Blogs

A new International Space Station crew is less than a week away from beginning a 4-1/2 month mission living and working in space. The trio from the United States, Russia and Italy is in Kazakhstan counting down to a Friday launch at 11:41 a.m. EDT inside the Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft. Cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy will command …

Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM) #1-2:  The crew opened the Japanese Experiment Module Airlock (JEMAL) inner hatch and extended the Airlock slide table into the JEM. They detached and stowed samples for return to the Ground from the Handhold Experiment Platform #1 (HXP1) and attached new samples on the HXP1 for return to the …

The crew of Expedition 52 wrapped up an intensive week of research on Friday, concentrating on studies in the field of human health and performance. On Thursday, the crew conducted their second ultrasound for the Sprint investigation, which studies the use of high-intensity, low-volume exercise training to minimize the loss of muscle, bone and cardiovascular …

66 Progress (66P) Undock: 66P undocked from Docking Compartment (DC)-1 today at 12:45 pm CDT. Deorbit burn will occur at 3:58 pm CDT with destructive re-entry at 4:35 pm CDT. Efficacy and Metabolism of Azonafide Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Microgravity (ADCs in Microgravity):  With assistance from the Payload Developer this morning, the crew viewed ADC cells …

The unpiloted Russian Progress 66 cargo craft departed the International Space Station today after a five-month stay. Loaded with trash and other items no longer needed by the Expedition 52 crew, the Progress automatically undocked from the Pirs Docking Compartment on the Earth-facing side of the Russian segment of the complex at 1:46 p.m. EDT. …

Efficacy and Metabolism of Azonafide Antibody-Drug Conjugates in Microgravity (ADCs in Microgravity):  The crew retrieved a BioCell Habitat, inoculation kits and ADC samples from a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI), set up hardware inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Work Volume and inoculated the Multiwall BioCells using Inoculum syringes.  Later today …

The Expedition 52 crew embarked on tasks Wednesday to further NASA’s eventual journey to Mars and aid researchers in understanding how to stimulate cancer-fighting drugs to target cancer cells—and cancer cells alone—in the human body. The astronauts lent their opinions to a food questionnaire designed to explore if the current food available in the spaceflight …

Capillary Structures:  The crew set up hardware for the Capillary Structures investigation, then performed a stability assessment and transferred the hardware to the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM).  Life-support systems on the ISS require special equipment to separate liquids and gases including rotating or moving devices that could cause contamination if they break or fail.  This …

Body Measures: On Saturday, a crewmember completed the Body Measures Flight Day 244 session with assistance from a trained operator. NASA is collecting in-flight anthropometric data to assess the impact of physical body shape and size changes on suit sizing.  Still and video imagery is captured and a tape measure is used to measure segmental …

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 52 astronauts furthered investigative data for NASA’s Human Research Program, collecting in-flight data and blood and urine samples over the weekend. Today, the crew will take additional samples for the Biochem Profile, Repository and Cardio Ox investigations. An ultrasound was also used for the Cardio Ox study, which seeks …