![\"The](\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss072e660540\/iss072e660540~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1078&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>Exercise research and muscle stimulation were the main research topics aboard the International Space Station<\/a> on Friday to keep crews fit in weightlessness and in the confinement of a spacecraft. The Expedition 72<\/a> crew also prepared for Saturday\u2019s arrival of a cargo mission while working on spacesuit maintenance and housekeeping duties.<\/p>\n Working out every day in space is necessary to counteract the effects of weightlessness including muscle and bone loss. The crew spends two hours seven days a week jogging on a treadmill<\/a>, pedaling on an exercise cycle<\/a>, and working out on the advanced resistive exercise device<\/a> that mimics free weights on Earth.<\/p>\n NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague<\/a> spent his day on a pair of experiments investigating how the lack of gravity impacts an exercising astronaut. For his first experiment he wore a sensor-packed vest and headband<\/a> that recorded his health data as he pedaled on an exercise cycle. Afterward, he downlinked the medical data so doctors on the ground could analyze his heart and breath rate<\/a>, blood pressure, and more. Hague\u2019s next experiment required him to wear electrodes that stimulated his leg muscles<\/a> with small electrical signals. Results may improve muscle function, shorten workout sessions, and lead to lighter exercise equipment offsetting space-caused muscle atrophy.<\/p>\n Spacesuit work and lab cleanup filled the last day of the work week for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore<\/a>, Don Pettit<\/a>, and Suni Williams<\/a>. Wilmore was in the Quest airlock<\/a> powering up a high-definition camera and swapping life support components on a spacesuit. Pettit switched out an optical cartridge inside the Mochii<\/a> miniature scanning electron microscope then monitored its ground-controlled operations. Williams began her day collecting body samples for stowage and later analysis. Next, she inspected materials research hardware<\/a> from the European Space Agency.<\/p>\n Roscosmos\u2019 new Progress 91 cargo craft is orbiting Earth today carrying three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 72 crew following its launch on Thursday<\/a>. The Progress 91 is scheduled to dock to the Zvezda service module<\/a>\u2019s aft port at 6:03 p.m. EST on Saturday where it will stay for a six-month cargo mission. NASA+ will begin its live rendezvous and docking coverage<\/a> at 5:15 p.m.<\/p>\n Cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner will be on duty monitoring Progress 91 and at the controls of the TORU, or telerobotically operated rendezvous unit, ready to remotely control the approaching spacecraft, if necessary, though unlikely. The duo called down to mission controllers on Friday and discussed preparations for Saturday\u2019s automated arrival of the Progress 91. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov spent his day in the Nauka science module<\/a> primarily working on the orbital plumbing system.<\/p>\n Learn more about station activities by following the <\/em>space station blog<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>@space_station<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>@ISS_Research<\/em><\/a> on X, as well as the <\/em>ISS Facebook<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>ISS Instagram<\/em><\/a> accounts.<\/em><\/p>\n Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: <\/em>https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/subscribe<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Mark A. Garcia <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Exercise research and muscle stimulation were the main research topics aboard the International Space Station on Friday to keep crews fit in weightlessness and in the confinement of a spacecraft. The Expedition 72 crew also prepared for Saturday\u2019s arrival of a cargo mission while working on spacesuit maintenance and housekeeping duties. Continue reading