Station Crew Packing Dragon and Continuing Space Research

An aurora dances in the horizon of Earth's atmosphere as city lights shine through clouds cast over Mongolia while the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above.
An aurora dances in the horizon of Earth’s atmosphere as city lights shine through clouds cast over Mongolia while the space station orbited 263 miles above.

The Expedition 70 crew members are picking up the pace as they load a U.S. cargo craft for its upcoming departure. The seven International Space Station residents are also staying focused on an array of microgravity science to improve human health and commercialize low Earth orbit.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is nearing the end of its stay docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. Four astronauts will be packing over 3,500 pounds of science and hardware inside Dragon over next few days for retrieval and analysis back on Earth. NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli and Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) removed science cargo freezers containing research samples from station EXPRESS racks and stowed them inside Dragon for the ride back to Earth. Astronauts Loral O’Hara and Satoshi Furukawa transferred cargo bags packed with hardware and trash and strapped them inside Dragon securing them for the descent into Earth’s gravity.

The crew continued to pack hardware and science aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft today for a scheduled undocking on Thursday afternoon as managers and operations teams evaluate weather conditions at the various splashdown sites available for the vehicle’s return to Earth.

Despite the busy cargo activities, microgravity research remained on track as the crew continued exploring how weightlessness affects biology and physics. O’Hara from NASA processed cell samples for incubation that researchers will analyze to explore aging-like properties of immune cells and the regenerative capacity of liver cells. The Space AGE health study may provide deeper insights into the biology of aging and its effects on disease mechanisms.

Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) swapped components inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox supporting a physics experiment to produce optical fibers superior to those manufactured on Earth. The Fiber Optic Production-2 experiment may advance optical transmission capabilities benefiting Earth and space industries.

Mogensen earlier worked in the Harmony module shaking mixture tubes containing different organisms for a variety of biology and botany studies promoting health. The tubes are part of a program sponsored by NanoRacks enabling educational and private organizations to conduct research on the space station.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub took turns today wearing a sensor-packed cap and operating a computer for an ongoing Roscosmos study exploring futuristic spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques. Researchers will use the data to train future crew members and plan potential crewed planetary missions. Cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov spent most of his day on life support maintenance then synchronized cameras to station clocks which are set to GMT, or Greenwich Mean Time.

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



from Space Station https://ift.tt/J3SVP42

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Station Wraps Busy Week Before Cygnus Cargo Mission Launches

Image
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...
Read more

Dream Chaser Undergoes Testing at NASA Test Facility in Ohio

Image
NASA and Sierra Space are making progress on the first flight of the company’s Dream Chaser spacecraft to the International Space Station. The uncrewed cargo spaceplane is planned to launch its demonstration mission in 2024 to the orbital complex as part of NASA’s commercial resupply services. Credit: Sierra Space/Shay Saldana NASA and Sierra Space are preparing for the first flight of the company’s Dream Chaser spacecraft to the International Space Station. Dream Chaser and its companion cargo module, called Shooting Star, arrived at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, for environmental testing, scheduled to start in mid-December, ahead of its first flight, scheduled for the first half of 2024. The Neil Armstrong Test Facility, part of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, is home to multiple test facilities, including the Space Environments Complex and the In-Space Propulsion Facility, both stops for Dream Chaser. The complex is home to the Mechanical Vib...
Read more

Crew Dragon Suit Checks as Station Begins Orbital Reboosts

Image
This long-exposure photograph from the space station reveals the Milky Way glittering above a bright but exaggerated atmospheric glow blanketing the Earth’s horizon. The Expedition 63 crew checked out SpaceX Crew Dragon suits today and stayed busy with a full slate of space research. The International Space Station also completed the first of three orbital reboosts to get ready for the next crew mission in October. Flight Engineers Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken inspected the suits they will wear when they return to Earth aboard the Crew Dragon spaceship. The duo tried on their suits for a fit check and ensured the components are in good condition. They are scheduled to depart the station on Saturday and splashdown the following day. NASA TV will cover all the departure activities live. The homebound-duo started the day replacing environmental control system (ECS) hardware aboard the orbiting lab. That work required temporarily removing a plant habitat from the Unity module to...
Read more