Archivo de la etiqueta: spacestation

Week Kicks Off with Space Physics, Biology Before Visitors Depart

It was a busy Monday for the 10 individuals living aboard the International Space Station as they worked on human research and space physics. The Expedition 66 crew is also gearing up for next week’s departure of three lab visitors as well as a cargo delivery before Christmas.

NASA Flight Engineer Thomas Marshburn juggled a pair of life science studies throughout Monday. He first collected blood samples for the Vascular Aging experiment, then set up rodent research hardware for an upcoming visual function study. NASA astronaut Kayla Barron assisted Marshburn with the blood collection work. The duo also began packing station gear to be returned to Earth on the next SpaceX Cargo Dragon mission due to launch Dec. 21.

Barron also partnered with fellow NASA Flight Engineer Raja Chari continuing cleanup activities in the U.S. Quest airlock following Barron’s spacewalk with Marshburn on Dec. 2. Chari also serviced radiation research hardware before auditing cargo packed in the Harmony module.

Working inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox, NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei studied ways to harness nanoparticles for a space manufacturing study. ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer conducted blood pressure checks for the Vascular Aging study then spent the afternoon on maintenance work in the Columbus laboratory module.

Station Commander Anton Shkaplerov from Roscosmos worked on cargo transfers from the docked ISS Progress resupply ship. Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov checked out Russian electronics and life support gear.

The orbiting lab’s three recent station visitors, cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and Japanese spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, are due to return to Earth on Dec. 19. Three-time space visitor, Misurkin started gathering items to be packed inside the Soyuz MS-20 crew ship the trio will undock and land in. The other two space guests researched how microgravity affects the way blood flows from the limbs to the head.

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Mark Garcia

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Ten Residents Aboard Station Wrap Up Week with Space Biology

Space biology led the research schedule for the seven-member Expedition 66 crew aboard the International Space Station on Friday. The orbiting lab’s three guests also spent their day on a variety of Russian space experiments.

NASA Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Kayla Barron partnered up throughout the day replacing components inside the Advanced Plant Habitat. Three-time station resident Thomas Marshburn of NASA prepared the Mouse Habitat Unit for upcoming rodent research.

Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) collected his blood sample and analyzed it using the Bio-Analyzer. At the end of the day, he joined Marshburn for retina scans conducted by NASA Flight Engineer Raja Chari using specialized imaging hardware with support from doctors on the ground.

Station commander and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov worked on a pair of studies exploring how weightlessness affects the cardiovascular system and microbes then charged batteries inside the Soyuz MS-19 crew ship. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov continued servicing and photographing bacteria samples for the Microvir space virus investigation.

Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, commander of the 11-day Soyuz MS-20 mission, serviced samples for a Russian microbiology study and had an Earth photography session. The two spaceflight participants from Japan, Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano, contributed to a study that explores how space affects the circulatory system.

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.

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Mark Garcia

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New Visitors Adapt to Station During Space Biology, Physics Research

Three individuals are adapting to life aboard the International Space Station following Tuesday’s launch and docking aboard a Russian crew ship. The seven-member Expedition 66 crew is back on science duty today while helping the new space travelers get up to speed with station systems and safety procedures.

10 people are living on the orbiting lab today after the arrival of three space travelers on Wednesday. Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin commanded the Soyuz MS-20 crew ship flanked by spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano during its six-hour and 2-minute trip from Kazakhstan to the orbiting lab’s Poisk module. The station guests will stay in space until Dec. 19 when they will undock from Poisk, reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and parachute to a landing back in Kazakhstan.

The seven station crew members, comprised of four NASA astronauts, an ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts, joined their guests just before lunchtime to review emergency roles and responsibilities. All 10 lab residents spent an hour going over evacuation routes, communication procedures and other activities in response to different emergency scenarios.

Today’s microgravity research incorporated biomedical science and space physics. NASA Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron kicked off the day with blood and urine sample collections. At the end of the day, ESA Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer scanned the eyes of Thomas Marshburn from NASA using the orbiting lab’s Ultrasound 2 device. Vande Hei also set up the Fluids Integrated Rack for a space physics study that may improve thermal systems for Earth and other planetary environments.

Station Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos worked throughout Tuesday on a Russian biotechnology study exploring how microbes grow in weightlessness and their impact on space systems. Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov photographed bacteria samples grown for the Microvir space virus investigation.

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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

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Soyuz Crew Ship Docks to Station with Three Visitors

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano on the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station at 8:40 a.m. EST while the station was traveling 260 miles over the Atlantic Ocean. Coverage of hatch opening and welcome remarks will air at 10:15 a.m. on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

Once on station, the trio will join Expedition 66 Commander Anton Shkaplerov and cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos, as well as NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, for approximately 12 days on the orbital laboratory.

On Sunday, Dec. 19, Misurkin, Maezawa, and Hirano will complete their mission, undocking the Soyuz from the Poisk module before heading for a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan at 10:18 p.m. EST (9:18 a.m. Monday, Dec. 20, Kazakhstan time).

NASA TV coverage times for the Soyuz MS-20 return are as follows (all times Eastern):

Sunday, Dec. 19

3 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for hatch closing at 3:32 p.m.

6:30 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for undocking at 6:54 p.m.

9 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for deorbit and landing. Landing is targeted for 10:18 p.m.

This mission is Misurkin’s third flight into space and the first flight for Maezawa and Mirano, who are making their trek into space under a contract between Space Adventures and Roscosmos.

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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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

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Mark Garcia

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Soyuz Trio Blasts off to Station for 11-Day Stay

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and spaceflight participants Yusaku Maezawa and Yozo Hirano are safely in orbit on the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft after launching at 2:38 a.m. EST from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan (12:38 p.m. Baikonur time).

After a four-orbit, six-hour journey, the Soyuz will dock to the station’s Poisk module at 8:41 a.m. About two hours after docking, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open and the crew members will greet each other.

NASA TV coverage of docking will begin at 8 a.m. on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

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: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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

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Mark Garcia

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