The assembly, test and launch operations team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is working at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, making significant strides in preparing the agency’s Mars Perseverance rover for its planned July 2020 launch. Final assembly and testing of the rover continue at Kennedy, including the recent installation of its wheels and …
As spring blooms in the Northern Hemisphere, here’s what’s happening in the night sky! Venus On April 3, Venus will pass near a star cluster known as the Pleiades. Also known as the Seven Sisters or M45, the Pleiades lies about 400 light years away from Earth, toward the constellation of the Bull — or …
Veggie PONDS Validation: The crew removed the Germination Cap from each Veggie Ponds Module and added water to reservoirs of each module in both facilities. Photos were taken and plant thinning was performed as needed. Organisms grow differently in space, from single-celled bacteria to plants and humans. Future long-duration space missions will require crew members …
The International Space Station expanded its research capabilities overnight after robotics controllers installed a new external science platform. Meanwhile, the Expedition 62 crew is packing cargo for return to Earth while getting ready for its own departure. Europe’s latest contribution to the orbiting lab, Bartolomeo, was attached to the outside of the Columbus laboratory module …
A U.S. cargo craft is being packed for its return to Earth next week while robotics controllers get ready to install a new European science platform on the International Space Station. The Expedition 62 crew also continued its ongoing human research activities. The reusable SpaceX Dragon space freighter is being loaded this week with thousands …
Fluid Shifts: The crew performed the setup for baselining eye Fundoscope images. Fluid Shifts is a NASA investigation, divided into Dilution Measurements, Baseline Imaging, and Imaging with Chibis. The Chibis hardware is used to perform the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) part of the experiment. The Fluid Shifts experiment investigates the causes for severe and …
Vascular Echo: A crewmember doffed the Vascular Echo Mobil-O-Graph Cuff and upload the recorded 13-hour BP data to the EPM Laptop, then stowed Mobil-O-Graph Kit. Cardiac and Vessel Structure and Function with Long-Duration Space Flight and Recovery (Vascular Echo) examines changes in blood vessels, and the heart, while the crew members are in space, and …
Exercise tests aboard the International Space Station today are helping doctors evaluate the best ways to keep crews healthy and fit on long-term space missions. The Expedition 62 crew also readied cargo and crew ships for departure as a variety of other life science experiments took place. Aerobic fitness in space is critically important so …
JAXA MHU-5 (JAXA Mouse Habitat Unit-5): The crew performed routine mouse habitat maintenance activities for the continuing Mouse Mission-5 investigation. JAXA Mouse Habitat Unit-5 (MHU-5) examines the effects of partial G on mice using the JAXA-developed mouse habitat cage units (HCU) that can be installed in the newly developed Centrifuge-equipped Biological Experiment Facility-L (CBEF-L) on …
A U.S. cargo craft is just one week away from departing the International Space Station and returning to Earth packed with science and hardware for analysis. Meanwhile, the Expedition 62 crew is continuing its space biology research as robotics controllers begin installing the new Bartolomeo science platform. NASA Flight Engineers Andrew Morgan and Jessica Meir …
