Blogs

Osteocytes and mechano-transduction (Osteo-4):  Cristoforetti successfully performed Tray 3 operations, removing the last three bioreactors from Osteo-4, and stowed them in MELFI.  The Osteo-4 locker was then powered off.  The three trays of Osteo-4 are an automated bone cell culture experiment that studies the effects of microgravity on the function of osteocytes, which are the …

Dust off the lawn chairs and get ready for the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower which will occur on the night of April 22. “The Lyrids are really unpredictable,” Cooke said. “For the 2015 shower, I’m expecting 15 to 20 Lyrid meteors an hour. Peak rates should occur after 10:30 PM on April 22 your local time, …

As Expedition 43 unloads crew supplies from the SpaceX Dragon, another cargo craft is being readied for its undocking. Meanwhile, new research is underway with some of the science gear hauled into space aboard Dragon. Russia’s ISS Progress 57 space freighter is being packed with trash and discarded gear. It will undock from the Pirs …

The past week has presented many successes and challenges for the team in the field. The weather has been a huge issue, not only in helicopter load delays, but also in being able to perform the science needed. The team has been hit with over 2 meters of snow and up to 40-knot winds in the […]

Rodent Research-2 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (RR-2 CASIS): Sunday, the crew successfully performed the RR-2 transfer activities, moving the animals from the transporters delivered on SpaceX-6 (SpX-6) to their Habitats.  Today, Virts and Cristoforetti cleaned the Access Unit and stowed the transporters.  Kelly and Virts completed a procedure review, video setup, …

NASA astronauts Terry Virts and Scott Kelly opened the hatches and floated into the new SpaceX Dragon space freighter Saturday morning, beginning five weeks of cargo transfers. The sixth Dragon cargo mission for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract delivered a wide variety of crew supplies and science gear to support dozens of new and ongoing …

Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The April 2015 puzzler is above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, what the image shows, and why the scene is interesting. How to answer. Your answer can be a […]

SpaceX (SpX)-6 Ingress/Cargo Transfer: Early this morning the crew opened the hatch and ingressed the Dragon vehicle. They completed vehicle hardware reconfig, unpacked Double Cold Bags (DCBs) and placed them in Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI)-1, Biolab, and MELFI-3 per the Cold Stowage plans.  Kubik preparation and activation: Cristoforetti configured and …

SpaceX (SpX)-6 Capture and Berthing: The Dragon vehicle was captured at 5:55 AM CDT today followed by nominal berthing, vestibule outfitting and Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) Control Panel Assembly (CPA) removal. Tomorrow, the crew will ingress the vehicle and begin unpacking cargo. Fine Motor Skills: Kelly and Kornienko performed their Flight Day (FD) 20 Fine …

The Expedition 43 crew’s delivery arrived Friday aboard the SpaceX Dragon space freighter. Dragon was captured at 6:55 a.m. EDT after a two-day trip and a slow methodical approach. Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti guided the Canadarm2 and grappled the Dragon as it floated just 10 meters away from the International Space Station. The crew will open …