Blogs

Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System (SpaceDRUMS):  Virts and Cristoforetti had difficulty with a leaking Quick Disconnect (QD) during removal of SpaceDRUMS hardware for return on the SpaceX-5 vehicle.  Completion of this task has been postponed while the Ground team develops procedures to address the issue and allow removal of the hardware. The crewmembers removed …

ISS SERVIR (“to serve” in Spanish) Environmental Research and Visualization System (ISERV):  Wilmore and Cristoforetti viewed an ISERV Payload On-Board Training video and procedures to become familiar with removal techniques, then removed the ISERV telescope from the Window Observation Research Facility (WORF) payload volume.  ISERV is an automated system designed to acquire images of the …

The Expedition 42 crew orbiting Earth on the International Space Station gets the opportunity to celebrate New Year’s Eve a whopping 16 times as it circles the globe at 17,500 miles an hour. Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and his crew, which includes NASA’s Terry Virts, Russian cosmonauts Elena Serova, Alexander Samoukutyaev and Anton Shkaplerov, and European Space …

Haptics-1:  Wilmore set up Haptics-1 equipment on rack front seat tracks in the Columbus Module, performed five Haptics-1 experiment protocols and transferred data to a Station Support Computer (SSC) for downlink.  The objective of the Haptics-1 experiment is to execute an in-orbit engineering parameter calibration and identification for one joint of an exoskeleton haptic device …

As the crew of the International Space Station prepares to ring in the new year with a fruit juice toast, NASA today released a pre-recorded  New Year’s greeting from space for everyone on Earth. > Watch the Happy New Year message Expedition 42 Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore  of NASA and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the …

Ocular Health Tonometry Test:  Virts took his blood pressure, then Cristoforetti, acting as the Crew Medical Officer (CMO), performed a tonometry test of Virts as part of a regular series of tests for Ocular Health.  Additional eye examinations of Virts will be performed over the next two days.  The Ocular Health protocol is a systematic …

  Expedition 42 Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore celebrated his 52nd birthday aboard the International Space Station today, and Mission Control gathered around a microphone to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. Wilmore, who has been on the station since Sept. 25, was born Dec. 29, 1962, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. > Listen to Mission Control singing “Happy …

Advanced Biological Research System (ABRS):  Cristoforetti removed the ABRS from EXPRESS Rack 2 and prepared it for stowage to return on SPX-5.  The ABRS provides two independently controlled environmental chambers capable of conducting a wide variety of biological investigations using plants, microorganisms, or small arthropods. The temperatures, lighting conditions, and atmospheric compositions within these chambers …

Rodent Research: Crew powered down, removed and prepared the Rodent Research habitat for stow. At the conclusion of Rodent research-1 operations, Habitat -2 was positioned in several locations (EXPRESS Rack 1 (ER1), ER2 and Aisle deploy) to thermally characterize areas within the US Lab in preparation for future Rodent Research operations. Circadian Rhythms: Cristoforetti completed her …

It’s beginning to look like Christmas on the International Space Station. The stockings are out, the tree is up and the station residents continue advanced space research to benefit life on Earth and in space. A wide array of research work took place Tuesday with scientists on the ground, working in conjunction with the astronaut …