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<\/a>Eye checks and \u201canti-gravity\u201d suits were the main human research topics for the Expedition 70<\/a> crew on Wednesday. The International Space Station<\/a> residents also worked on standard maintenance tasks while getting ready for the next Commercial Crew swap.<\/p>\n Doctors are constantly monitoring astronauts\u2019 health to ensure long-term mission success and ease their return to Earth\u2019s gravity after months or years in space. Vision is a critical parameter as researchers explore space-caused pressure on the eyes due to fluids shifting toward the head. The same fluid shifts quickly reverse when an astronaut reenters Earth\u2019s atmosphere causing blood pressure and stability issues. Doctors are studying methods to offset these symptoms and reduce the time it takes for crews to adapt to gravity.<\/p>\n NASA Flight Engineer Loral O\u2019Hara<\/a> had her optical nerve, retina, and cornea scanned on Wednesday using standard medical imaging hardware. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa<\/a> led the eye exams operating the optical gear in the Harmony module<\/a> with assistance from doctors and technicians on the ground.<\/p>\n Earlier in the day, O\u2019Hara wore a sensor-packed vest and headband, the Bio-Monitor<\/a> gear from the Canadian Space Agency, being evaluated for their ability to comfortably monitor an astronaut\u2019s health data. Furukawa continued setting up biology hardware<\/a> for upcoming research inside the Kibo laboratory module<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two cosmonauts, Nikolai Chub and Konstantin Borisov, tried on the lower body negative pressure suit<\/a> again in the middle of the week exploring its potential to decrease fluid pressure in the head triggered by weightlessness. Doctors theorize the downward fluid shifts may help maintain a crew member\u2019s heart rate and blood pressure when returning to Earth.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli<\/a> from NASA and Andreas Mogensen<\/a> from ESA (European Space Agency) joined forces and spent the day inside the Quest airlock<\/a> replacing advanced air conditioning equipment. The duo swapped hoses, seals, and a heat exchanger on the Common Cabin Air Assembly, a life support device that circulates, cools, and dehumidifies the station\u2019s air.<\/p>\n Moghbeli and Mogensen, Commander and Pilot of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission, also continued packing gear for their return to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon \u201cEndurance\u201d spacecraft. The duo along with Furukawa and Borisov are scheduled to depart the station ending their mission about one week after the SpaceX Crew-8<\/a> mission arrives.<\/p>\n Crew-8, led by Commander Matthew Dominick with Pilot Michael Barratt and Mission Specialists Jeanette and Alexander Grebenkin, have been given the go to launch to the station at 12:04 a.m. EST on Friday<\/a> aboard the SpaceX Dragon \u201cEndeavour\u201d spacecraft. The Commercial Crew quartet will take an automated ride aboard Dragon for a docking to Harmony\u2019s forward port at 7 a.m. on Saturday.<\/p>\n NASA and SpaceX are also targeting no earlier than mid-March for launch of the company\u2019s 30th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.<\/p>\n During the NASA Administrator\u2019s Briefing from Kennedy Space Center today, NASA\u2019s International Space Station Program Manager Joel Montalbano discussed the upcoming crew and cargo missions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Learn more about station activities by following the\u00a0space station blog<\/a>,\u00a0@space_station<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0@ISS_Research<\/a>\u00a0on X, as well as the\u00a0ISS Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0ISS Instagram<\/a>\u00a0accounts.<\/p>\n Get weekly video highlights at:\u00a0https:\/\/roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov\/videoupdate\/<\/a><\/p>\n Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here:\u00a0www.nasa.gov\/subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Mark Garcia <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Eye checks and \u201canti-gravity\u201d suits were the main human research topics for the Expedition 70 crew on Wednesday. The International Space Station residents also worked on standard maintenance tasks while getting ready for the next Commercial Crew swap. Doctors are constantly monitoring astronauts\u2019 health to ensure long-term mission success and ease their return to Earth\u2019s \u2026 Continue reading
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