Payloads Capillary Structures: The crew set up and performed the Infill Foam Capillary Structures experiment. The setup allows investigators to observe the wicking of fluid into the foam and out of air passages. The ground team was very happy with the results and report all science objectives and more were completed. Current life-support systems on …
Station Buzzing With Science in Middle of Spacewalk Preps
The International Space Station is buzzing today with a broad array of research to improve life for humans on and off the Earth. The five-person Expedition 63 crew has also been preparing for a set of spacewalks as the pace of space science ramps up. The orbital residents are bringing the orbital lab back up …
Mars Perseverance Rover Targeted to Launch July 20
NASA and ULA are now targeting Monday, July 20, for launch of the Mars 2020 mission of the Perseverance Rover on an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Additional time was needed for the team to repair an issue with the ground system equipment. Launch is …
Parker Solar Probe Signals Successful Fifth Encounter of the Sun
On June 9, 2020, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe signaled the success of its fifth close pass by the Sun, called perihelion, with a radio beacon tone.
ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/09/2020
Payloads Electrolysis Measurement (EM): In support of the ongoing EM experiment, the crew performed a series of sample exchanges. The experiment is expected to process 30 total samples over the next several weeks. Electrolytic Gas Evolution Under Microgravity (Electrolysis Measurement) examines the influence of gravity on electrolytic gas evolution, a complex electrochemical process with multiple …
Space Bubbles, Advanced Optics Benefiting Earthlings, Astronauts
A pair of space freighters from Russia and Japan docked to the International Space Station are getting attention today as the Expedition 63 crew works on a variety of space experiments. NASA Flight Engineers Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken have nearly finished unpacking Japan’s HTV-9 cargo craft which arrived May 25. They have been carefully …
Crew Starts Week on Communications Gear and Orbital Plumbing
The five-member Expedition 63 crew aboard the International Space Station started the workweek servicing a variety of communications gear. The quintet also worked on spacewalk gear, orbital plumbing and microgravity research. NASA Commander Chris Cassidy started Monday working in the Japanese Kibo laboratory module. The veteran astronaut disconnected and removed an HDTV camera from Kibo’s …
Pathfinder for COVID-19
The COVID-19 Data Pathfinder provides links to datasets that can be used to research changing environmental impacts from modified human behavior patterns during the global pandemic.
ISS Daily Summary Report – 6/08/2020
Payloads High-Definition Television (HDTV) Camera Removal: The crew removed the HDTV hardware from the JEM Airlock (JEMAL) slide table and stowed it. This is a continuation of the ops needed to prepare for the installation of the external JAXA integrated Standard Imager for Microsatellites (iSIM) experiment later this week. iSIM is a high-resolution optical binocular …
New Sunspots Potentially Herald Increased Solar Activity
On May 29, 2020, a family of sunspots — dark spots that freckle the face of the Sun, representing areas of complex magnetic fields — sported the biggest solar flare since October 2017. Although the sunspots are not yet visible (they will soon rotate into view over the left limb of the Sun), NASA spacecraft …