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International Space Station

Week Ends Aboard Station With Robotics, Spacewalk Reviews, and Science

Expedition 74 flight engineers Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) and Jessica Meir of NASA work together inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. Adenot is wearing a spacesuit in a powered and pressurized configuration to test its mobility, comfort, and optimal fit. Meir also assisted Adenot in conducting suit leak and pressure checks while verifying the suit’s communications hardware and life‑support systems.
From left, astronauts Jessica Meir and Sophie Adenot work together inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock. Meir assisted Adenot in her spacesuit to conduct leak and pressure checks ahead of a spacewalk.
ESA/Sophie Adenot

Expedition 75 ended the week studying Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers and reviewing procedures for a spacewalk to support the removal and replacement of a space-to-ground antenna on Tuesday, Aug. 18. Science remained on Friday’s schedule as the International Space Station residents studied space exercise techniques, explored aerodynamic drag forces, and more.

Flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) continue brushing up on the spacewalking techniques they will use to replace an old high-speed data and communications antenna with a spare on the orbital outpost’s Z1 truss segment next week. Menon and Adenot will spend about six-and-a-half hours in the vacuum of space on the high-altitude maintenance job. Flight engineer Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir will be inside the space station helping the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits and operating the Canadarm2, with Menon attached, to help swap antennas.

The four astronauts gathered together on Friday and practiced simulated robotics maneuvers on a computer necessary to support the antenna replacement spacewalk. The quartet reviewed the arm’s precise movements, different operating modes, and safety procedures to ensure Menon has access to the maintenance worksites during the spacewalk.

The team also continued brushing up on next week’s procedures that will see Menon and Adenot first uninstall the old antenna and temporarily stow it. Then a spare antenna will be retrieved from an external platform and installed on Z1. The duo will use a specialized tool designed for microgravity to make the sensitive electrical and data connections at the base of the antenna. Finally, the old antenna will be installed on the same external platform that housed the spare.

The foursome still had extra time on Friday for a variety of science and maintenance duties. Menon took a pair of exams to measure his visual and cognitive adaptations to weightlessness. Adenot tested the EasyMotion-2 suit that sends electrical impulses and triggers muscle contractions to supplement a workout session. Hathaway inspected hatch seals while Meir cleaned electronics gear and configured the Ultrasound 3 biomedical device.

Roscosmos flight engineers Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina started their shift together studying aerodynamic drag. The duo released two spheres of different sizes inside the station and tracked their drifting motion to calculate how external forces affect the space station as it orbits Earth. Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his shift inspecting laptop computers and configuring cameras.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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