on Saturday.
NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams, who has been aboard the orbital outpost since November, worked throughout Wednesday with a variety of life support tasks, medical training, and an emergency drill. Williams first measured airflow throughout the modules in the station’s U.S. segment then inspected vents for cleanliness and proper configuration. Next, he trained to use medical hardware, including an automated external defibrillator, and performed different procedures such as conducting eye exams and administering medicine. Williams also joined his crewmates Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev from Roscosmos and practiced using emergency respirators in the unlikely event of a chemical leak aboard the station.
Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev, who arrived with Williams aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, spent Wednesday focusing primarily on research and maintenance in the station’s Roscosmos segment. Kud-Sverchkov wrapped up an overnight automated photography session that imaged the Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet wavelengths. Mikaev configured scientific hardware that controls and processes data for numerous experiments. The duo also split their day with computer hardware replacements in the Nauka science module and ventilation system maintenance in the Zvezda service 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.
Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.
Powered by WPeMatico
Mark A. Garcia
