Probiotics Operations: Today a crewmember conducted the second half of the third sampling phase for the JAXA Probiotic investigation that began on GMT 331 with fecal sample collections. Today’s activities included saliva sample collections and a questionnaire. Some species of harmful bacteria such as Salmonella grow stronger and more virulent in the microgravity environment of …
Next Crew in Russia as Station Preps for Cargo Missions
The next crew to launch to the International Space Station is in Russia today for traditional ceremonies before heading to the launch site in Kazakhstan. Back in space, the Expedition 53 crew is preparing for the departure and arrival of a pair of cargo ships next week. Three new crew members from Russia, the United …
Ground to Space: Iguazú Falls
In 2016, we published space-based imagery of Iguazú Falls—South America’s famous system of waterfalls, which is near a bend in the Iguazú River between Argentina and Brazil. Spray from the falls reaches so high that it is visible from space. A crew member aboard the International Space Station captured the photograph above on May 24, 2016. The view from the ground is also […]
ISS Daily Summary Report – 11/29/2017
Rodent Research 6 (RR-6): During the installation of four Rodent Habitats yesterday, the crew noticed a leak on the outside of the first two habitats. The crew successfully installed the third and fourth habitats, but were instructed to temporarily stow the first two habitats until ground teams could develop a forward plan. Earlier today, the …
Station Boosts Orbit for December Crew Swap
The International Space Station is orbiting slightly higher today to get ready for a pair of crews swapping places on the orbital laboratory in December. A Progress 67 resupply ship docked to the rear of the station fired its engines for just over three minutes this morning boosting the orbital lab to its correct altitude …
November 2017 Puzzler
Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The November 2017 puzzler is above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what we are looking at, when the image was acquired, and why the scene is interesting. How to answer. You can use a few words or several paragraphs. You might simply tell us the […]
ISS Daily Summary Report – 11/28/2017
Sabatier Removal for Return: In preparation for returning Sabatier, today the crew completed the first of two days of activities by removing the Sabatier unit from the Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Rack. They also completed some near term preventive maintenance activities by performing an H2 Sensor Removal and Replacement (R&R) and Avionics Air Assembly (AAA) …
Station Being Configured for Cargo and Crew Missions
The Expedition 53 crew is configuring the orbital complex for a pair of cargo missions and a crew swap in December. Two colorful soccer ball-sized satellites were also floating around inside the International Space Station being tested today. SpaceX has announced it is now targeting Dec. 8 for the launch of its Dragon cargo craft …
ISS Daily Summary Report – 11/27/2017
Earth Imagery from ISS Target Operations: Over the weekend, the crew captured images and video footage of the Australian Desert, Italy at night, Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, and Ireland to Moscow at night. The Earth Imagery from ISS investigation creates a series of videos, displaying Earth from space. These videos will be taken with …