Robotics, Skin Studies and Moon Imagery Kick Off Crew Week

Monday began a new week of science and maintenance work for the Expedition 43 crew.
NASA astronauts Terry Virts and Scott Kelly spent the day reviewing procedures and gathering equipment for an upcoming replacement activity with one of the station’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Assemblies (CDRA.) The CDRA system works to remove carbon dioxide from the cabin air, allowing for an environmentally safe crew cabin.
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti participated in the Skin-B experiment which will improve our understanding of skin aging, which is greatly accelerated in space, while also providing insight into the aging process of other similar bodily tissues. She also took photos for the Moon imagery study.
Robotics controllers in Houston continued operations with the Robotic Refueling Mission-2 (RRM-2) payload. Using the Canadarm2 robotic arm, to install the new task boards that will be used for the experiment. The objective of RRM-2 is to develop new technologies, tools and techniques that could eventually give satellite owners resources to diagnose problems on orbit and keep certain spacecraft instruments performing longer in space.