![\"The](\"https:\/\/blogs.nasa.gov\/spacestation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/240\/2019\/09\/blog_iss060e062085-1.jpg\")
<\/a>The Expedition 60<\/a> crew is getting ready to welcome a Japanese cargo craft and new space residents next week before splitting up the following week. Meanwhile, the orbiting lab residents are starting the weekend exploring potential cancer therapies and testing a suit that counteracts the effects of microgravity.<\/p>\n The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has set Monday, Sept. 23 at 12:30 p.m. EDT for the launch of its H-II Transfer Vehicle-8 (HTV-8) cargo craft to resupply the space station. The HTV-8 will take a five-day trip before its capture with the Canadarm2 robotic arm<\/a> and installation to the station\u2019s Harmony module<\/a>.<\/p>\n A pair of Expedition 61<\/a> crewmembers will blast off to the International Space Station<\/a> on Wednesday with the tenth spaceflight participant to visit the orbiting lab. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir<\/a>, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka<\/a> and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori from the United Arab Emirates will take a near six-hour ride aboard the Soyuz MS-15 crew ship and dock to the station\u2019s Zvezda service module<\/a>.<\/p>\n Almansoori will stay in space for eight days and return to Earth with station Commander Alexey Ovchinin<\/a> and NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague<\/a>. The trio will undock from the Rassvet module in the Soyuz MS-12 spaceship on Oct. 3 and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan about three and a half hours later. Their departure signifies the official start of the Expedition 61 mission.<\/p>\n Science to benefit humans on Earth and astronauts in space is always ongoing and today was no exception. NASA astronauts Christina Koch<\/a> and Andrew Morgan<\/a> were processing protein crystal samples and loading them into an incubator for the Microgravity Crystals<\/a> study. The research is exploring cancer therapies targeting a protein responsible for tumor growth and survival.<\/p>\n Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov<\/a> checked out a specialized suit today that pulls body fluids, such as water and blood, towards the feet of a space resident. He monitored Ovchinin who wore the Lower Negative Body Pressure suit while testing its ability to counteract the headward fluid shifts caused by microgravity. Astronauts have reported increased head and eye pressure due to the upward flow after living for months at a time in weightlessness.<\/p>\n Astronaut Luca Parmitano<\/a> of ESA (European Space Agency) recorded himself on a 360-degree video camera<\/a> as he demonstrated rotational dynamics with a soccer ball. The experiment is investigating the general behavior of free-flying objects<\/a> in microgravity. Results could inform the design of small robots in space and even improve sports equipment on Earth.<\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Mark Garcia <\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Expedition 60<\/a> crew is getting ready to welcome a Japanese cargo craft and new space residents next week before splitting up the following week. Meanwhile, the orbiting lab residents are starting the weekend exploring potential cancer therapies and testing a suit that counteracts the effects of microgravity.<\/p>\n The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has set Monday, Sept. 23 at 12:30 p.m. EDT for the launch of its H-II Transfer Vehicle-8 (HTV-8) cargo craft to resupply the space station. The HTV-8 will take a five-day trip before its capture with the Canadarm2 robotic arm<\/a> and \u2026 Continue reading Cancer Therapy, Gravity Suit Research Before Crew and Cargo Launches<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a>The six-member Expedition 60 crew from the United States, Russia and Italy gathers for a portrait inside the International Space Station\u2019s Harmony module. At the top from left, are NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano, station commander Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos and NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Nick Hague. <\/p>\n