Archivo de la etiqueta: International Space Station

Ten-Member Crew Works on Cargo, Spacesuits, and Human Research

The 10 crew members aboard the International Space Station, including five NASA astronauts, four Roscosmos cosmonauts, and one Belarus spaceflight participant, turned their attention on Tuesday toward cargo transfers and spacesuit work. There was still time for science on the orbital outpost as the Expedition 70 crew continued more human research.

The NASA astronauts worked throughout the day swapping cargo in and out of the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port. Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara kicked off Tuesday’s cargo work releasing launch restraints that had secured payloads during Dragon’s ascent to space. Next, Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps took over unstrapping more cargo to move into the station.

O’Hara then unpacked a new U.S. spacesuit helmet from Dragon and swapped it with an older helmet for return to Earth aboard the spacecraft. Dominick packed the upper torso of a U.S. spacesuit in a box then labeled and prepared it for stowing on Dragon for analysis and servicing back on Earth. NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson assisted the duo during the spacesuit cargo work then finalized battery charging duties in preparation for an upcoming Roscosmos spacewalk.

NASA Flight Engineer Mike Barratt released and transferred science hardware from inside Dragon for installation on a space station EXPRESS rack. The EXPRESS racks are multipurpose research facilities enabling astronaut-operated or ground-controlled experiments. Barratt also installed and set up new research gear in the Harmony module expanding protein crystallization research for a space pharmaceutical study.

The Roscosmos segment’s four cosmonauts fit in an array of space science while also working on their contingent of cargo activities.  Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin operated gear monitoring Flight Engineer Oleg Novitskiy while has was attached to sensors recording his blood circulation. Novitskiy also partnered with spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya photographing Earth landmarks and filming educational activities. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub continued collecting his blood and saliva samples for a space immunity study.

Novitskiy also packed cargo inside the Soyuz MS-24 crew ship that he, Vasilevskaya, and O’Hara will return to Earth in on April 6. Chub stowed more cargo inside the Progress 86 resupply ship and updated the space station’s inventory management system. Expedition 70 Commander Oleg Kononenko spent his day on electronics maintenance checking video gear and computer hardware.

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

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Mark Garcia

April Begins with Human Research and Crew Departure Preps

The Expedition 70 crew kicked off the first week of April with a host of human research to learn how to keep long-term space crews healthy. Three orbital residents are also nearing the end of their mission as they prepare to depart the International Space Station at the end of the week.

NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt worked together Monday morning and explored how microgravity affects an astronaut’s sense of balance and motion. Dyson, with assistance from doctors on the ground, monitored Barratt as he wore specialized goggles that tracked his eye movements while performing a series of movements. The vestibular exam, part of the CIPHER suite of 14 human research studies, seeks to understand how a crew member’s sense of motion and perception adapts to weightlessness.

Barratt then moved on and joined NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps and tested a specialized thigh cuff for its ability to prevent space-caused fluid shifts. Epps attached electrodes to herself, wore the cuff on both her legs, and performed scans with the Ultrasound 2 device aided by Barratt and researchers on Earth. Insights may help counteract the upward flows of fluids creating head pressure and eye issues in astronauts.

Epps and NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick later took turns conducting a vision test. The duo took a standard eye exam covering one eye and reading characters off a chart. Earlier, Dominick closed out the Cell Biology Experiment Facility following the completion of an experiment exploring creating artificial organs in space.

The orbiting outpost’s four cosmonauts participated in a variety of Roscosmos-sponsored space science and standard lab maintenance on Monday. Veteran Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko practiced futuristic spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques that may inform future cosmonaut training. Cosmonaut Nikolai Chub collected his saliva and blood samples for a space immunity study. Cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin and Oleg Novitskiy joined each other and studied how spaceflight affects the circulatory system in a crewmember’s limbs.

Another crew is getting for its return to Earth bringing home NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara after six-and-a-half months on the space station. She, Novitskiy, and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya will undock in the Soyuz MS-24 crew ship at 11:55 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 5. Novitskiy checked Soyuz spacecraft systems then joined the duo and practiced Soyuz descent procedures on Monday. The trio will parachute to a landing inside the Soyuz in Kazakhstan at 3:18 a.m. on Saturday, April 6. Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya arrived at the station on March 25 bringing Dyson with them aboard the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft.

At the end of the day on Monday, all ten space station residents gathered and reviewed roles and responsibilities in the unlikely event of an emergency. The crew reviewed escape paths, safety gear, communication procedures, and more for scenarios including a depressurization event, a chemical leak, and a fire.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

Crew Keeps Up Space Health Research Before Next Trio Departs

The Expedition 70 crew wrapped up the work week with space biology and pharmaceutical research continuing the ongoing effort to advance health on Earth and in space. Three crewmates are also beginning to turn their attention toward their departure from the International Space Station and ride back to Earth late next week.

The key objective for conducting science experiments in weightlessness is to discover phenomena impossible to achieve in Earth’s gravity environment. The new insights allow researchers to understand how the human body, both physically and mentally, adapts to living in space. With the ever-growing amount of biomedical data acquired from space, doctors can design and test new therapies to treat space-caused and even Earthbound conditions.

Heart research was on the schedule on Friday as NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick operated the Ultrasound 2 device and scanned the chest of NASA Flight Engineer Mike Barratt. Barratt also wore electrodes, measured his blood pressure, and collected his blood and urine samples for analysis. The cardiac study is part of the CIPHER suite of 14 human research studies, one of which explores cardiovascular health risk in space.

Earlier, Dominick pedaled on an exercise cycle while attached to sensors for the Cardiobreath study that assesses an astronaut’s heart activity, breathing, and blood pressure regulation. Barratt worked in the Harmony module processing protein crystal samples inside a portable glovebag to learn how to generate personalized medicines in space for astronauts.

NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Tracy C. Dyson took turns on Friday feeding mice and cleaning their habitat for an investigation testing a gene therapy to improve eye health in space. NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps began her day with Barratt collecting and stowing saliva samples for later analysis. Epps later exercised on the advanced resistive exercise device and treadmill before taking the rest of the day off.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya along with O’Hara will return to Earth on April 6 inside the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft. The trio teamed up Friday afternoon and performed air and pressure leak checks on the Sokol suits they will wear when they parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan inside their Soyuz crew ship.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub will continue their stay aboard the orbital outpost until early fall accumulating just over one year in space. In the meantime, on Friday, the pair explored the biochemistry of the human body in space and how magnetic and electrical fields affect fluid physics. Kononenko also updated Soyuz spacecraft data files while Chub checked the Zvezda service module’s power supply system.

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Mark Garcia

Space Health Tops Station Research Schedule on Thursday

Brand new science is underway at the International Space Station with two new crews and a cargo ship arriving in March to replenish the Expedition 70 crew. The orbital residents explored a variety of space health technologies and more on Thursday.

NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson, who is on her third spaceflight, worked in the Columbus laboratory module swapping hardware for a new experiment seeking to demonstrate 3D printing of antimicrobial parts in space. The investigation named Copper Anti-Microbial Prints, or CAMP, is examining the effectiveness of producing medical devices on-demand and how microgravity affects their anti-microbial properties.

NASA Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara processed messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein samples in the Life Science Glovebox for an experiment, recently delivered aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft, to investigate nanomaterials that mimic DNA. The study, called DNA Nano Therapeutics-Demo 2, is exploring space-manufactured DNA nanomaterials in order to produce therapeutics that may benefit travelers in space and humans on Earth.

One space-caused phenomenon that concerns researchers is the headward fluid shifts that occur in astronauts. Once in space, a crewmember’s body fluids begin to flow upward affecting their eye structure and vision. Another more visible result is commonly called “puffy face.” NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps partnered together Thursday afternoon and tested a specialized thigh cuff that may counteract these fluid shifts. Dominick wore the cuff on his leg and took ultrasound scans with assistance from Epps and doctors on Earth. Results may also impact treatments for fluid accumulations caused by Earth-bound conditions.

NASA astronaut Mike Barratt spent his day on space biology participating in the CIPHER suite of 14 human research studies. He participated in a series of cognition and robotics tests then collected his blood and urine samples for analysis. Results from the expansive investigation may provide scientists insights into the physiological and psychological effects of living in space long-term.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya, along with Dyson, are in their first week aboard the orbital outpost. Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya will return to Earth on April 6 bringing home O’Hara who has been aboard the station since Sept. 15. Dyson will stay in space until early fall.

Novitskiy joined his fellow cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and replaced hardware components inside the Soyuz MS-24 and MS-25 crew ships. Chub then teamed up with new cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and studied blood flow and cell respiration for a Roscosmos life science study. Vasilevskaya, with assistance from Chub, recorded her heart rate and tested a specialized suit’s theorized ability to help a crew member readjust to Earth’s gravity.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Mark Garcia

Station Crew Expands to Ten, Begins Working Together

Ten crewmates now reside aboard the International Space Station after the arrival of the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship on Monday. They will live and work together the next several days before returning to a seven-member crew again and beginning the Expedition 71 mission in early April.

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson arrived at the orbital lab on Monday with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and Belarus spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya. Dyson will stay in space for about six months as a member of the station crew. Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya will return to Earth with NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara on April 6.

The trio will return to Earth inside the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft that has been docked to the Rassvet module since Sept. 15, 2023. O’Hara will have lived and worked on the orbital outpost for six-and-a-half months having conducted advanced space research and one spacewalk.

Dyson and her two Soyuz crewmates will be spending the next few days familiarizing themselves with space station systems. Next, they will turn their attention to a host of science and educational activities before returning home while Dyson stays in space until later this year.

Station flight engineers Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Alexander Grebenkin are in the first month of their mission having arrived at the station on March 5 aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour. They will stay in space until mid-summer researching a wide variety of phenomena including neurodegenerative diseases, the effects of microgravity and radiation on plants, and preventing space-caused fluid shifts in astronauts.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub are due to stay in space for just over a year helping doctors understand how living long-term in microgravity affects the human body. The duo will depart the space station inside the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft and bring home Tracy Dyson in early fall.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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Mark Garcia