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<\/a>The Expedition 70<\/a> crew is looking ahead to the arrival of a U.S. cargo craft due to arrive at the International Space Station<\/a> next week. Meanwhile, the Axiom Space 3 (Ax-3) crew finished its first week in orbit with a busy schedule of research, education, and media activities.<\/p>\n Northrop Grumman\u2019s Cygnus cargo craft<\/a> will take its first ride atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket when it lifts off at 12:29 p.m. EST on Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The private space freighter will be carrying over 8,200 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and lab hardware to the orbiting outpost. NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli<\/a> is due to capture Cygnus with the Canadarm 2 robotic arm<\/a> at 3:35 a.m. on Wednesday. She will be on duty that morning along with fellow NASA astronaut Loral O\u2019Hara<\/a> who will monitor Cygnus\u2019 automated approach and rendezvous.<\/p>\n Both astronauts including JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa<\/a> relaxed on Friday following the weeklong Cygnus preparations and Ax-3 orientation activities. Station Commander Andreas Mogensen<\/a> of ESA (European Space Agency) had a light duty day at the end of the week spending a couple of hours aiding the Ax-3 foursome during its science and maintenance-filled itinerary.<\/p>\n Ax-3 Commander and former NASA astronaut Michael L\u00f3pez-Alegr\u00eda joined his crewmates Walter Villadei and Alper Gezeravc\u0131 at the start of their shift with blood draws for stowage in a science freezer and later analysis. Afterward, the five-time station visitor partnered with Italian astronaut Villadei configuring hardware that monitors space radiation and how it affects astronauts<\/a>. At the end of the day, L\u00f3pez-Alegr\u00eda tested a digital voice assistant<\/a> for its potential to assist with crew operations.<\/p>\n Gezeravc\u0131, Turkey\u2019s first astronaut, tended to algae samples growing in petri dishes for an antibacterial investigation<\/a> then photographed his Ax-3 crewmates as they worked throughout the day. Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt representing ESA spent Friday juggling a variety of science experiments. The Swedish astronaut powered on plasma physics hardware, collected station air samples for chemical analysis, and taped high frame rate video of thunderstorm conditions<\/a> in Earth\u2019s stratosphere.<\/p>\n In the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting lab, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko spent his morning updating laptop computer software before inventorying cargo in the Prichal docking module<\/a>. First time space flyers Nikolai Chub and Konstantin Borisov split their day studying fluid physics, servicing life support components, and maintaining communications and computer systems.<\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Mark Garcia <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Expedition 70 crew is looking ahead to the arrival of a U.S. cargo craft due to arrive at the International Space Station next week. Meanwhile, the Axiom Space 3 (Ax-3) crew finished its first week in orbit with a busy schedule of research, education, and media activities. Northrop Grumman\u2019s Cygnus cargo craft will take \u2026 Continue reading