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    Crew Studies Space Agriculture, Biotechnology to Promote Future Missions

    NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Nick Hague processes samples of micro-algae at the Harmony module's maintenance work area aboard the International Space Station. The Arthrospira C biotechnology investigation exposes micro-algae to cosmic radiation and microgravity to learn how to revitalize the spacecraft environment using photosynthesis and produce fresh food on long-term space missions.

    Tuesday’s International Space Station research objectives included learning how to grow crops on spacecraft and produce vitamins and nutrients in space to sustain crews farther away from Earth. The Expedition 72 crewmates also explored how the human body orients itself in weightlessness and serviced a pair of docked spacecraft.702

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    Relaxation, Housekeeping Wrap Up Work Week Aboard the Station

    Astronaut Suni Williams rides the Canadarm2 robotic arm while being maneuvered to her worksite 264 miles above the Earth during a spacewalk on Jan. 30, 2025.

    The Expedition 72 crew wrapped up the work week with housekeeping duties and relaxation following several days of spacewalk cleanup activities and advanced research aboard the International Space Station. Station Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, were off duty on Friday after stowing spacewalk tools and deconfiguring spacesuits earlier in …

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    Busy Day of Research, Lab Upkeep, and Cargo Ops on Station

    Astronauts Don Pettit (foreground) and Nick Hague are at the controls of the robotics workstation that commands the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

    The Expedition 72 crew focused on space biology, physics research, and cargo operations throughout the International Space Station on Thursday. The orbital residents also performed maintenance and documentation activities ensuring the microgravity research laboratory remains in tip-top shape. NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Don Pettit took turns during their shifts examining and videotaping the …

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    Space Navigation Test, Plasma Crystal Research Top Wednesday Science Schedule

    Astronaut Butch Wilmore conducts a spacewalk 259 miles above Earth while orbiting into a sunset above Eastern Europe on Jan. 30, 2025.

    Space navigation and plasma crystals were the main research topics aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 72 crew also reorganized cargo and continued cleaning up after last week’s spacewalk. Accurate navigation is critical as crew spacecraft are being readied to travel farther away from Earth-orbiting satellite systems and toward the Moon. NASA …

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    Robotics Demonstration, Air and Water Quality Checks Aboard Orbital Lab

    Astronaut Suni Williams checks out the Astrobee robotic free-flyer outfitted with tentacle-like arms containing gecko-like adhesive pads to demonstrate satellite capture techniques.

    Free-flying robotics and science maintenance topped the work schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The Expedition 72 crew also analyzed station air and water quality and set up a student-controlled camera for Earth observations. NASA engineers are using the weightless environment of the orbital lab to study how robots might capture objects in …

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    Station Crew Cleans Up After Spacewalk, Studies Space Agriculture and Physics

    Astronaut Butch Wilmore works outside the space station during a five-hour and 26-minute spacewalk swabbing external surfaces searching for microorganisms on Jan. 30, 2025.

    The Expedition 72 crew kicked off the first week in February cleaning up after last week’s spacewalk and continuing its space agriculture and microgravity physics experiments. Other International Space Station science objectives planned on Monday included human research while the orbital residents kept up the maintenance of the orbital outpost. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and …

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    Astronauts Relax After Spacewalk, Cosmonauts Work Physics and Exercise Research

    NASA spacewalker Suni Williams is attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm's latching end effector while being maneuvered 264 miles above the South Pacific Ocean.

    Two spacewalkers and their assisting crew members took a half-day off on Friday following the previous day’s excursion to remove radio hardware and swab for microbes outside the International Space Station. The rest of the Expedition 72 crew researched plasma physics, took a physical fitness test, and ensured the upkeep of the orbital outpost. Station …

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    NASA Tech Instrument Captures Test Images During Blue Ghost Lunar Transit

    This image from the short focal length camera, shows a can-like structure which is Blue Ghost’s main engine. The bright objects to the engine’s right and to the left are the lander’s foot pads. The pointed object at the top left is another NASA payload, the Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity (LISTER) instrument, led by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, headquartered in Longmont, Colorado. LISTER is designed to measure the heat flow from the interior of the Moon.

    Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 reached day 15 of its 45-day transit to the Moon. The Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) 1.1 instrument, designed by researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to capture images during the spacecraft’s lunar descent and touchdown, successfully received high-resolution test images from all six of …

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