Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

Expedition 72 Astronauts Relax as Cosmonauts Keep Up Research, Maintenance

Four Expedition 72 astronauts took a well-deserved break on Monday following last week’s busy period of crew swap activities and advanced microgravity research. The rest of the International Space Station residents kicked off the week with ongoing space science and life support maintenance duties.

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are in their second week aboard the orbiting lab. They arrived at the space station on March 15 as SpaceX Crew-10 members inside a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. McClain and Onishi are both space veterans on their second station mission while Ayers and Peskov are first-time space flyers.

The four crewmates continue getting up to speed with living in weightlessness and the numerous space station systems they will use every day. They are also beginning a series of both new and ongoing station experiments benefiting humans living on and off the Earth.

However, McClain, Ayers, and Onishi relaxed on Monday with NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit who has been aboard the space station since Sept. 11, 2024. Pettit assisted the new crewmates last week helping them adjust to life on orbit and start their first space science investigations. The quartet used the free time for catching up with family on the ground, personal activities such as reading and listening to music, and looking at the Earth below from the cupola.

Peskov stayed busy on Monday along with his fellow cosmonauts station Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner. Peskov began his day with water transfers then ended his shift inspecting and cleaning the station’s Roscosmos modules. Ovchinin installed and activated a camera remotely controlled by students to photograph landmarks on Earth from the Harmony module. Vagner worked in the Nauka science module’s glovebox exploring methods to create sterile conditions aboard spacecraft for safe biological research activities.

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 A. Garcia

New Crew’s First Week Ends with Space Biology and Advanced Technology

The renewed seven-member Expedition 72 crew wrapped up its week researching how blood flows from the brain to the heart and how muscles and bones respond to exercising in space. The International Space Station residents also conducted vision checks and serviced a variety of science hardware.

New NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers kicked off her first run of the Drain Brain 2.0 experiment on Friday setting up gear in the Columbus laboratory module and collecting data to measure the volume of blood flowing through her neck. Doctors want more insight into how the lack of gravity impacts cardiac function from the brain to the heart to improve health screening for crews in space and promote new treatments for heart conditions on Earth.

Takuya Onishi, JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and flight engineer, worked throughout Friday setting up a space exercise experiment in the Tranquility module. Onishi first installed a motion capture system and its associated components then recorded his workout on the advanced resistive exercise device that mimics free weights on Earth. Results may help researchers design effective exercise programs to counteract the effects of weightlessness including bone loss and muscle atrophy.

Working in the Harmony module, NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Don Pettit joined each other for regularly scheduled eye checks. McClain took charge as crew medical officer and peered into Pettit’s eyes using standard medical imaging gear as doctors on the ground monitored in real time. Doctors have been continuously monitoring how living in space affects vision due to space-caused fluid shifts toward a crew member’s head applying pressure on the back of eye.

Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin partnered with Fight Engineer Ivan Vagner, both from Roscosmos, at the start of their day and studied methods to refine the orbital outpost’s location in space using Earth photography techniques. Results may enable future spacecraft on missions to the Moon or Mars to navigate without using satellites or mission controllers. Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov worked on building an audio database to train an artificial intelligence system and serviced life support gear throughout the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment completing his first full week in space.

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 A. Garcia

Muscle, Bone, and Blood Studies on Station Promoting Space and Earth Health

The Expedition 72 crew with its four newest members is returning to science operations following a busy period of crew swap activities. Human research was Thursday’s main focus as the International Space Station residents studied how living in space affects bones, muscles, and brain blood flow.

Astronauts are living in space for months at a time and scientists have been continuously studying how their bodies adapt to weightlessness. Results are especially important as NASA and its international partners plan long-duration crewed missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond that are less dependent on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers processed her blood samples for analysis to understand and treat space-caused bone loss as well as bone conditions on Earth such as osteoporosis. Veteran NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device for an investigation exploring how exercising during spaceflight impacts the muscles and bones.

A new experiment on the orbital outpost, Drain Brain 2.0, is investigating how blood flows from a crew member’s brain toward the heart in microgravity. Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) attached sensors and electrodes to his neck and chest for the human research study. The experiment measures blood volume changes in the neck to assess the risk of cardiovascular conditions during spaceflight. Results may improve health screening in space for astronauts and benefit patients with heart problems on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain who is on her second space station mission joined Pettit during the first part of the day configuring the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft for docked operations. At the end of her shift on Thursday she joined Ayers, Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov and reviewed emergency hardware location and usage procedures. Pettit and station Commander Alexey Ovchinin assisted the new crewmates who are still in their first week aboard the orbiting lab.

Ovchinin also participated in space biology research on Thursday with fellow Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner. The duo, who have been aboard the station with Pettit since Sept. 11, 2024, collected blood pressure measurements for an investigation exploring blood circulation in microgravity. Peskov inspected video recording equipment before continuing his familiarization with life on orbit.

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 A. Garcia

Four New Crewmates Adjust to Station Life Following Crew-9 Return

Four Expedition 72 crewmates are getting used to life aboard the International Space Station following their arrival on Saturday and the departure of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a U.S. cargo craft is poised to be released from the orbital outpost ending a seven-and-a-half-month stay.

New NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers began Wednesday unpacking cargo stowed inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft. Afterward, the duo transferred standard emergency hardware from the station into Dragon and reconfigured the spacecraft for docked operations. After a midday meal McClain and Ayers spent the rest of the day getting used to life on orbit and familiarizing themselves with space station systems.

Their SpaceX Crew-10 crewmates, Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration agency) and Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos also participated in Dragon cargo transfers and station orientation activities. Onishi helped unpack Dragon, reviewed upcoming science operations, then worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device. Kirill tested computers that receive video from the European robotic arm, worked on life support systems, then got up to speed with life in microgravity.

The new Crew-10 quartet replaces the Crew-9 mission which undocked from the Harmony module early Tuesday in the Dragon spacecraft and splashed down off the coast of Florida near Tallahassee on the same day. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 commander Nick Hague returned to Earth with NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Hague and Gorbunov completed a 171-day mission that began on Sept. 28, 2024. Williams and Wilmore wrapped up 286 days in space following their mission that began on June 5, 2024.

One more spacecraft is due to depart the International Space Station this week as the Cygnus space freighter nears the end of its cargo mission that began on Aug. 4, 2024. The uncrewed, trash-filled Cygnus is due to be removed by the Canadarm2 robotic arm from the Unity module’s Earth-facing port then released into Earth orbit at 7:55 a.m. EDT on Friday. Cygnus will reenter Earth’s atmosphere above the South Pacific Ocean two days later for a fiery, but safe demise.

The station’s other three residents have been orbiting Earth since Sept. 11, 2024, when they launched from Kazakhstan and docked to the Rassvet module aboard the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship. Now, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner are approaching the end of their mission scheduled for April 19. When they undock from the station in their Soyuz spacecraft Expedition 73 will officially begin.

First up will be the arrival of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft due to launch on April 8 carrying NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky. Kim and Zubritsky will be beginning their first space mission while Ryzhikov will be serving on his third expedition to the orbiting lab.

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 A. Garcia

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Splashes Down Off Coast of Florida

NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov have successfully splashed down in the Gulf of America, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. EDT. 

Hague and Gorbunov have been at the International Space Station since  Sept. 29, 2024, while Williams and Wilmore arrived on June 6. This completes a stay in space of 171 days for Hague and Gorbunov and 286 days for Williams and Wilmore.  

Teams on the SpaceX recovery ship, including two fast boats, are securing Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for recovery. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Dragon onto the main deck with the Crew-9 crew members inside. Once on the main deck, the crew will exit the spacecraft and undergo medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

NASA and SpaceX will host a media news conference at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the undocking and splashdown with the following participants:  

• Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate 

• Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program 

• Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program 

• Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX 

Live coverage of the news conference will air on NASA+. Learn how to  stream NASA content  through a variety of platforms, including social media. 

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Elyna Niles-Carnes