![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/images-assets.nasa.gov\/image\/iss072e808609\/iss072e808609~large.jpg?w=1280&h=1920&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint\")
<\/a><\/figure>Bone, muscle, and blood studies topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station<\/a> on Tuesday as the Expedition 72<\/a> crew continued exploring how microgravity affects human physiology. The orbital residents are also preparing for cargo missions coming and going at the orbital lab while keeping up life support maintenance.<\/p>\n Exercising in space for two hours, every day is critical to maintaining bone and muscle health due to the lack of gravity affecting the human body. Scientists are exploring ways to maximize a space workout<\/a> to offset the effects of weightlessness and keep crews healthy during long-duration missions. Flight Engineers Don Pettit<\/a> and Takuya Onishi teamed up on Tuesday setting up a motion capture system in the Tranquility module<\/a> to track their exercise movements on the advanced resistive exercise device<\/a>. Researchers want to understand the forces applied to bones and muscles during a space workout possibly leading to improved exercise and physical therapy programs for humans living on and off the Earth.<\/p>\n NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain<\/a> and Nichole Ayers<\/a> joined each other for blood pressure checks and ultrasound scans in the Columbus laboratory module<\/a>. The duo was collecting biomedical data adding to the voluminous knowledge doctors have gained over years of space research and will use to promote crew health, safety, and performance on missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.<\/p>\n McClain later familiarized herself with cargo operations for the Cygnus space freighter<\/a> attached to the Unity module<\/a>\u2019s Earth-facing port. Cygnus will end a seven-and-a-half-month mission at the orbital lab at 6:55 a.m. EDT on Friday when the Canadarm2 robotic arm<\/a> releases it into Earth orbit packed with trash and discarded gear. Ayers began staging cargo for return to Earth on the next SpaceX Dragon cargo mission targeted to launch no earlier than April 21<\/a> to resupply the Expedition 72 crew.<\/p>\n Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner partnered together for a circulatory system study taking turns wearing sensors measuring how blood flows in microgravity. The sensors attached to their forehead, fingers, and toes provide data revealing how blood circulates back and forth from a crew member\u2019s head to their limbs in space.<\/p>\n New Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov started his shift cleaning ventilation systems in the Nauka science module<\/a>. Afterward, he spent the rest of the day replacing life support gear that condenses water vapor and purifies it into potable water in the Zvezda service module<\/a>.<\/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":" Bone, muscle, and blood studies topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday as the Expedition 72 crew continued exploring how microgravity affects human physiology. The orbital residents are also preparing for cargo missions coming and going at the orbital lab while keeping up life support maintenance. Continue reading