The International Space Station is getting ready for a new Japanese cargo mission and the first Commercial Crew before the end of the month. Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy joined Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner Friday afternoon to train for the arrival of a Japanese cargo craft after it launches on May 20 at 1:30 p.m. …
Payloads Food Physiology Diet Brief: The crew participated in a diet briefing with the ground team to discuss details of the experiment. The Integrated Impact of Diet on Human Immune Response, the Gut Microbiota, and Nutritional Status During Adaptation to Spaceflight (Food Physiology) experiment is designed to characterize the key effects of an enhanced spaceflight …
The Expedition 63 crew focused its attention today on maintaining International Space Station systems and keeping the orbiting lab in tip-top shape. More eye checks were also on the schedule as doctors seek to protect crew vision in microgravity. Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA started his morning organizing science hardware inside the Columbus laboratory module …
Flying robots and ultrasound eye scans were the top science activities aboard the International Space Station today. The Expedition 63 crew also serviced a variety of lab hardware and tested a wearable health monitor. Free-flying robotic assistants called AstroBees were checked out as Commander Chris Cassidy once again tested their ability to autonomously navigate the …
Payloads Astrobee mapping: The crew assisted with the collection of calibration, localization and mobility data inside the JEM (Japanese Experiment Module). This was performed to supplement data collected during the previous localization/mobility ops and will be used in support of the upcoming Kibo Robot Programming Challenge. The Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Robo-Pro Challenge), also known …
Payloads AstroPi: Following the successful conclusion of the ESA European AstroPi challenge, the AstroPi IR (infrared) unit was transferred from Node 2 back to the Columbus module. In the European AstroPi Challenge, students and young people are offered the amazing opportunity to conduct scientific investigations in space by writing computer programs that run on Astro …
On May 9, 2020, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe began its longest observation campaign to date.
A Japanese cargo ship is poised to resupply the Expedition 63 crew just as a U.S. space freighter has completed its stay at the International Space Station. The three station residents are also getting ready to welcome two Commercial Crew members in just over two weeks. Japan’s ninth H-II Transfer Vehicle cargo mission (HTV-9) is …
To ensure the agency keeps its commitment for safe operations via a continuous U.S. presence aboard the International Space Station until commercial crew capabilities are routinely available, NASA has completed negotiations with the State Space Corporation Roscosmos to purchase one additional Soyuz seat for a launch this fall. The agency received no responses from U.S. suppliers to …
Bone Densitometer relocate: The Bone Densitometer unit was relocated from EXPRESS rack 4 to EXPRESS rack 5. This was performed to resolve an interference from the Life Science Glovebox foot restraints preventing the Bone Densitometer door from being able to fully open. Approximately the size of a consumer microwave oven, the Bone Densitometer (BD) uses …
