Space life

The four SpaceX Crew-6 members (from left) Andrey Fedyaev, Stephen Bowen, Warren “Woody” Hoburg, and Sultan Alneyadi, pose for a portrait at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX Four  Expedition 68  astronauts took the afternoon off on Tuesday at the International Space Station while three cosmonauts focused on cargo transfers and lab maintenance. Meanwhile, the  SpaceX Crew-6  mission is counting down to its launch at 12:34 a.m. EST on Thursday. NASA Flight Engineer  Frank Rubio  handled the orbital plumbing duties inside the Tranquility module . Flight Engineer  Koichi Wakata  of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) spent the day preparing urine samples to be stored in cold stowage for later use in research. Wakata also assisted Nicole Mann  in successfully removing and replacing the Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue, or SAFER, battery adapter in preparation for spacewalk activities. The SAFER is essentially a “life jacket” for spacewalks. The se

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Endeavour atop is pictured during a sunset at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky The seven-member Expedition 68 crew will wait a few more days for the arrival of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission. Meanwhile, the International Space Station residents began the work week with a variety of research activities, lab maintenance, and cargo operations. The space station’s four astronauts and three cosmonauts will soon welcome four SpaceX Crew-6 members who are counting down to a launch at 12:34 a.m. EST on Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The quartet was due to lift off on Monday at 1:45 a.m. aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour before launch controllers detected an issue preventing data from confirming a full load of the ignition source for the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage Merlin engines. Back aboard the orbital outpost, Flight Engineers Nicole Mann of NASA and Koichi Wakata of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Explo

The Soyuz MS-22 crew ship was photographed from the space station ascending into orbit with three crew members during a sunset 263 miles above Asia on Sept. 21, 2022. NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the docking of Soyuz MS-23 to the International Space Station . The uncrewed Soyuz launched at 7:24 p.m. EST Feb. 23, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog , @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, 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 from Space Station https://ift.tt/9tRs4Uu

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Endeavour atop stands at the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 23, 2023. One spacecraft is soaring toward the International Space Station as another spaceship targets its launch to the orbiting lab early next week. Meanwhile, the seven Expedition 68 members living in space are gearing up for the new spaceship arrivals and preparing for the departure of four crewmates, all while continuing a host of microgravity research. An unoccupied Soyuz MS-23 crew ship from Roscosmos is orbiting Earth today following its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:24 p.m. EST on Thursday . It will approach the space station and automatically dock to the Poisk module at 8:01 p.m. on Saturday, Station Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin , both cosmonauts from Roscosmos, will be on-duty during the crew’s sleep shift monitoring the Soyuz MS-23’s arrival. The MS-23 launched passengerl

The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:24 p.m. EST. The uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following launch at 7:24 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 23, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After a two-day journey, the unpiloted spacecraft will dock automatically to the Poisk module’s space-facing port at 8:01 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. NASA coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 7:15 p.m. on NASA Television, the NASA app , and the agency’s website . This new Soyuz will replace the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft following a radiator coolant leak Dec. 14, 2022. The Soyuz MS-22 transported NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin to the space station last September. The three crew members will return to Earth on the new Soyuz MS-23 later this year. The damaged Soyuz MS-22 is scheduled to undock from the station in late March and return to

This long-duration photograph shows the Earth 259 miles below a soaring International Space Station on Sept. 19, 2022. NASA TV coverage is underway for the launch of an uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. Soyuz will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:24 p.m. EST (5:24 a.m. Feb. 24, Baikonur time). Launch and docking activities will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app , and the agency’s website . After a two-day journey, the unpiloted spacecraft will dock automatically to the Poisk module’s space-facing port at 8:01 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. NASA coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 7:15 p.m. Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog , @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, 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.g

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon Endeavour atop stands at the Kennedy Space Center launch pad counting down to a lift off at 1:45 a.m. EST on Monday. Two rockets on opposites side of the world stand ready to launch to the International Space Station as four Expedition 68 crew members prepare to return to Earth. Meanwhile, some of the orbital residents are relaxing today as others continue their critical microgravity research operations ahead of the upcoming spacecraft arrivals. The Soyuz MS-23 crew ship will launch passengerless toward the station at 7:24 p.m. EST today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It will take a two-day orbital trek before docking to the Poisk module at 8:01 p.m. on Saturday. While the Soyuz spacecraft will arrive unoccupied, it is delivering crew provisions to replenish the seven orbital residents. However, the main purpose of the MS-23 is to return Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Fra

The four SpaceX Crew-6 members pose for a portrait after arriving at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are, Andrey Fedyaev, Sultan Alneyadi, Warren “Woody” Hoburg, and Stephen Bowen. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett Four Expedition 68 crew members are preparing for their return to Earth next month while also working on space physics and household maintenance tasks. Meanwhile, a two crew ships, one from Roscosmos and one from SpaceX, are nearing their launch to the International Space Station . NASA Flight Engineers Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada reviewed their upcoming departure procedures today ahead of next month’s planned return to Earth inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance. The duo were joined by Flight Engineers Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos as they looked over the steps they will take during their homebound flight. The quartet trained on a computer to undock Endurance from the Harmony module , reent

The waning gibbous Moon is pictured above Earth’s horizon as the space station orbited above the Pacific Ocean. The Expedition 68 crew members began the week exploring what microgravity is doing to their bodies and ways to offset those effects. The International Space Station ’s residents also inspected BEAM as a pair of crew ships prepare to blast off to the orbital outpost. Flight Engineers Nicole Mann of NASA and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) kicked off Monday with muscle scans in the Kibo laboratory module . The pair took turns marking each other’s back, neck, leg, and arm muscles and measuring their biochemical properties. They used both the Myotones device and an Ultrasound scanner to study microgravity’s effect on muscle tone, elasticity, and stiffness. The human research study may inform advanced treatments for muscle conditions on Earth and in space. NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada spent their Monday partnering on

The uncrewed Progress 82 cargo spacecraft conducted a deorbit burn at 10:15 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 18, over the Pacific Ocean after spending four months at the International Space Station. Loaded with trash, Progress 82 undocked from the space station’s Poisk module at 9:26 p.m. EST Friday, Feb. 17. The Progress deorbit was delayed about 24-hours while Roscosmos engineers analyzed imagery acquired after undocking of the radiator area of the spacecraft, which is the suspected region where a coolant leak occurred on Feb. 11. Learn more about station activities by following the  space station blog ,  @space_station  and  @ISS_Research  on Twitter, as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts. Get weekly video highlights at:  https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here:  www.nasa.gov/subscribe from Space Station https://ift.tt/e21hm7g

On Feb. 17, the uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 82 cargo spacecraft undocked without issue from the International Space Station’s Poisk module at 9:26 p.m. EST. Following undocking, Expedition 68 cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin sent commands from the station’s Roscosmos segment to rotate the Progress for additional visual inspections using space station’s external cameras of the general area where a coolant leak occurred on Feb. 11. After Progress departure from the space station, flight controllers at Mission Control in Moscow canceled Friday’s scheduled deorbit burn while Roscosmos analyzed the post-undocking imagery collected of the Progress radiator. Early Saturday, Roscosmos managers decided to deorbit Progress Saturday, Feb. 18, with a deorbit burn time of 10:15 p.m. EST. Progress remains in a stable configuration and on a safe trajectory well away from the International Space Station. Loaded with trash, Progress will deorbit over the Pacific Ocean after spending fou

Following the undocking of the uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 82 cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station at 9:26 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 17, flight controllers at Mission Control in Moscow canceled the scheduled 11:02 p.m. deorbit burn, which would have set the vehicle on course to burn up over the Pacific Ocean. Progress 82 currently is in a stable configuration and on a safe trajectory that keeps it well away from the International Space Station while teams on the ground discuss a forward plan. from Space Station https://ift.tt/09cfiaC

Feb. 17, 2023: International Space Station Configuration. Four spaceships are parked at the space station including the Cygnus space freighter, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance, and Russia’s Soyuz MS-22 crew ship and the Progress 83 resupply ship. The uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 82 cargo spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station’s Poisk module at 9:26 p.m. EST on Fri., Feb. 17. Following undocking, Expedition 68 cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin sent commands from the station’s Roscosmos segment to rotate the Progress for additional visual inspections of the general area where a coolant loop leak occurred on Feb. 11. Loaded with trash, Progress is being deorbited by Roscosmos flight controllers over the Pacific Ocean after spending four months at the station. Learn more about station activities by following the  space station blog ,  @space_station  and  @ISS_Research  on Twitter, as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts. Get weekly

Astronaut Josh Cassada is seated in a specialized chair for an experiment that investigates how astronauts grip and move their arms when manipulating objects in microgravity. The uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 82 cargo spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station ’s Poisk module at 9:26 p.m. EST Friday, Feb. 17. Following undocking, Expedition 68 cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin will send commands from the station’s Roscosmos segment to rotate the Progress for additional visual inspections and documentation of the general area where a coolant leak was discovered on Feb. 11. Loaded with trash, Progress will be deorbited by Roscosmos flight controllers over the Pacific Ocean after spending four months at the space station. Meanwhile, the crew members continued a space adaptation study today while conducting a multitude of maintenance tasks aboard the orbital outpost today. The station residents also worked on more human research, watered plant

Astronaut Josh Cassada plays with a sphere of water flying in microgravity, dyed with green food coloring and bubbling due to an antacid that was placed inside. A multitude of advanced microgravity research benefitting humans and robotics took precedence aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. Two Expedition 68 astronauts investigated how living in space affects the way a crew member reaches for and grasps objects. NASA Flight Engineer Josh Cassada has been working in the Columbus laboratory module all week exploring how spaceflight impacts the central nervous system. He first studied how astronauts regulate their grip force . Then on Thursday, Cassada explored how an astronaut’s eye-hand coordination is impacted by visual and audible signals in weightlessness. Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) joined Cassada inside the Columbus module for the space adaptation study. Both astronauts took turns seated in a specialized c

International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the Cygnus space freighter, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance, and Russia’s Soyuz MS-22 crew ship and the Progress 82 and 83 resupply ships. Engineers at the Roscosmos Mission Control Center continue to evaluate a coolant leak from its Progress 82 cargo spacecraft identified on Feb. 11. The cargo spacecraft has been docked to the station’s Poisk module since October 2022. NASA has been assisting Roscosmos in collecting imagery of the Progress 82 using the Canadarm-2 . The launch date of the uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 replacement spacecraft to the International Space Station is under review. The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft was slated to launch to the International Space Station on Sunday, Feb. 19, to replace the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft after it suffered its own external coolant loop leak in December. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin arr

An orbital sunrise illuminates Earth’s atmosphere and reveals the cloud tops in this photograph from the space station above southern Brazil. The Expedition 68 crew members serviced a variety of advanced space hardware today and conducted cargo operations inside a trio of docked space freighters. Four astronauts aboard the International Space Station also called down to Earth preparing for the next crew swap mission from SpaceX. A 3-D bio-printer and an ultra-high resolution video camera were the top science priorities aboard the orbital outpost on Tuesday. NASA Flight Engineer Josh Cassada continued testing the performance of the BioFabrication Facility inside the Columbus laboratory module . The research device seeks to take advantage of the microgravity environment and demonstrate printing organ-like tissues in space which may lead to the future manufacturing of human organs. NASA Flight Engineer Nicole Mann set up the SphereCAM-1 inside the cupola, the space station’s “w

Earlier today, Feb. 11, the uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 83 cargo spacecraft docked automatically to the aft end of the Zvezda service module at the International Space Station. The rendezvous and docking operations were conducted with no issues. Meanwhile, engineers at the Russian Mission Control Center outside Moscow recorded a depressurization in the unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 82 cargo ship’s coolant loop, which is docked to the space-facing Poisk module at the station. Progress 82, which arrived to the space station in October 2022, is scheduled to undock Friday, Feb. 17, filled with trash and will be deorbited over the Pacific Ocean. The reason for the loss of coolant in the Progress 82 spacecraft is being investigated. The hatches between the Progress 82 and the station are open, and temperatures and pressures aboard the station are all normal. The crew, which was informed of the cooling loop leak, is in no danger and continuing with normal space station operations. NASA spec

Feb. 11, 2023: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the Cygnus space freighter, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance, and Russia’s Soyuz MS-22 crew ship and the Progress 82 and 83 resupply ships. An uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 83 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station ’s aft port of the Zvezda service module at 3:45 a.m. EST. The spacecraft launched on a Soyuz rocket at 1:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 9 (11:15 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Progress is delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station for the Expedition 68 crew. Learn more about station activities by following the  space station blog ,  @space_station  and  @ISS_Research  on Twitter, as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts. Get weekly video highlights at:  https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. S

The ISS Progress 82 cargo craft is pictured shortly after docking to the space station in October of 2022. NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the docking of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station . The uncrewed Progress 83 launched on a Soyuz rocket at 1:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 9 (11:15 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Learn more about station activities by following the  space station blog ,  @space_station  and  @ISS_Research  on Twitter, as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts. Get weekly video highlights at:  https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here:  www.nasa.gov/subscribe from Space Station https://ift.tt/puCgHDG

NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio sets up the new Particle Vibration experiment inside the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox on Feb. 3, 2023. The physics study will investigate how particles organize themselves in fluids possibly advancing manufacturing techniques and providing new insights on astrophysics. The International Space Station will see a new cargo mission arrive early Saturday, replenishing the Expedition 68 crew. While they wait, the orbital residents continued exploring how microgravity affects the brain and the digestive system while maintaining orbital lab systems. The ISS Progress 83 (83P) cargo craft continues its orbital trek to deliver nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the station’s residents. The resupply ship from Roscosmos will automatically dock to the Zvezda service module ’s rear port at 3:49 a.m. EST on Saturday. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will be on-

The waxing gibbous Moon is pictured above Earth’s horizon from the International Space Station. The Expedition 68 crew is looking forward to a delivery mission that will arrive at the International Space Station this weekend. Meanwhile, space science and orbital plumbing took up the orbital residents’ day as well as more cleanup work following last week’s spacewalk. Nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies, is on its way to replenish the seven residents living aboard the orbital outpost. The ISS Progress 83 (83P) resupply ship launched at 1:15 a.m. EST on Thursday and is orbiting Earth racing toward the space station. The 83P will automatically dock to the Zvezda module’s rear port at 3:49 a.m. on Saturday beginning a six-month stay at the station. NASA TV will cover the space freighter’s arrival live on the agency’s app and website. NASA Flight Engineer Josh Cassada began his day with brain research attaching sensors to his head and chest to measure his blood flow for t

The ISS Progress 83 cargo craft ascends to Earth orbit after launching on time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA TV The uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 83 is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following launch at 1:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 9 (11:15 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned, on its way to meet up with the orbiting laboratory and its Expedition 68 crew members. Progress will dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module two days later, on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3:49 a.m. EST. Live coverage on NASA TV of rendezvous and docking will begin at 3 a.m. Progress will deliver almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the space station. Learn more about station activities by following the  space station blog ,  @space_station  and  @ISS_Research  on Twitter, as well as the  ISS Facebook

The ISS Progress 81 resupply ship is pictured 266 miles above the Pacific Ocean after undocking from the space station’s Zvezda service module on Feb. 7, 2023. NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the launch of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station . The uncrewed Progress 83 is scheduled to lift off on a Soyuz rocket at 1:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 9 (11:15 a.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Progress will dock to the aft port of the Zvezda service module two days later, on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3:49 a.m. EST. Learn more about station activities by following the  space station blog ,  @space_station  and  @ISS_Research  on Twitter, as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts. Get weekly video highlights at:  https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here:  www.nasa.gov/subscribe from Space Stat