Archivo de la etiqueta: iss

Crew Checks Eyes and Ears, Works on Bioprinting and Spacesuits

Biomedical research and space physics consumed the Expedition 71 crew’s science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The seven orbital residents also worked on spacesuits and cargo operations throughout their workday.

Three NASA astronauts participated in eye checks giving doctors insights on microgravity’s effect on the human body. Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps took turns scanning each other’s eyes with the Ultrasound 2 device. Doctors on the ground monitored the scans in real-time viewing the crewmembers’ cornea, lens, and optic nerve. Afterward, Epps operated standard medical imaging hardware and viewed Dominick’s retina and optic nerve for the B Complex eye health investigation.

Dominick and Barratt also worked throughout the day transferring cargo inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. Additionally, Barratt installed new gear inside the Combustion Integrated Rack for a study to improve fire safety in space.

Epps earlier split her day between a 3D bioprinting study and physics hardware swaps. First, she operated the BioFabrication Facility and printed cardiac cell samples for an experiment that may see future crews print meals and medicines on demand or doctors create replacement organs and tissues for patients on Earth. Next, she replaced components in the Fluids Integrated Rack for an experiment that could improve thermal systems for both spacecraft and Earth systems.

NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson wrapped up the bioprinting work that Epps began on Wednesday processing the printed cardiac cell samples for incubation. Dyson began her day setting up a wearable acoustic monitor that measures the station’s sound levels that crews experience. She later swapped hardware supporting a semiconductor manufacturing experiment.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin each spent about an hour on Wednesday participating in a regularly scheduled hearing assessment. The trio from Roscosmos took turns wearing a headset and listening to tones in a quiet area of the orbital lab while specialized software documented the results.

Kononenko and Chub started the day together reviewing software that simulates descending back to Earth inside the Soyuz spacecraft. Afterward, the Roscosmos duo collected Orlan spacesuit components and tested the suits for pressure leaks. The Expedition 71 crew is preparing for its first spacewalk planned for April 25.

Grebenkin continued scanning surfaces inside the Zvezda service module with an ultrasound device during the first half of his day. In the afternoon, he jogged on a treadmill while attached to sensors and electrodes measuring his health parameters for a periodic fitness test.

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

3D Bioprinting and CubeSats Top Tuesday’s Science Schedule

Advanced space biology and CubeSat work topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The Expedition 71 crew also continued its cargo work and lab maintenance to keep the orbital outpost in tip-top shape.

Scientists are taking advantage of the weightless environment to learn how to print 3D cardiac tissue samples. NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Matthew Dominick took turns operating the BioFabrication Facility, swapping cassettes containing the bio-printed samples inside the device, then processing the samples for incubation. The tissue-engineering study that takes place inside the Columbus laboratory module may offer the ability to print food and medicines for future space crews. Results may also enable the bioprinting of replacement organs and tissues potentially alleviating the shortage of donor organs on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps was on her second day of installing a small satellite orbital deployer inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock. Three CubeSats are packed into the device and will soon be deployed into Earth orbit for a variety of communications and technology studies. Afterward, Epps partnered with Dyson and NASA astronaut Mike Barratt transferring cargo in and out of the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft.

Barratt began his day transferring spacewalking tools to the station’s Roscosmos segment before working on orbital plumbing duties. During the afternoon, the three-time station resident refilled the water supply inside the rodent research habitat located in the Destiny laboratory module. The mice living inside the biology device are being observed for a study testing a gene therapy to improve eye health in space.

Cosmonaut Nikolai Chub collected and stowed the spacewalking tools from Barratt. Those tools are being readied for a Roscosmos spacewalk planned for April 25. Afterward, he worked on life support tasks inside the Progress 86 resupply ship and the Zarya and Zvezda modules.

Fellow cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin inspected video gear and an oxygen generator then scanned surfaces inside Zvezda with an ultrasound device. Station Commander Oleg Kononenko continued inspection activities inside Zvezda and the Progress 87 resupply ship. He also attached sensors and electrodes to himself and jogged on a treadmill for a periodic fitness test.

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 Orbits into Eclipse, Crew Works Research and Spacesuits

The International Space Station soared into the Moon’s shadow during the solar eclipse on Monday afternoon. The Expedition 71 crew members had an opportunity to view the shadow at the end of their workday filled with cargo transfers, spacesuit maintenance, and microgravity research.

The windows on the cupola, the orbital outpost’s “window to the world,” were open and NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps were inside photographing and videotaping the Moon’s shadow on Earth, or umbra, beneath them. They were orbiting 260 miles above southeastern Canada as the Moon’s umbra was moving from New York state into Newfoundland.

The space station experienced a totality of about 90% during its flyover period. Views of the solar eclipse itself, the Moon orbiting directly between the sun and the Earth, were only accessible through a pair of windows in the space station’s Roscosmos segment which may not have been accessible due to cargo constraints.

Before the eclipse activities began on Monday, Dominick worked on orbital plumbing, serviced a pair of science freezers and swapped cargo in and out of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Dominick then joined NASA astronaut Mike Barratt inspecting spacesuit tethers and organizing spacewalking tools.

Epps installed a small satellite orbital deployer inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock and also participated in the Dragon cargo work. NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson assisted Epps with the small satellite installations and cargo transfers. Dyson also reviewed operations with the BioFabrication Facility and prepared research hardware for an upcoming session to print cardiac tissue cell samples.

Station Commander Oleg Kononenko spent Monday on inspection tasks in the aft end of the Zvezda service module and Progress 87 resupply ship He also jogged on a treadmill for about an hour while attached to sensors and electrodes for a periodic fitness test. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub focused his attention on electronics and ventilation maintenance. Chub also spent a few moments assisting Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin as he attached sensors to himself measuring his heart activity for a long-running Roscosmos space cardiac investigation. He later turned on an ultrasound device and scanned surfaces inside Zvezda.

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Mark Garcia

Soyuz Lands Returning O’Hara, Two Crewmates Back to Earth

NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara ended her time in space with a parachute-assisted landing in the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, at 3:17 a.m. EDT (12:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time) Saturday, April 6.

O’Hara, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus, began the journey back to Earth at 11:55 a.m. when the Soyuz undocked from the International Space Station.

O’Hara arrived at the International Space Station on Sept. 15, 2023, spending 204 days in low Earth orbit.

During her 204 days aboard the station, O’Hara experienced:

• Approximately 3,264 orbits of Earth
• Approximately 86,555,554 statute miles traveled
• Eight spacecraft visiting the International Space Station, including two Roscosmos Progress cargo ships, one Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft, one Roscosmos Soyuz, two crewed SpaceX Dragons, and two uncrewed SpaceX Dragons.

Expedition 71 has formally begun aboard the station with NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Tracy Dyson, and Jeannette Epps as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.

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

Loral O’Hara, Two Crewmates Returning to Earth on NASA TV

Live coverage of NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus’ return to Earth is underway.

The trio began the journey back to Earth in the early morning hours when the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station’s Rassvet module at 11:54 p.m. EDT. The trio are heading for a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, at 3:17 a.m. (12:17 p.m. Kazakhstan time).

Expedition 71 has formally begun aboard the station with NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Tracy Dyson, and Jeannette Epps as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.

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