Blogs

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 …

Burning and Suppression of Solids – Milliken (BASS-M):  Today Kopra completed the fifth 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 …

The Expedition 46 crew continued studying how living off the Earth affects exercise, the biological clock and fire today. The orbiting space residents also worked on a spacesuit and other lab maintenance tasks. NASA astronaut Tim Kopra scanned his legs mid-morning with an ultrasound for the Sprint study exploring exercise techniques for crews working in …

Mycological Evaluation of Crew Exposure to ISS Ambient Air (Myco):  Shortly after wakeup, Kelly took body samples for the Myco investigation and then inserted them into a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for return to Earth.  Analysis of the samples will focus on microflora, particularly fungi, which may cause opportunistic infections …

The Expedition 46 crew members participated in immunology research today helping scientists learn to keep astronauts healthy on longer and farther space missions. The crew also continued more vision checks and explored heart health. Commander Scott Kelly, British astronaut Time Peake and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko each participated in a different experiment looking at the immune …

Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Troubleshooting:  Peake successfully performed troubleshooting steps for the accessibility issue that has prevented mating of a hose between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) ELF and the Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) for cooling.  He connected the cooling water hose between the MTL connection on the MSPR2 and the ELF.  The ELF …

The Expedition 46 crew members kicked off their work week today with a series of physics experiments and life science studies. The crew also worked on U.S. and Russian spacesuits and continued packing trash inside the Orbital ATK resupply ship. British astronaut Tim Peake wrapped up maintenance work on the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace which will …

Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock Pressurization and Leak Check:  Kelly opened the JEM Airlock inner hatch and extended the Slide Table into the JEM.  Peake then removed Cyclops from the Slide Table and stowed it for future use.   Russian Pilot-T Experiment:  Kelly performed a session of the Russian experiment Pilot-T today. The goal of …

Eric Schindhelm is a research scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. He supported the Pluto system encounter in summer 2015 as part of the Atmospheres team for New Horizons. I was very fortunate to participate in the New Horizons Pluto encounter last summer, supporting the Atmospheres science theme team. I arrived at …

The Expedition 46 crew members are wrapping up their work week on different types of research including botany, bone loss and pilot testing. The crew also checked for pressure leaks, worked on life support gear and continued cleaning up after a spacewalk. Plants are being grown on the International Space Station so future crews can …