Space life

Astronaut Woody Hoburg works on physics research to create a superior graphene aerogel benefitting both Earth and space industries. The Expedition 69 crew pointed its research program toward cancer therapies, vein scans, and space manufacturing on Thursday. The International Space Station will also see a Roscosmos cargo craft and a SpaceX crew spacecraft arrive next week. Science on the orbital outpost can help doctors develop innovative treatments for a variety of health conditions on Earth. The weightless environment can reveal new phenomena offering unique insights impossible to discover in laboratories on Earth. Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates), working out of the Microgravity Science Glovebox , serviced stem cell samples to learn how to increase their production in space. Scientists will use the research data to understand the potential of these space-grown stem cells for developing improved blood disease and cancer tr...

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf in this photograph from the space station. The Soyuz MS-23 crew ship (right) and a portion of the Cygnus space freighter (lower left) can also be seen. Exercise, physics, and robotics were the main science objectives aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 69 crew also expanded the orbital lab’s stowage volume while it waits for upcoming cargo and crew missions. The lack of gravity while living and working in space requires crew members to exercise every day for two hours to maintain muscle and bone health. Doctors evaluate the effectiveness of space exercise to ensure astronauts remain healthy in microgravity and are prepared to return to Earth’s gravity environment. NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg began the day taking turns pedaling on the station’s exercise cycle while attached to sensors and wearing a breathing mask. The two flight engineers were being observed b...

This nighttime photograph shows the Mediterranean Sea ringed by the coastal city lights of Morocco and Algeria on the African side and Spain on the European side. The seven-member Expedition 69 crew conducted a wide variety of experimental work on Tuesday including more life science and physics research and installing new science hardware. The maintenance duties aboard the International Space Station included lab stowage work and orbital plumbing tasks. The four station astronauts split their day assisting each other on a host of space research and lab upkeep on Tuesday. NASA Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg began his day swapping samples inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for a space manufacturing study with help from UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi . Afterward, Hoburg moved on to support NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen as he loaded the NanoRacks External Platform inside the Kibo laboratory module ’s airlock to place science experiments in the har...

Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev (top) is pictured in his Orlan spacesuit during a six-hour and 35-minute spacewalk for upgrades on the International Space Station on Aug. 9, 2023. Life science to benefit humans on Earth and in space was the top research priority aboard the International Space Station on Monday. The Expedition 69 crew also worked on housekeeping tasks and cargo craft duties to start the workweek. Research in microgravity reveals new phenomena that would be impossible to discover or observe in Earth’s gravity environment. The unique insights help scientists and doctors promote innovations and develop advanced therapies benefitting humans living on and off the Earth. Two astronauts partnered together on Monday investigating how to produce stem cells in space using the Life Science Glovebox (LSG) inside the Kibo laboratory module . Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) worked in the LSG servicing stem cell samples that ...

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi sets up physics research hardware in the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox to create a superior graphene aerogel. Botany and physics topped the research schedule as spacewalk cleanup duties continued aboard the International Space Station on Friday. The Expedition 69 crew also focused on life support maintenance as a U.S. cargo craft fired it engines to boost the orbital outpost. Sustaining crews independently of cargo missions and taking advantage of microgravity for better manufacturing techniques are key targets for NASA’s and its international partners research programs. Friday’s science specifically looked at growing crops in space and advancing manufacturing techniques. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio set up seed bags for the Plant Habitat-03B study to understand how characteristics of plants grown in space change from one generation to the next. Results may inform ways to grow repeated generations of space crops to supp...

Astronaut Woody Hoburg poses for a portrait inside the vestibule that separates the Unity module from the Cygnus space freighter’s hatch. The Expedition 69 crew is continuing to unpack a U.S. cargo craft before it fires engines to reboost the International Space Station on Friday. The orbital residents are also continuing their science and maintenance activities while cleaning up the day after a spacewalk. NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Stephen Bowen continued unpacking some of the several tons of science and supplies still packed inside the Cygnus space freighter on Thursday. Cygnus will also fire it engines on Friday reboosting the orbital outpost. This will raise the station to the correct altitude for the upcoming arrival of a Roscosmos cargo craft in two weeks. The station will also be in the proper phasing for a Soyuz crew swap mission planned in mid- to late September. Rubio also opened up the Combustion Integrated Rack to troubleshoot the computer electronics inside...

Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev rides the European robotic arm for the first time during a spacewalk in this view from fellow cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin’s helmet cam. Credit: NASA TV Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 5:19 p.m. EDT after 6 hours and 35 minutes. Prokopyev and Petelin attached three debris shields to the Rassvet module and tested the sturdiness of a work platform affixed to the end of the European robotic arm attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. This was the eighth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the sixth for Petelin. It was the tenth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 267th spacewalk  for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. 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 ...