Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Space Agriculture and Spacesuit Studies During Spacewalk Preps

Space botany and spacesuit studies were back on the research schedule aboard the International Space Station today. Meanwhile, the Expedition 64 crew is staying focused on an upcoming spacewalk while the SpaceX commercial crew begins its quarantine period.

NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins started her day on a space agriculture study that explores how microbes and fungi can improve soil health and crop production. She serviced samples for the experiment that seeks to improve food production in space and increase crop yields on Earth.

In the afternoon, Rubins moved on to a spacesuit study installing research components in an EXPRESS science rack. The experiment looks at water evaporation as means to cool spacesuits and prevent contamination and corrosion of parts inside the suits.

Two cosmonauts continue gearing up for their mission’s first spacewalk. Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov were gathering and organizing a variety of spacewalk gear today for staging inside the orbiting lab’s Poisk module. They are due to exit Poisk in their Orlan spacesuits on Nov. 18 and spend about six hours during the spacewalk working on maintenance and science tasks.

Following the spacewalk preps, Ryzhikov worked on a Russian oxygen generator then wrapped up the day with a hearing test. Kud-Sverchkov configured communications gear and cleaned smoke detectors.

Commander Michael Hopkins with Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialists Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi are in Florida for final training before they launch on Nov. 14 aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon to the station. The four commercial crew astronauts began their official quarantine period on Saturday which is a routine “flight crew health stabilization” before missions to the orbiting lab.

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Mark Garcia

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Botany and Tech Studies Today as Crew Preps for Spacewalk

Botany and technology research were the primary science objectives on Tuesday aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 64 crew is also stepping up preparations for an upcoming spacewalk.

Scientists on the ground use the orbiting lab’s microgravity environment to explore phenomena that can’t be observed or are degraded on Earth’s surface. The research observations on the station provide insights that can improve health and advance industry on Earth and in space.

Space botany is a critical research area as researchers and mission managers plan and learn to sustain crews on long-term missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Today, Flight Engineer Kate Rubins installed a science carrier, or tray that plants grow in, and then added water inside the Advanced Plant Habitat located in Europe’s Columbus laboratory module.

Rubins then moved on to a technology study seeking ways to improve spacesuit thermal and water controls. She reviewed procedures and installed gear for the experiment demonstrating how evaporating water cools the suits and avoids contamination and corrosion of suit components.

The crew’s first spacewalk is planned for Nov. 18 outside the station’s Russian segment. Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov spent Tuesday organizing their spacewalk tools and preparing Orlan spacesuit components in the Pirs docking compartment’s airlock. The Russian duo will spend about six hours during the spacewalk working on maintenance and tasks.

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Mark Garcia

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Science, Spacewalk Preps Continue 20 Years After First Station Crew

Twenty years ago, today, the Expedition One crew docked to the fledgling, three-module International Space Station beginning 20 years of continuous human presence in space. William Shepherd of NASA, the first station commander, with Roscosmos Flight Engineers Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko, would orbit Earth for 141 days before returning home in March 2001.

Now, the Expedition 64 crew inhabits the near-complete orbital lab with an internal volume of a five-bedroom house. The trio will be welcoming in November a SpaceX commercial crew mission and is also gearing up for a Russian spacewalk.

NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins reviewed rendezvous procedures today for the planned Nov. 15 arrival of four astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle. Three NASA astronauts and one JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut are targeted to launch on Nov. 14 from Florida aboard the Crew Dragon for a five-and-a-half-month research mission on the station.

Michael Hopkins will command the first operational mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft piloted by first-time space flyer Victor Glover. Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi are the mission specialists.

Rubins’ two Russian crewmates, Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, are getting ready for their first spacewalk set for Nov. 18. The Roscosmos duo spent Monday morning studying their planned spacewalk duties which include about six hours of external science and maintenance tasks.

The orbiting trio also spent Monday fulfilling a multitude of space science objectives. Rubins and Ryzhikov began the day collecting and stowing their blood samples for later analysis. Rubins then set up a small satellite deployer that will soon release a set of CubeSats into Earth orbit for governmental and educational research.

Ryzhikov joined Kud-Sverchkov in the afternoon for a long-running study that explores how crew members perform complex tasks on long-duration space missions. Scientists will use the data to gauge how operators might pilot future spaceships and robots on planetary missions.

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Mark Garcia

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Space Botany and Spacewalk Preps Wrap Up Work Week

Space botany and CubeSats were the dominant research theme Friday as the Expedition 64 crew looks ahead to its first spacewalk in November.

NASA and its international partners are exploring ways to sustain healthy crews on space missions farther away from Earth. Growing food on spacecraft and space habitats is critical if astronauts are going to successfully explore the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Flight Engineer Kate Rubins, who was also a scientist before being recruited as a NASA astronaut, put on her green thumb today and installed new components inside the Advanced Plant Habitat. The botany research gear resides in Europe’s Columbus laboratory module and allows scientists to observe how plants grow and thrive in microgravity.

Rubins also spent some time Friday reviewing an upcoming CubeSat deployment that will take place outside Japan’s Kibo laboratory module. She will be readying several tiny satellites that will provide insights into oceanography, weather, ship and aircraft tracking, as well as GPS and satellite communication technologies.

Two cosmonauts are getting ready for a spacewalk targeted for Nov. 18 on the outside of the International Space Station’s Russian segment. Commander Sergey Ryzhikov joined Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov on Friday and began setting up the Pirs docking compartment where they will stage their tools and suit up for the planned six-hour excursion. The duo will be primarily be servicing external station hardware and science experiments during their mission’s first spacewalk.

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Mark Garcia

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Today’s Research Looks at Physics and Exercise for Earth, Space Benefits

The three-member Expedition 64 crew is helping scientists understand how to keep astronauts healthy and maintain spacecraft systems on long-term exploration missions. The trio aboard the International Space Station also cleaned lab ventilation systems and worked on orbital plumbing tasks.

Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA had a regularly scheduled health check up this morning and measured her temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rate. Afterward, she serviced computer components that support the European Physiology Module which enables neuroscientific, cardiovascular, and physiological studies.

Rubins then spent the rest of the afternoon in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module installing fluid physics hardware inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The gear is for the Drop Vibration study that may provide engineers insights into designing advanced spacecraft systems and fabricating semiconductors on Earth.

Research into space exercise is ongoing inside the station as doctors around the world study how to keep crew members in good shape while living and working in weightlessness. Once again, Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov attached variety of sensors to themselves and worked out Thursday morning providing insights into how their bodies react to physical activities in space.

Ryzhikov then moved on to Russian plumbing work and transferred urine from the station into tanks located on the Progress 76 resupply ship. Kud-Sverchkov was in the Zvezda service module during the afternoon working preventive maintenance on the ventilation system’s fans and filters.

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Mark Garcia

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