Blogs

The Expedition 46 crew brought out a pair of tiny satellites today so students can compete for the best algorithm in an ongoing competition. The crew also checked spacesuits, transferred cargo and worked on lab maintenance. One-Year Crew members Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko set up a pair of bowling ball-sized satellites in Japan’s Kibo …

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will conduct the first ever NASA Reddit Ask Me Anything from space to help everyone understand what it means to spend a year in space. A year is a long time to live without fresh air, gravity and human contact from loved ones. While science is at the core of Kelly’s …

Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) Setup Part 2:  Kelly attempted the final setup for the ELF facility.  He was only able to connect one of four Quick Disconnects (QDs) due to accessibility.  Ground teams are reviewing downlinked imagery to determine the next steps to complete connection of the MTL and Gaseous Nitrogen (GN2) supply and return …

Three Expedition 46 astronauts continued more eye checks today to study how living in space affects vision. Their cosmonaut counterparts prepared for a spacewalk, met for an inventory conference and worked on Russian science experiments. Commander Scott Kelly joined British astronaut Tim Peake today for ultrasound scans on their eyes. NASA astronaut Tim Kopra also …

Ocular Health:  Kopra and Peake performed their Flight Day 30 Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) to measure retinal thickness, and this afternoon conducted fundoscopy measurements to obtain images of the retinal surface.  By systematically gathering physiological data to characterize the risk of microgravity-induced visual impairment/intracranial pressure in ISS crewmembers, the Ocular Health experiment will give a …

The graphic below illustrates the five planets as they are visible, with the naked eye, from Huntsville, Alabama.  It shows their positions in the sky around 6:30 AM during the week of January 18 and continuing for the next few days. Mercury will be close to the Sun, over in the East, and Jupiter will …

The Expedition 46 crew of two U.S. astronauts, one British astronaut and three Russian cosmonauts practiced their emergency response skills today in conjunction with the Mission Control Centers in Houston and Moscow. The station residents also continued more human research to improve crew health while moving along with preparations for a Feb. 3 spacewalk. The …

An aft skirt similar to one that will be used on a solid rocket booster (SRB) that will help launch NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket into space was transported from the Booster Fabrication Facility to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The aft skirt will …

Cardio Ox:  Kelly performed his Flight Day 300 (FD300) Cardio Ox ultrasound and blood pressure measurement session with Peake acting as operator.   Throughout the day today, Kelly collected urine samples that will be used by the Cardio Ox and Twins Studies.  Tomorrow, he will collect blood samples and store them in Minus Eighty Degree Celsius …

The six-member Expedition 46 crew participated in a range of long term space science Wednesday to benefit life on Earth and future astronauts. The crew is also gearing up for the second spacewalk of 2016 planned for early February. Astronauts Tim Kopra and Tim Peake participated in eye and blood pressure checks for the Ocular …