Japanese Spacecraft Ready for Departure, Crew Studies Biology and Advanced Tech

Expedition 74 is ready to send off a Japanese cargo spacecraft on Friday after four months attached to the International Space Station. The orbital residents also spent Wednesday conducting a wide array of biology investigations to keep humans healthy on and off the Earth and tested advanced technology to benefit crew operations.

NASA flight engineers Chris Williams and Jessica Meir finalized operations with the HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft readying it for its departure on Friday. The duo disconnected power supply systems to the HTV-X1, installed electronic control units that will command components to detach from the spacecraft, and then closed the vehicle and station hatches.

At 2:25 p.m. EST on Thursday, robotics controllers will remotely command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to uninstall HTV-X1 from the Harmony module’s Earth-facing port then maneuver it to a parking position for an overnight laser ranging sensor demonstration test. Finally, at 12 p.m. on Friday, robotics controllers will command the Canadarm2 to release HTV-X1 into Earth orbit where it will stay for three months at a safe distance from the orbital outpost to conduct remotely-controlled science experiments. NASA will broadcast the release of HTV-X1 with coverage beginning at 11:45 a.m. Friday  on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel.

Before completing the HTV-X1 work on Wednesday, Williams configured experimental robotics hardware in the Kibo laboratory module designed to automate tasks and reduce crew workload. Next, he took a cognition test to measure any space-caused changes to his brain structure and function for the CIPHER suite of 14 human research investigations. Meir filmed stuffed toys floating in weightlessness inside Kibo to promote the commercialization of space and excite youngsters about space exploration.

Flight engineers Jack Hathaway of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) kicked off their shift testing the EchoFinder-2 biomedical device inside the Columbus laboratory module. Each took turns scanning the other’s abdomen and vascular system with the EchoFinder-2 that uses augmented reality for ultrasound scanning guidance and artificial intelligence for organ detection. The objective of the human research study is to reduce reliance on ground support for medical procedures as a crew flies farther away from Earth.

Working in the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting lab, flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev wore a variety of arm, wrist, and finger cuffs measuring his blood pressure to help researchers understand how living in microgravity affects vascular health. Afterward, Fedyaev wrapped up his shift inside the Nauka science module cleaning ventilation system fans and photographing his work.

Flight engineer Sergei Mikaev wrapped up an automated overnight Earth photography session that imaged South American and African landmarks in different wavelengths. Next, Mikaev configured data and communications hardware or stowage in the Zvezda service module. He later pointed a camera out a window on Zvezda and photographed South America’s Patagonia region and the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands near Antarctica.

Station commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov continued a space physics experiment pointing a molecular beam, or a stream of atoms and molecules, at semiconductor materials to observe how they react and learn how to create advanced device structures with ultra-clean surfaces. At the end of his shift, Kud-Sverchkov set up hardware he and Mikaev will use the following day to scan their stomachs after breakfast to understand how weightlessness affects the digestion system.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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