Greetings from Kulusuk and Happy Easter! The Easter Bunny made a short trip to Kulusuk this morning and we happily found some chocolates at the hotel! Otherwise, our team is not on the ice sheet yet because of the bad weather we are experiencing. Today, it is snowing continuously and the visibility is poor–it’s impossible […]
The six-member Expedition 43 crew spent Wednesday conducting more medical science and later training for a simulated emergency practicing their response skills. Astronauts Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti participated in another round of eye checks for the ongoing Ocular Health study. One-Year crew member Scott Kelly scanned his legs using an Ultrasound for the Sprint …
Human Research Program (HRP) Collections: Kelly continues with sample collection this week for HRP experiments. Today’s collections are in support of Microbiome and Twins Study experiments. The Microbiome experiment investigates the impact of space travel on both the human immune system and an individual’s microbiome (the collection of microbes that live in and on the …
Advanced microgravity science is moving full speed ahead now that the International Space Station is fully staffed with the six-member Expedition 43 crew. New science gear is also headed to the station as SpaceX readies its Dragon cargo craft for their sixth Commercial Resupply Services mission (SpaceX CRS-6). Commander Terry Virts studied how blood pressure …
Hurry up and wait may the best way to describe our schedule lately. You never know exactly when a plane or helicopter will be ready to take you into the field or when the weather will be good. All you can control is when you have your gear ready to go. The C-130 dropped us […]
Blood Pressure Regulation (BP Reg) Experiment: Virts set up a video camera and configured hardware in preparation for leg cuff and re-breathing protocol tomorrow. This Canadian Space Agency (CSA) investigation tests the effectiveness of in-flight manipulation of arterial blood pressure (BP) as an indicator of post-flight response to a brief stand test, since space flight …
Commander Terry Virts and One-Year crew member Scott Kelly, both NASA astronauts, partnered together Monday for spacesuit maintenance in the Quest airlock. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti also worked throughout the U.S. segment on a variety of botany science and life research benefitting humans on Earth and crews in space. A trio of cosmonauts, Flight Engineers …
Ocular Health (OH): Kelly and Kornienko performed the last of the activities for their Flight Day (FD) 10 Ocular Health session, completing ocular and cardiac ultrasound scans. The ultrasound images will be used to identify changes in globe morphology, including flattening of the posterior globe, and document optic nerve sheath diameter, optic nerve sheath tortuosity, …
A wide variety of research exploring how life adapts to long-term exposure to microgravity took place on the International Space Station Friday. The crew members also worked on cargo transfers to and from a pair of docked vehicles. More crew Ocular Health eye checks were on the schedule as scientists study the fluid shifts caused …
FLame Extinguishment Experiment-2JAXA (FLEX-2J) Preparations: Virts prepared the Combustion Integration Rack (CIR) for the FLEX-2J activities scheduled later in the Increment. To access the Low Light Level (LLL)-Ultraviolet (UV) Imaging Package, he rotated the CIR Optics Bench then secured the LLL-UV Imaging Package on the Maintenance Work Area (MWA). He then installed the LLL-Infrared (IR) …
