The answer to the March 2015 puzzler, most commenters agreed, involved snow and ice and cold climates. A great many guesses correctly zeroed in on far northern latitudes, with surmises about pipelines in Alaska, airport runways in Siberia, railroad sidings, and ice roads on frozen lakes. You can see the full answer and image reveal […]
Gene, Immune and Cellular Responses to Single and Combined Space Flight Conditions-B (TripleLux-B): Today Cristoforetti initiated the first of two TripleLux-B runs. The second run will be scheduled for next week. She placed the thawed Experiment Container (EC) Handling Mechanism (HM) in the BioLab (BLB) rotor and activated the rotor. TripleLux compares the mechanisms of …
Commander Terry Virts was the maintenance man Friday as he inspected windows and checked for dust buildup in vents inside the Destiny lab module. Virts also conducted more plumbing work, replacing a recycle tank in the Water Recovery System. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti was in Europe’s Columbus lab module continuing her week-long science activities in …
Gene, Immune and Cellular Responses to Single and Combined Space Flight Conditions-B (TripleLux-B): Following Monday’s successful recovery of the Columbus Biolab (BLB) facility, Cristoforetti continued with TripleLux-B activities today. She inserted the Experiment Container (EC) Handling Mechanism (HM) into the BLB Glovebox and installed the TripleLux and Viability Test ECs into the left rotor for …
The International Space Station raised its orbit on Wednesday evening, placing it in the correct orientation for the docking of a new Soyuz spacecraft and crew next week. Inside the station the multinational Expedition 43 crew stayed focused on long-term microgravity studies and the upkeep of their orbital laboratory. The ISS Progress 58 spacecraft, docked …
Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System (MARES) Functional Checkout: Cristoforetti successfully completed Part 2 of the MARES checkout. She measured, validated, and calibrated different motor profiles of the MARES facility. The MARES hardware consists of an adjustable chair and human restraint system, a pantograph (an articulated arm supporting the chair, used to properly position the …
The Expedition 43 crew members worked on science hardware Wednesday. Back on Earth, Russian flight controllers are planning to fire the thrusters of a docked cargo craft to raise the International Space Station’s orbit. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti completed the activation and testing of the new Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System (MARES). She also …
Node 3 Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA): Overnight the Flight Control Specialist’s attempt to repower Node 3 CDRA failed due to both CDRA bed heaters reporting as failed. The ppCO2 levels remain low and preliminary assessment level will remain below limits with no CDRA for a couple days. The team has been able to override …
Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts and Flight Engineers Samantha Cristoforetti and Anton Shkaplerov practiced emergency procedures Tuesday, preparing the three crew members for the actions they would take in the unlikely event that they must evacuate the International Space Station. Cristoforetti went back to work on the Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System (MARES). She …
Biolab Troubleshooting (TripleLux-B): In order to recover smoke detection in the Biolab facility, Cristoforetti successfully Removed and Replaced (R&R) the smoke detector. She also performed an inspection of the Biolab handling mechanism shutter door. Photos were taken for evaluation by ground teams. Ground teams have performed activation steps and verified that Biolab is go for …
