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The crew of Expedition 43 spent much of the day on Monday working on experiments that will be coming home on SpaceX’s Dragon vehicle later this month. NASA astronauts Scott Kelly and Terry Virts studied the effects of microgravity on living organisms for the Rodent Research experiment. They are looking at mice and how their …

Crew Half-Duty Day: Today was a half duty day for the USOS crew following a week of CDRA operations and activities associated with SpX-6 unberthing, currently scheduled for May 21. Gene, Immune and Cellular Responses to Single and Combined Space Flight Conditions – A (Triplelux-A):  Cristoforetti closed out the Triplelux-A experiment today. She unstowed and …

The crew was scheduled for a half-duty day today to catch their breath following a week of heavy maintenance and in advance of activities to come. NASA astronauts Terry Virts and Scott Kelly completed the work they’ve been doing this week on one of the station’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Assemblies (CDRA) by reconnecting power, data …

The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) reports the Progress 59 cargo craft reentered the Earth’s atmosphere at 10:04 p.m. EDT over the central Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft was not carrying any supplies critical for the United States Operating Segment (USOS) of the station, and the break up and reenty of the Progress posed no threat …

Bone Densitometer (BD) Imaging On-orbit Replacement Unit (ORU) Remove and Replace (R&R): Following a failed checkout of the BD, ground controllers determined that the Imaging Unit had failed. Cristoforetti R&R’ed the unit today in advance of Rodent Research sample collections next Monday. Ground controllers successfully calibrated the unit and are ready to proceed with Rodent Research …

Maintenance and experiment work continued on Thursday for the Expedition 43 crew. NASA astronauts Terry Virt and Scott Kelly finished the work they’ve been doing on one of the station’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Assemblies (CDRA.) The CDRA system works to remove carbon dioxide from the cabin air, allowing for an environmentally safe crew cabin. Virts …

Gene, Immune and Cellular Responses to Single and Combined Space Flight Conditions – A (Triplelux-A): Cristoforetti installed the three Triplelux Reservoir A into the Automatic Ambient Stowage (AAS) inserts. She retrieved the second Culture Tube A from Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI), thawed it in the Biolab glovebox and installed it in …

Maintenance and experiment work continued on Wednesday for the Expedition 43 crew. NASA astronaut Terry Virt spent the second consecutive day replacing components inside one of the station’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Assemblies (CDRA.) The CDRA system works to remove carbon dioxide from the cabin air, allowing for an environmentally safe crew cabin. Virts also did …

Gene, Immune and Cellular Responses to Single and Combined Space Flight Conditions – A (Triplelux-A): Cristoforetti continued operations for run two of two of Triplelux-A. She installed the Experiment Container (EC) in the Biolab Left Rotor (Rotor L) and activated the run. Triplelux-A uses a rat macrophage cell line to investigate and compare the ability …

Each spring as Earth passes through the debris trail from Halley’s Comet (1P/Halley), the cosmic bits burn up in our atmosphere and result in the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower. This year the peak will occur on May 6 about 9 AM EDT with meteor rates of about 30 meteors per hour near peak. Best …