Blogs

On Saturday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m. EST, installation of NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) was completed on the International Space Station.

Payloads: Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings (Antimicrobial Coatings): The crew performed a routine periodic touching of the six experiment placards deployed in various locations throughout the ISS.  These placards will remain deployed for approximately four months and will be touched regularly by the crew as part of the investigation. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests …

The Expedition 70 crew is back to work following yesterday’s off-duty day to observe the Thanksgiving holiday. After enjoying holiday treats like chocolate, duck, quail, seafood, pumpkin spice cappuccino and more, the seven International Space Station residents focused on space biology research and station upkeep on Friday. In the morning, Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli of …

Payloads: Advanced Resistive Exercise Device-Kinematics (ARED-K):  The ARED-K acquisition unit was deployed to allow verification and troubleshooting of data pathways needed to support experiment operations. Resistive exercise is used as a countermeasure to musculoskeletal deconditioning in microgravity and currently ISS crews perform resistive exercise using ARED. However, a major unknown is the internal bone and muscle …

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed the exoplanet WASP-80 b as it passed in front of and behind its host star, revealing spectra indicative of an atmosphere containing methane gas and water vapor. While water vapor has been detected in over a dozen planets to date, until recently methane – a molecule found in abundance …

All seven members of the Expedition 70 crew spent Wednesday continuing its space biology research and maintaining the upkeep of the International Space Station. The orbital septet will also observe the Thanksgiving holiday and share a traditional turkey meal aboard the space laboratory. Astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli, Satoshi Furukawa, and Andreas Mogensen kicked off the day …

Payloads: Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE): The recently installed external AWE experiment has been activated, but the team is currently working through some data issues at its EXPRESS Logistics Carrier (ELC1) location. From its external space station perch, AWE will focus on colorful bands of light in Earth’s atmosphere, called airglow, to determine what combination of …

Astronaut health, an aging study, and cargo operations kept the Expedition 70 crew busy on Tuesday. The International Space Station residents also explored space manufacturing and downloaded radiation data. Scientists representing NASA and its international partners are collecting a multitude of physiological and psychological data from crew members living on the orbital outpost. The observations …

Payloads: Cell Gravisensing-2: Following the completion of the six-day experiment session last week, today the crew removed the observation chamber from the Confocal Space Microscope, and returned the microscope to its nominal configuration. Recent spaceflight experiments have revealed that individual animal cells can feel the effects of gravity. However, how cells can sense gravity is …

Space biology and Dragon work were the top duties at the beginning of the week for the Expedition 70 crew. The International Space Station also turned 25 years old today with its first module having orbited Earth since 1998. Eye scans were on the biomedical research schedule for four astronauts on Monday afternoon. Commander Andreas …