Blogs

Can satellites help end hunger? Experts from the University of Maryland, NASA, and 40 partner organizations are leading the charge to find out.

Metabolic Tracking (MT): The crew set up MT hardware and materials for thawing and inoculation. They then injected the thawed inoculum into multiwell BioCells, which were inserted into the NanoRacks Plate Reader-2.  NanoRacks Plate Reader-2 is a laboratory instrument designed to detect biological, chemical or physical events of samples in microtiter plates. The Metabolic Tracking …

The Expedition 55 crew explored a wide variety of life science today studying how different biological systems are affected by long-term exposure to microgravity. The multi-faceted space residents observed human genetic and tissue samples, rodents and fruit flies aboard the orbital laboratory today. Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold started his morning gearing up the student-designed Genes …

Human Research Program (HRP) Collections (Biochemical Profile and Repository):  A 54S crewmember collected urine samples for his FD15 sessions of the Biochem Profile and Repository investigations. The Biochemical Profile experiment tests blood and urine samples obtained from astronauts before, during, and after spaceflight. Specific proteins and chemicals in the samples are used as biomarkers, or …

The fully-staffed Expedition 55 crew worked throughout the International Space Station today exploring how microgravity affects a variety of phenomena including biology and physics. The six long-term space residents also practiced a simulated emergency today to maintain their safety skills and awareness. Flight Engineer Drew Feustel started Tuesday collecting a urine sample and stowing it …

Plant Gravity Perception (PGP): The crew began the final Plant Gravity Perception experiment run on Saturday with three of the Experiment Containers maintaining power. For this investigation, normal and mutated forms of thale cress, a model research plant, are germinated to support the study of the plants’ gravity and light perception. Results provide insight into …

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has arrived in Florida to begin final preparations for its launch to the Sun, scheduled for July 31, 2018.

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) SpX-14 Operations: Overnight, the Robotics ground controllers released the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) from the SpaceX-14 Dragon Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture (FRGF).  They performed a survey of the Dragon trunk and then unstowed the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) from Mobile Base System (MBS) Power Data Grapple Fixture 2 …

What do you see when you go on a research cruise? This is the most common question I get asked when I enthusiastically tell stories of our adventures at sea. For most people, the word “cruise” means travelling from one place to another (often islands or coastal cities) by sea. Our research cruise apparently has […]

SpX-14 Mission: After yesterday’s successful capture and berthing of Dragon, the crew ingressed the vehicle early this morning and began cargo transfer operations. Once the crew finishes unloading the center stack, they will transfer SpX-14 cold stowage into ISS assets and begin installation and activation of several payloads delivered by the vehicle. Mobile Servicing System …