By Gabrielle Antonioli, Montana State University /BOISE, IDAHO/ "Watch me," I say to Megan as I tip my skis over the edge of snow at the top of a steep gully in the southern portion of the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. She nods knowingly from the ridge above. Not letting her eyes leave me, she …
Payloads: Cold Atom Lab (CAL): A visual inspection was performed of the CAL moderate temperature coolant jumper, and any coolant observed was cleaned up. A persistent very slow leak has been observed in this coolant line and the ground is discussing a forward plan, but science activities can be continued in this state. The CAL …
An array of space biology and combustion investigations topped the microgravity research program aboard the International Space Station on Monday. Life support work and cargo transfers also kept the Expedition 66 crew busy at the beginning of the week. Living in space has been shown to impact an astronaut’s vision even after returning to Earth. …
Payloads: Glovebox Freezer: The Glovebox Freezer was set up in the LSG in preparation of upcoming Rodent Research operations. The Glovebox Freezer integrates into the Life Science Glovebox (LSG) and Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) to provide rapid freeze capability in support of biological sciences. Solid Combustion Experiment Module (SCEM): The SCEM CPU board was installed …
The Expedition 66 crew is continuing its preparations for a pair of spacewalks at the International Space Station scheduled for later this month. The seven orbital residents also pursued ongoing life science while maintaining operations at the orbital lab. Three NASA astronauts and an ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut participated in a fit check for …
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 team – consisting of NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti – have been busy getting ready for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station. The mission is scheduled to launch Friday, April 15, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space …
Payloads: Cryo Chiller: An ambient Sample Cartridge was installed into the Cryo Chiller volume. Cryo Chiller is a single Expedite the Processing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) locker replacement unit which provides rapid freezing capability in support of biological sciences, as well as temperature-controlled transfer to/from the ISS on visiting vehicles. Electromagnetic Levitator (EML): …
This week, the Webb team has been working on the fourth stage of mirror alignment, called Coarse Phasing, which measures and corrects smaller height differences between the mirror segments. In the meantime this past week, Webb's Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) team successfully finished the check-out and initial characterization of three crucial onboard mechanisms. Today, members of …
Two NASA astronauts are assembling gear today they will install on the International Space Station during an upcoming spacewalk. The rest of the Expedition 66 crew focused on life science, space physics gear, and orbital maintenance. NASA Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Kayla Barron began assembling modification kits today to ready the station’s truss structure …
