Blogs

Satellites detected a debris cloud and the flash from a meteor that exploded over Cuba.

Marrow: This morning a crewmember collected Breath and Ambient air samples for the Marrow study. Marrow looks at the effect of microgravity on bone marrow. It is believed that microgravity, like long-duration bed rest on Earth, has a negative effect on the bone marrow and the blood cells that are produced in the bone marrow. …

The Expedition 58 crew participated in a suite of psychological, biomedical and physics experiments today. The orbital residents are also getting ready to send off a U.S. cargo craft on Friday. Astronauts Anne McClain and David Saint-Jacques collaborated today on an experiment that observes how living in a spacecraft for long periods impacts crew behavior. …

Kubik: Over the weekend a crewmember performed upgrades, checkout and activation of the Kubik 6 hardware. Samples from Kubik 5 were transferred to Kubik 6 and the Kubik 5 was de-installed and stowed. Kubik is a small controlled-temperature incubator or cooler with removable inserts designed for self-contained, automatic microgravity experiments such as those using seeds, …

Circadian Rhythms: Today a crewmember doffed the Circadian Rhythms hardware. This completes the 3rd session for this increment. Circadian Rhythms investigates the role of synchronized circadian rhythms, or the “biological clock,” and how it changes during long-duration spaceflight. Researchers hypothesize that a non-24-hour cycle of light and dark affects crewmembers’ circadian clocks. The ISS Experience: …

A pair of biomedical experiments are wrapping up today aboard the International Space Station as the Expedition 58 crew began its weekend. The orbital residents are also filming a virtual reality (VR) experience and working on plumbing and life support hardware. Anne McClain of NASA removed sensors from her head and chest this morning that …

Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR): Today, a crewmember installed the Florescence Microscope into the MSPR work volume and ground initiated a one-week checkout in preparation for Space Moss observations during the SpaceX-18 mission. The MSPR is a multipurpose payload rack system used in the JEM. It has two workspaces and a worktable that can be …

The Expedition 58 crew set up a variety of combustion research hardware today to look at what happens to high temperatures, fuels and flames in space. The International Space Station also deployed the first set of CubeSats this year. The Two-Phase Flow Experiment, sponsored by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, investigates the heat transfer caused …

Kubik: Today a crewmember upgraded hardware for the Kubik-6 unit. Kubik is a small controlled-temperature incubator or cooler with removable inserts designed for self-contained, automatic microgravity experiments such as those using seeds, cells, and small animals. NanoRacks External Cygnus CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD): Today a crewmember installed NRCSD-15 deployer with the 5 planned cubesats onto the …