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Station Wraps Busy Week Before Cygnus Cargo Mission Launches

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This high exposure photograph from the International Space Station shows Earth’s atmospheric glow and a starry sky as the orbital complex soared above the Pacific Ocean. The Expedition 70 crew is looking ahead to the arrival of a U.S. cargo craft due to arrive at the International Space Station next week. Meanwhile, the Axiom Space 3 (Ax-3) crew finished its first week in orbit with a busy schedule of research, education, and media activities. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft will take its first ride atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket when it lifts off at 12:29 p.m. EST on Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The private space freighter will be carrying over 8,200 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and lab hardware to the orbiting outpost. NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli is due to capture Cygnus with the Canadarm 2 robotic arm at 3:35 a.m. on Wednesday. She will be on duty that morning along with fellow NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara who will monitor Cygn
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Crews Study Eyes, Physics and Prep for Cygnus Cargo Mission

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Astronauts (from left) Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara are pictured inside the International Space Station’s cupola holding NASA’s first graphc novel, “First Woman.” Human research and space physics were the dominant science topics aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 70 crew is also preparing for a U.S. cargo mission targeted to launch next week. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov took turns as crew medical officer on Thursday and performed eye scans of their crewmates using the Ultrasound 2 device . Moghbeli operated the device imaging the eyes of Commander Andreas Mogensen and Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa . Borisov also scanned Roscosmos Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub’s eyes. Doctors on the ground monitored and assisted the diagnostic exam in real-time. The ultrasound scanning procedure uses high-frequency soundwaves to observe how microgravity affects a crew member’s eye structure. Afterward, Mogensen
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Ax-3 Research on Station Advancing Health and Space Tech

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Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa peers at the Earth from inside the cupola as the International Space Station orbited above the south Atlantic Ocean. Biomedical science and advanced technology topped the research schedule for the 11 crew members representing Expedition 70 and Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) . The International Space Station residents are also gearing up for the arrival of a U.S. cargo craft next week. Cancer research and space botany were the focus of Wednesday’s biology work as the Ax-3 crew continued its busy space science schedule. Pilot Walter Villadei observed cancerous cell cultures inside the Kermit microscope to understand how microgravity conditions such as radiation affect cancer growth . Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravcı processed microbe samples growing in petri dishes for a study exploring using propolis , a natural antibacterial agent, on space station surfaces. Both experiments seek to improve health on Earth and in space. Robotics is an important part of the
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Station Crew Assists Ax-3 on Advanced Space Research

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The four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts (front row) and the seven Expedition 70 crew members wave to the camera following a crew greeting ceremony on Jan. 20, 2024. Credit: NASA TV The Expedition 70 crew spent Tuesday on a host of research activities and spacesuit maintenance while assisting their Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) guests. The four Ax-3 crew members had their hands full as they explored cancer research, space botany, and robotics for Earth and space benefits. Astronauts Andreas Mogensen , Loral O’Hara , and Satoshi Furukawa dedicated part of their schedule on Tuesday to the Ax-3 mission. The trio helped the four private astronauts get up to speed with life on orbit as well as conduct advanced microgravity science. Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) spent a couple of hours ensuring the Ax-3 crewmates are familiarized with systems throughout the orbital lab. O’Hara from NASA set up the Life Science Glovebox (LSG) for an Ax-3 space botany investigation while Furukawa fro
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Expedition 70 and Ax-3 Crews Working Together on Station

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The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying the Ax-3 crew is pictured approaching the space station above southern India. Eleven astronauts and cosmonauts from around the world are living and working together aboard the International Space Station today. The four Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) private astronauts met the seven Expedition 70 crew members on Saturday beginning two weeks of dual operations. The Ax-3 crew spent the weekend getting familiar with space station systems and emergency procedures before starting Monday with a full schedule of science and media activities. Ax-3 Commander Michael López-Alegría joined Pilot Walter Villadei and studied how microgravity affects the biochemistry of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s to improve health on Earth and in space. The duo later inserted samples into a fluorescence microscope for a study seeking to prevent and predict cancer diseases to protect crews in space and humans on Earth. Mission Specialist Alper Gezera
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Four Ax-3 Astronauts Board Station and Meet Expedition 70 Crew

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The four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts (front row) gather with the Expedition 70 crew inside the International Space Station’s Harmony module. Credit: NASA TV Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, and Alper Gezeravci are now aboard the International Space Station following Dragon’s hatch opening at 7:13 a.m. EST, Saturday, Jan. 20. Ax-3 docked to the orbital complex at 5:42 a.m. while the spacecraft was flying 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean, west of South America. It is the third mission with an entirely private crew to arrive at the orbiting laboratory. The Axiom Space crew are joining Expedition 70 crew members aboard station, including NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Furukawa Satoshi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub. Next up, the station crew members will ta
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Four Ax-3 Astronauts Board Station, Meet Expedition 70

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The four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts enter the space station and meet the Expedtion 70 crew members. Credit: NASA TV Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) astronauts Michael López-Alegría, Walter Villadei, Marcus Wandt, and Alper Gezeravci are now aboard the International Space Station following Dragon’s hatch opening at 7:13 a.m. EST, Saturday, Jan. 20. Ax-3 docked to the orbital complex at 5:42 a.m. while the spacecraft was flying 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean, west of South America. It is the third mission with an entirely private crew to arrive at the orbiting laboratory. The Axiom Space crew are joining Expedition 70 crew members aboard station, including NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Furukawa Satoshi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub. Next up, the station crew members will take part in a welcome ceremony aboard the
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