Blogs

Microbial Tracking-2 (MT-2): Over the weekend, a 53S subject completed saliva sample collections in support of the MT-2 investigation. The MT-2 series continues the monitoring of the types of microbes that are present on the ISS. It seeks to catalog and characterize potential disease-causing microorganisms onboard the ISS. Crew pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight samples and …

On our team’s last day at Kilbourne Hole, we were joined by retired astronaut Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, the lunar module pilot for Apollo 17. He is the only professional geologist to have walked on the Moon and is still an active researcher. Schmitt joined our 2017 excursion for very much the same reason that Butch […]

Fresh off a record-breaking spacewalk last week, the International Space Station program is preparing for its first docking of a cargo craft in just two orbits. Back inside the orbital lab, the Expedition 54 crew researched how microgravity affects muscles to help humans on Earth. Cosmonauts Alexander Misurkin and Anton Shkaplerov wrapped up the longest …

Expedition 54 Commander Alexander Misurkin and Flight Engineer Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos have completed a spacewalk lasting 8 hours and 13 minutes. It is the longest Russian spacewalk, breaking the previous record of 8 hours and 7 minutes that Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazanskiy set Dec. 27, 2013, on a spacewalk during …

Russian Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #44: Alexander Misurkin (as EV1) and Anton Shkaplerov (as EV2) performed RS EVA #44 with a Phased Elapsed Time (PET) of 8 hrs 13 min. During the EVA, the cosmonauts removed and replaced the [OHA] antenna high frequency receiver on Service Module (SM) aft.  Microbial Tracking-2:  A 53S crewmember completed body …

Expedition 54 Commander Alexander Misurkin and Flight Engineer Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos began a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk when they opened the hatch of the Pirs docking compartment of the International Space Station at 10:34 a.m. EST. Both spacewalkers are wearing Russian Orlan spacesuits with blue stripes. Misurkin is designated extravehicular crew …

One aspect of our work is studying is how different types of information can be combined to help the scientists understand the site from during and after an EVA. We brought an array of instruments and cameras, which I’ll describe below. We also brought a collaborator from Canada, Ben Feist, to explore ways to combine […]

Expedition 54 Commander Alexander Misurkin and Flight Engineer Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos are preparing for their exit from the station’s Pirs docking compartment airlock at approximately 10:34 a.m. EST to begin a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk to service the International Space Station. The primary objectives during the spacewalk will be to remove …

NanoRacks DreamUp Xtronaut Crystal Growth (DreamXCG):  The crew used hot water from the PWD to dissolve sugar crystals in two pouches and later transfer sugar water into the pouches with seeded dowels. This investigation teaches students about the effects of microgravity on crystal formations using near-identical flight kits flown and operated aboard the International Space …

A pair of cosmonauts have wrapped up preparations for Friday morning’s spacewalk to work on the Russian segment of the International Space Station. The other four Expedition 54 crew members continued more eye exams throughout the day on Thursday. Commander Alexander Misurkin and Flight Engineer Anton Shkaplerov completed a spacewalk procedures review today, finished collecting …