Special Daily Summary during JSC Closure August 28th – September 1st 50S Crew Departure Preparations. In preparation for their return to Earth this weekend, the 50S Crew cleaned their Crew Quarters, stowed returning items within the Soyuz and conducted a descent drill to review undocking procedures and timelines. 50S undock is scheduled for Saturday, September …
Lung Tissue: The crew took samples and fixed media in Tissue Bags. They then inserted the bags in a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The Lung Tissue investigation uses the microgravity environment of space to test strategies for growing new lung tissue. Using the latest bioengineering techniques, the Lung Tissue experiment …
Miniature Exercise Device (MED-2): The crew set up cameras in Node 3 and Cupola to capture video from multiple views of the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) and MED-2 hardware, applied body markers, performed exercises and transferred video for downlink. The microgravity environment of space weakens muscle and bone, so orbiting crew members spend significant …
Multi-Omics-Mouse: The crew performed routine maintenance on the Multi-Omics-Mouse Cage Units that are being maintained in microgravity, exchanging waste collection equipment and odor filters. Several studies have reported space flight effects on the human immune system, but the relationship between microbiota and immune dysfunction during flight remains unclear. In the Multi-Omics-Mouse investigation, food with and …
CREAM (Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass): Last night the CREAM external payload was removed from the SpX-12 trunk by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and handed off to the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS), which then installed it on Exposed Facility Unit-2 (EFU-2) on the JEM Exposed Facility (JEF). Ground controllers …
Solar Eclipse Viewing: The crew removed scratch panes from Cupola windows #4 and #6 and cleaned the window #3 scratch pane. The crew then took both HD video and still images of the moon’s umbra on Earth from the Cupola. They also obtained images of both the sun and the moon. In addition, the P1 …
Rodent Research 9 (RR-9): The crew activated the water lixits and installed food bars in two Animal Habitats for the RR-9 investigation today. They then transferred 20 mice from the Transporter to the habitats after checking the health of the mice. The RR-9 experiment studies how microgravity affects the immune systems, muscles and bones of …
Russian Extravehicular Activity (EVA) #43: Yurchikhin and Ryazanskiy performed a seven hour 30 minute EVA. Completed activities include manual deployment of 5 nanosatellites, collection of research samples and structural maintenance. During EVA ingress timeframe, Whitson and Fischer were isolated in 50 Soyuz. Bresnik and Nespoli had access to the FGB and USOS modules. Multi-Omics-Mouse: The …
SpaceX (SpX)-12 Capture and Berthing: SpX-12 rendezvous and capture were successfully completed today at 5:54 AM CDT using the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). The crew monitored Dragon’s approach from the Cupola Robotic Workstation. Vestibule outfitting, vehicle ingress and critical cargo transfer began following capture. Light Microscopy Module (LMM) Biophysics 3: The crew retrieved …
Intracranial Pressure & Visual Impairment (IPVI): The crew took front and profile view pictures to check for facial edema, then completed a conference with ground experts. The IPVI investigation studies changes to crewmembers’ eyes and optic nerves by analyzing arterial blood pressure and blood flow to the brain before and after spaceflight. The IPVI investigation …
