Blogs

At 4:27 p.m. EST, hatches closed between the International Space Station and Soyuz TMA-13M. Expedition 41 crew members Reid Wiseman, Alexander Gerst and Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev are preparing to undock at 7:31 p.m. NASA Television will air live coverage of undocking beginning at 7:15 p.m. The deorbit burn is targeted for 10:05 p.m. and …

Watch NASA TV now for the farewell and hatch closure activities as the Expedition 41 trio gets set to return home tonight inside the Soyuz TMA-13M spacecraft… https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv Here is a timeline of the Expedition 41 undocking and landing. Sunday, Nov. 9 EDT EVENT 3:45 p.m. NASA TV: Expedition 41 farewell & hatch closure coverage …

39S Crew Departure Preparations:  Wiseman and Gerst continued to pack their personal items in preparation for their return to earth.  The packed items will be returned via Soyuz 39, SpaceX-4, and SpaceX-5.   In addition, Wiseman and Suraev conducted a test of the Soyuz 39S Motion Control System.  The 39S crew is scheduled to undock from …

Astronauts on the International Space Station are the “focus” of some of the first 3-D camera footage posted to a new playlist of 3-D videos on the agency’s official YouTube channel. > Read more and watch the videos The new gallery includes a tour of the space station and astronauts exploring water surface tension in microgravity …

Muscle Atrophy Resistive Exercise System (MARES) Battery Removal and Replacement (R&R): Wilmore R&Rd the failed MARES battery followed by a battery status check using the A31p Laptop and battery monitoring Crew Guided Procedure.  MARES is an ESA physiological research facility that is designed to carry out research on musculoskeletal, biomechanical, and neuromuscular human physiology. The results …

The homebound Expedition 40/41 trio of Soyuz Commander Max Suraev and Flight Engineers Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst spent Thursday morning reviewing their Soyuz undocking and descent activities ahead of their Nov. 9 landing in Kazakhstan. Their orbiting Expedition 41/42 crewmates Flight Engineers Barry Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova practiced emergency communication and coordination …

Zebra Fish Muscle:  Gerst connected a water bag and a waste bag to the Aquatic Habitat water circulation unit and performed water exchange #7. The Zebra fish muscle experiment asks if the atrophy of muscles under the condition of microgravity also occurs in zebrafish and why their atrophy occurs in the microgravity Cardio Ox: Wilmore, …

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst scanned his arteries then measured his body shape and size Wednesday. Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore joined Gerst for the scanning activities using an Ultrasound for the Cardio Ox experiment. NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman assisted Gerst with the Body Measures study. › Read more about Cardio Ox › Read more about Body …

TripleLux-B (BIOLAB):  Gerst unstowed tools and items needed for the installation of the distribution and cleaning (D&C) cassette of the Biolab Microscope.  This activity was performed in preparation of the upcoming TripleLux-B experiment.  The objective of Triplelux-B is to further understand the cellular mechanisms underlying the increase in radiation responses, and the impairment of the …

NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore worked throughout Tuesday inside Japan’s Kibo laboratory to remove a Cubesat deployer from the laboratory’s airlock. The deployer experienced problems in August, when some of the mini satellites did not deploy as expected and later deployed spontaneously. Wilmore’s Expedition 41/42 crewmates Elena Serova and Alexander Samokutyaev worked throughout the day on …