Payloads Confocal Space Microscopy: The crew removed the Confocal Space Microscopy Temp Logger and attached to a laptop to transfer data. Confocal Microscope is a JAXA facility that provides fluorescence images of biological samples aboard the International Space Station. Confocal microscopy uses spatial filtering techniques to eliminate out-of-focus light or glare in specimens whose thickness …
Human Research, Botany, Tech Demo on Station Science Schedule
Human research, botany and a technology demonstration were on the science schedule aboard the International Space Station today. NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker was the Crew Medical Officer on Tuesday imaging the eyes of astronauts Michael Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi. Walker operated non-invasive imaging technology hardware to detect how microgravity impacts a crew member’s eyes …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 3/29/2021
Payloads Plant Water Management: The crew set up cameras, MWA, and the Sorbent Test Stand Kit for Plant Water Management (3&4) operations. The Plant Water Management investigation demonstrates passive measures for controlling fluid delivery and uptake in plant growth systems. Reduced gravity creates challenges in providing adequate fluid and nutrition for plant growth. This investigation …
Station Gears Up for April Crew Swaps, Keeps Up Space Research
Four Expedition 64 astronauts will take a quick ride inside their SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle to a new docking port next week as the International Space Station ramps up for a series of crew swaps. Resilience, the first operational crew ship from SpaceX, will back out from its forward-facing port on the Harmony module on …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 3/26/2021
Payloads HRF-2 (Human Research Facility-2): The crew removed the failed BRP Rack Interface Controller (BRIC) from HRF Rack 2 and replaced with a new Rack Interface Controller (RIC). Human Research Facility-2 (HRF-2) provides an on-orbit laboratory that enables human life science researchers to study and evaluate the physiological, behavioral and chemical changes induced by spaceflight. …
Station Ends Week with Biology; New Crew Arrives at Launch Site
The seven residents aboard the International Space Station are wrapping up an intense week of biology investigations in low-Earth orbit. Three new crew members are also two weeks away from launching to the orbiting lab and joining the Expedition 64 crew. The station astronauts have been focusing their research efforts this week on microgravity’s long-term …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 3/25/2021
Payloads Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM): The crew installed the APM hardware in Node 2. Air quality in crewed spacecraft is important for keeping astronauts healthy and comfortable. Although requirements exist for maximum allowable concentrations of particulate matter, currently no measurement capability verifies whether these requirements are met. The Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM) demonstrates an instrument …
Vein, Eye Scans on Station as Next Crew Nears Launch
The Expedition 64 crew continued researching how microgravity affects biology aboard the International Space Station today. The orbital residents also conducted vein and eye checks and prepared for three new crew members due in early April. NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker joined Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov for vein and eye scans on …
NASA Begins Major Assembly of Rocket Stage for First Crewed Artemis Mission
The NASA team is moving parts of the Space Launch System rocket to begin assembly of the forward, or upper part, of the rocket’s core stage for the Artemis II Moon mission. On March 19, the intertank was moved to the vertical assembly area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the core stage is manufactured. …