Archivos de la categoría ISS News

The International Space Station crew from the United States, Russia and Germany is going into the Fourth of July holiday unpacking new research gear from the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft. The six Expedition 56 crew members also conducted advanced space research and orbital lab maintenance today.

NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold opened the hatches to the SpaceX Dragon space freighter Tuesday morning beginning a month of cargo swaps. He and Commander Drew Feustel began retrieving and unpacking a variety of new space cargo. Next, Flight Engineers Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Alexander Gerst transferred critical science gear into the space station. The duo reviewed the experiment installation and research operations to help scientists learn how microgravity affects physics and biology.

The space residents, including cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyev, will spend the Fourth of July holiday with light duty. Gerst and Auñón-Chancellor will begin transferring mice delivered aboard Dragon into their new habitats aboard the station on Wednesday. The rodents will be observed to understand how microbes impact the gastrointestinal system in microgravity. Arnold and Feustel will be swapping frozen research samples from the Japanese Kibo lab module into the U.S. Destiny lab module.

Three days after its launch from Florida, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was installed on the Earth-facing side of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 9:52 a.m. EDT.

The 15th contracted commercial resupply mission from SpaceX (CRS-15) delivers more than 5,900 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory.

Among the research arriving to the U.S. National Laboratory is the Space Algae investigation, will discuss research to select algae strains adapted to space and sequence their genomes to identify growth-related genes. Algae consume waste carbon dioxide, can provide basic nutrition and may perceive microgravity as a trigger to produce algae oils rich in antioxidants that may help mitigate the harmful effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation during spaceflight. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the U.S. National Laboratory, is sponsoring the investigation.

A technology demonstration arriving is an observational pilot study with the Crew Interactive MObile companioN (CIMON) that aims to provide first insights into the effects of crew support from an artificial intelligence (AI) in terms of efficiency and acceptance during long-term missions in space.

After Dragon spends approximately one month attached to the space station, the spacecraft will return to Earth with about 3,800 pounds of cargo and research, including an investigation to advance DNA sequencing in space and the Angiex cancer therapy investigation to improve understanding of endothelial cells that line the walls of blood vessels.

Keep up to date with the latest news from the crew living in space by following https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, and the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

While the International Space Station was traveling more than 256 miles over Quebec, Canada, NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel, captured the Dragon spacecraft at 6:54 a.m. EDT using the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Ground controllers will now send commands to begin the robotic installation of the spacecraft on bottom of the station’s Harmony module. NASA Television coverage of installation is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Watch online at www.nasa.gov/live.

The Dragon lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Friday, June 29 with more than 5,900 pounds of research, equipment, cargo and supplies that will support dozens of investigations aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Among the hardware flying to the space station is a spare Canadian-built Latching End Effector (LEE), the part used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships such as Dragon. This was the 30th grapple of an arriving spacecraft, and the 15th time the Canadarm2 has captured a Dragon. Each end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they also enable Canadarm2 to “walk” to different locations on the orbiting outpost.

Among the research arriving on Dragon is a cellular biology investigation (Micro-12) to understand how microgravity affects the growth, gene expression and ability of a model bacterium to transfer electrons through its cell membrane along the bacterial nanowires it produces. Such bacteria could be used in microbial fuel cells to make electricity from waste organic material.

An Earth science instrument called the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) will provide a new space-based measurement of how plants respond to changes in water availability. This data can help society better manage agricultural water use.

Keep up to date with the latest news from the crew living in space by following https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, and the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Dragon successfully launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:42 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The spacecraft’s solar arrays have deployed. It will arrive at the International Space Station Monday morning carrying more than 5,900 pounds of research investigations and equipment, cargo and supplies that will support some of the hundreds of investigations aboard the orbiting laboratory.

A postlaunch press conference will take place at 8 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Participants are:

• Kirk Shireman, manager, International Space Station Program, Johnson Space Center
• Jessica Jensen, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX

NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel will use the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives at the station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 5:30 a.m. Monday, July 2. Installation coverage is set to begin at 9 a.m.

Research materials flying inside Dragon’s pressurized cargo area include a cellular biology investigation (Micro-12) to understand how microgravity affects the growth, gene expression and ability of a model bacterium to transfer electrons through its cell membrane along the bacterial nanowires it produces. Such bacteria could be used in microbial fuel cells to make electricity from waste organic material.

An Earth science instrument called the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) will provide a new space-based measurement of how plants respond to changes in water availability. This data can help society better manage agricultural water use.

An observational pilot study with the Crew Interactive MObile companioN (CIMON) aims to provide first insights into the effects of crew support from an artificial intelligence (AI) in terms of efficiency and acceptance during long-term missions in space.

Among the hundreds of pounds of hardware flying to the space station is a spare Canadian-built Latching End Effector (LEE). Each end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they are used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships. They also enable Canadarm2 to “walk” to different locations on the orbiting outpost.

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Today’s science activities aboard the International Space Station are looking to improve cancer therapies and benefit cement processing on Earth. Meanwhile, two astronauts are practicing to capture the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft next week.

Cancer research in space can unlock positive benefits that are cloaked by Earth’s gravity possibly leading to advanced therapies. Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor is preparing for the Angiex Cancer Therapy experiment which will be delivered aboard the SpaceX Dragon. She is setting up the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the study that may lead to safer, more effective vascular-targeted drugs without animal testing.

Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold mixed cement samples today for stowage and future analysis on Earth. Studying how cement reacts in space during the hardening process may help engineers better understand its microstructure and material properties. Observations could improve cement processing techniques on Earth and lead to the design of safer, lightweight space habitats.

Arnold will lead Monday morning’s capture of the SpaceX Dragon when he commands the Canadarm2 to grapple the space freighter Monday at 7 a.m. EDT. Commander Drew Feustel will back him up in the Cupola monitoring its approach and rendezvous. The duo set up the Cupola today and practiced the robotic maneuvers they will use to capture Dragon when it reaches a point about 10 meters from the station.

NASA TV begins its live broadcast Friday at 5:15 a.m. EDT of Dragon’s launch aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Dragon will blast off at 5:42 a.m. from the Kennedy Space Center on a three-day trip to the orbital lab carrying almost six thousand pounds of new science experiments, crew supplies and space station hardware. NASA TV will be back on the air Monday at 5:30 a.m. covering Dragon’s approach and rendezvous and again at 9 a.m. for Dragon’s installation to the Harmony module.

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/