Ocular Health Tonometry Test: Virts took his blood pressure, then Cristoforetti, acting as the Crew Medical Officer (CMO), performed a tonometry test of Virts as part of a regular series of tests for Ocular Health. Additional eye examinations of Virts will be performed over the next two days. The Ocular Health protocol is a systematic …
Expedition 42 Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore celebrated his 52nd birthday aboard the International Space Station today, and Mission Control gathered around a microphone to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. Wilmore, who has been on the station since Sept. 25, was born Dec. 29, 1962, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. > Listen to Mission Control singing “Happy …
Shortly after we posted our December puzzler, Dan Mahr had responded with the correct answer. “This is definitely a scene of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica. Specifically, I think this is Wright Valley, and the body of water at center is Don Juan Pond, one of the most saline lakes in the world. The […]
Advanced Biological Research System (ABRS): Cristoforetti removed the ABRS from EXPRESS Rack 2 and prepared it for stowage to return on SPX-5. The ABRS provides two independently controlled environmental chambers capable of conducting a wide variety of biological investigations using plants, microorganisms, or small arthropods. The temperatures, lighting conditions, and atmospheric compositions within these chambers …
Rodent Research: Crew powered down, removed and prepared the Rodent Research habitat for stow. At the conclusion of Rodent research-1 operations, Habitat -2 was positioned in several locations (EXPRESS Rack 1 (ER1), ER2 and Aisle deploy) to thermally characterize areas within the US Lab in preparation for future Rodent Research operations. Circadian Rhythms: Cristoforetti completed her …
It’s beginning to look like Christmas on the International Space Station. The stockings are out, the tree is up and the station residents continue advanced space research to benefit life on Earth and in space. A wide array of research work took place Tuesday with scientists on the ground, working in conjunction with the astronaut …
Neuromapping: The crew supported operations to complete objectives of the NeuroMapping Neurocognitive Test. After connecting a control pad to the HRF laptop, Virts launched the NeuroMapping application and completed the Mental Rotation I Test, the Sensorimotor Adaptation Test, the Dual Task Test while tethered, and the Mental Rotation II Test while free-floating. Wilmore took photographs …
Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR) white light source replacement: During Advanced Colloids Experiment (ACE-M3) operations last week, the white light lamp burned out. Today, Wilmore opened up the FIR and replaced the lamp, enabling operations to continue. In the ACE-M-3 investigation, a model colloidal system is used to observe the microscopic behavior of liquids and gases …
The six Expedition 42 crew members started Christmas week with a replanned schedule after SpaceX postponed its Dragon launch until Jan. 6. The crew would have been unloading new science and cargo from Dragon had it arrived Sunday but instead turned its attention to ongoing science and maintenance. Commander Barry Wilmore worked on the Binary …
Cognition: Virts will act as the Cognition test operations subject. He will power on Human Research Facility (HRF) laptop, launch the Cognition application, and complete the Cognition test which includes pre-test questions and an array of cognitive tests with performance feedback. Individualized Real-Time Neurocognitive Assessment Toolkit for Space Flight Fatigue (Cognition) is a battery of …
