Blogs

The crew aboard the International Space Station is set to say farewell to a pair of spaceships over the next several days. The first spaceship, Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo craft, is being readied for its release Friday morning. After that, the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft will return to Earth March 1 bringing home three crew members. …

Biological Rhythms 48-Hour:  Kelly began his third and final Biological Rhythms experiment today, preparing and starting the Actiwatch and donning a Holter Monitor to collect Electrocardiogram (ECG) measurements for 48 hours.  Biological Rhythms 48 hours studies the effects of long-term microgravity exposure on heart function by analyzing an astronaut’s electrocardiogram for 48 hours. While the …

The International Space Station raised its orbit again today as three crew members prepare for a March 1 landing while another trio gets ready for a March 18 launch. Meanwhile, advanced research continued inside the orbital laboratory to improve life on Earth and for future space residents. Today’s orbital reboost places the station at the …

Burning and Suppression of Solids – Milliken (BASS-M):  Today Kopra completed the final session of BASS-M operations, preparing and testing different samples with ground assistance from the Principal Investigator.  The BASS-M investigation tests flame-retardant cotton fabrics to determine how well they resist burning in microgravity. Results benefit research on flame-retardant textiles that can be used …

The crew aboard the International Space Station is getting ready for a busy traffic month set to begin March 1. Meanwhile, advanced microgravity research and spacesuit work continues inside the orbital lab. One-Year crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko are preparing to come home March 1 after 340 days in space. Flight Engineer Sergey …

Veg-01 Plant Harvest: Kelly harvested, cleaned and dried the Zinnia plants grown for the Veg-01 experiment.  This investigation is used to assess on-orbit function and performance of the Veggie facility, focusing on the growth and development of seedlings in the spaceflight environment and the composition of microbial flora on the plants and the facility.   …

Today's blog post is from Kimberly Ennico, a member of the New Horizons' Composition Theme Team and one of the deputy project scientists. She works at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, and has been on detail to the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. No one can doubt the beauty of Pluto …

Burning and Suppression of Solids – Milliken (BASS-M):  Today, Kopra completed the sixth set of BASS-M operations, preparing and testing five different samples with ground assistance from the Principal Investigator.  The BASS-M investigation tests flame-retardant cotton fabrics to determine how well they resist burning in microgravity. Results benefit research on flame-retardant textiles that can be …

Ocular Health Testing:  Today Kelly and Kornienko, with Kopra as the operator, completed their Return minus 30 day (R-30) Ocular Health testing by performing ocular and cardiac ultrasound scans.  The Ocular Health protocol calls for a systematic gathering of physiological data to characterize the risk of microgravity-induced visual impairment/intracranial pressure in ISS crewmembers. Researchers believe …

Two astronauts are wrapping up spacesuit maintenance today while a variety of human research takes place inside the International Space Station. Outside the station, the 57.7 foot long Canadarm2 robotic arm is being prepared for the upcoming release of a space freighter. Commander Scott Kelly and astronaut Time Peake from the European Space Agency are …