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<\/a><\/figure>Biotechnology work and health research was the main focus on Thursday aboard the International Space Station<\/a>. Five Expedition 73<\/a> crew members also scheduled some time for training and additional experiment cleanup duties.<\/p>\n Understanding how the human body reacts to spaceflight is crucial as humans prepare for missions to the Moon and beyond. The CIPHER<\/a> investigation, or the Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research, is one of many ongoing health-focused studies in microgravity that looks at how various systems in the body\u2014the heart, muscles, bones, and eyes\u2014adapt to longer missions. NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain<\/a> dedicated a large portion of her week to CIPHER<\/a> activities and continued through today as she collected biological samples for processing and analysis. Later on, she completed a cognition test, then teamed up with NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim<\/a>, as he guided her through a vestibular exam before a scan that measures the pressure in her eyes.<\/p>\n Kim also spent a portion of his day working with the Life Sciences Glovebox<\/a>. He and NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers<\/a> conducted biotechnology work that aims to understand in-space manufacturing of nanomaterials that mimic DNA<\/a> in space. Throughout experiment operations, three different products will be manufactured and returned to Earth for analysis. In the afternoon, current station commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) continued this work while Kim and Ayers moved onto other tasks.<\/p>\n After donning the Bio-Monitor<\/a> for 48 hours to investigate the effects of microgravity on the cardiovascular system, Ayers doffed the headband and garment to collect data. She was then joined by McClain, Kim, Onishi and Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov to complete a round of training in the event an emergency were to occur aboard station. Afterward, the five residents held a conference with ground teams to go over the materials.<\/p>\n Before winding down for the evening, Ayers cleaned out the Veggie<\/a> facility after APEX-12<\/a> experiment operations wrapped. As part of the investigation, earlier this week, she and McClain harvested thale cress plants to observe how space radiation affects plant genetics.<\/p>\n Peskov, along with Flight Engineer Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, completed some orbital plumbing duties today. Additionally, Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky both completed a virtual reality test that tracks their eye and brain movement.<\/p>\n Learn more about station activities by following the\u00a0<\/em>space station blog<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>@space_station<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>@ISS_Research<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on X, as well as the\u00a0<\/em>ISS Facebook<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>ISS Instagram<\/em><\/a>\u00a0accounts.<\/em><\/p>\n Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here:\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/subscribe<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Abby Graf <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Biotechnology work and health research was the main focus on Thursday aboard the International Space Station. Five Expedition 73 crew members also scheduled some time for training and additional experiment cleanup duties. Continue reading