Astronaut Anne McClain assembles research hardware inside Kibo laboratory module

iss073e0118391 (May 20, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Anne McClain assembles research hardware inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory. The experimental gear is for the Hicari-II investigation taking place in Kibo's Gradient Heating Furnace to explore the physical properties of silicon-germanium crystals that grow faster in space potentially improving the production of infrared optical lenses and electrical devices.