Archivo de la etiqueta: spacestation

Crew Begins Week with Spacesuits, Space Physics, and Human Research

Spacesuits and space physics kicked off the work week for the Expedition 71 crew. The International Space Station residents also continued their ongoing human research activities and cargo operations.

NASA astronauts Mike Barratt and Matthew Dominick took turns on Monday servicing a pair of U.S. spacesuits. Barratt spent the morning inside the Quest airlock dumping and filling the suits’ water tanks then filtering their cooling loops. In the afternoon, Dominick wrapped up the maintenance work and deconfigured and powered down the spacesuits.

Barratt earlier joined NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson in the Columbus laboratory module as she checked his eye function. After Barratt’s spacesuit work, NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps checked his blood pressure and scanned his veins with the Ultrasound 2 device. The biomedical work is part of the CIPHER investigation to gain a broad view of the physiological and psychological changes astronauts experience during long-term space missions.

Dyson moved on and removed a small satellite orbital deployer from the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock after it deployed three CubeSats into Earth for communications and technology studies. At the end of her shift, Dyson tested her vision by reading characters off a standard eye chart.

Epps and Barratt also alternated their schedules continuing to swap cargo in and out of the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft. Epps then began replacing hardware inside the Cold Atom Lab, a quantum research device for observing the behavior of atoms chilled to lower than the average temperature of the universe.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub are gearing up for the next spacewalk set for 10:55 a.m. EDT on April 25. The duo spent Monday reviewing their spacewalk tasks, measuring their arm strength, and replacing components on their Orlan spacesuits. Kononenko and Chub are expected to spend about seven hours in the vacuum of space removing and installing hardware on the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin worked throughout the day primarily on life support maintenance tasks. The first-time space flyer also photographed electrical components inside the Zarya module then updated the station’s inventory management system.

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Mark Garcia

NASA, Boeing Prep Starliner to Join Rocket Ahead of Crew Flight Test

The spacecraft set to carry two NASA astronauts on the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station is ready to move from its production facility to the launch site. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will roll out of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Tuesday, April 16, to the Vertical Integration Facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to connect to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

The crewed flight test is targeting launch no earlier than 10:34 p.m. Monday, May 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will fly aboard Starliner and will dock at the space station’s forward port of the Harmony module. The duo will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before Starliner makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.

After successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station. The Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m) and the capability to steer automatically or manually, will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit.

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

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Elyna Niles-Carnes

Eye, Brain Research and Cardiac Cell Printing Wrap Up Station Week

Advanced space biology continued on Friday aboard the International Space Station to develop and test therapies for a range of space-caused and Earthbound health conditions. The Expedition 71 crew members also fit in light maintenance duties and their daily exercise sessions during their busy research schedule.

Eye health has been a main research focus this week as the crew conducted standard eye exams and investigated spaceflight-induced vision issues. Mice on the station are being treated with a gene therapy that may prevent retinal conditions and reduced vision associated with living in space. The mice will be returned aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft for analysis on Earth.

NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps split their shift on Friday and took turns feeding the mice and cleaning the rodent habitats located in the Destiny laboratory module. During the rest of their day, the two astronauts serviced a variety of life support and science hardware and worked out on a treadmill, exercise cycle, and the advanced resistive device.

NASA astronaut Mike Barratt spent most of his day in the Kibo laboratory module servicing brain organoid samples and injecting a test drug into the specimens. Working in Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox, Barratt spent his shift treating the samples and placing them in the Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory, a research incubator, for later analysis. Results from the study may lead to insights into microgravity’s effect on the central nervous system and potential treatments for neurological diseases on Earth.

3D bioprinting continued onboard the orbital outpost on Friday as NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson worked in the Columbus laboratory module operating the BioFabrication Facility. She swapped sample cassettes in and out of the device then stowed printed cardiac cell samples inside the Advanced Space Experiment Processor for a two-month incubation period. The samples will be returned to Earth for future analysis. The biotechnology study may enable future space crews to print on-demand meals and medicines and doctors on Earth to engineer replacement organs and tissues for patients.

The space station’s three cosmonauts had an off-duty day and observed Cosmonautics Day which celebrates cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s first spaceflight on April 12, 1961. Station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Nikolai Chub and Alexander Grebenkin downlinked a video message commemorating Gagarin’s first mission. The trio from Roscosmos then deactivated and disconnected sensors that were monitoring and recording their body functions.

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 updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Abby Graf

Advanced Tech and Life Science on Station Today Promoting Health

Nanomaterials manufacturing, 3D bioprinting, and astronaut eye health were the main research topics aboard the International Space Station on Friday. The Expedition 71 crew members also continued servicing spacesuits and conducted an emergency drill.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft recently delivered to the orbital outpost a biotechnology study to demonstrate the in-space production of nanomaterials that mimic DNA. NASA Flight Engineers Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt worked on the second portion of that experiment on Thursday mixing then treating the research samples for analysis. Epps began her day mixing solutions in the Life Science Glovebox to create specialized nanomaterials. During the afternoon, Barratt applied sound and light treatments to the samples then stowed them aboard Dragon for analysis back on Earth. Results may lead to advanced therapies for space-caused and Earthbound health conditions.

The duo partnered back together at the end of the day for eye scans using standard medical imaging gear found in an optometrist’s on Earth. Barratt operated the hardware with guidance from doctors on the ground peering into Epp’s eyes and examining her retina and optic nerve for the B Complex eye health investigation.

Cardiac cell printing was back on the schedule on Thursday as NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick operated the BioFabrication Facility located inside the Columbus laboratory module. He swapped sample cassettes inside the bioprinter then processed the printed cell samples for incubation. Results may enable future space crews to print meals and medicines or doctors to manufacture organs and tissues for patients on Earth.

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson joined Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and practiced a simulated emergency return to Earth. The trio trained on a computer on the steps necessary to quickly enter the Soyuz crew ship and undock from the station for a controlled descent back to Earth.

Next, Dyson spent the rest of her day analyzing microbe samples, conducting a health checkup, and replacing orbital plumbing components. Kononenko and Chub activated a pair of Orlan spacesuits, installed components on the suits, then performed leak checks ahead of a Roscosmos spacewalk planned for April 25.

Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin started his day with blood tests then attached electrodes to himself that will monitor his heart activity for 24 hours. Afterward, he worked on Roscosmos life support maintenance before installing imagery hardware to study Earth’s upper atmosphere.

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 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/

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

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Mark Garcia