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Tech Installs and Maintenance for Crew Ahead of Cargo Launch – NASA Blogs

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Expedition 70 Flight Engineers (from left) Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral OHara, both from NASA, pose for a portrait inside the Destiny laboratory module.

Equipment installs and station maintenance topped the in-orbit schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The Expedition 70 crew members expanded on work that began yesterday while completing some maintenance around station as they await the arrival of an upcoming cargo craft.

The Progress 87 cargo craft is scheduled tolaunchfrom the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:25 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 14.Loaded with nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies, Progress will dock to the station around 1:12 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 17.

As one cargo resupply ship readies for launch, two cosmonautsOleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chubwere on duty last night, Feb. 12, to monitor the departure of the Progress 85 cargo craft. Progress undocked from the orbital lab at 9:09 p.m. before it reentered Earths atmosphere three hours later and harmlessly burned up over the Pacific Ocean.

Kononenko and Chub had a light duty day afterward, focusing on cargo audits and preparations for future experiments.

Meanwhile, ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen spent the bulk of his day working in the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock. He installed the Nanoracks-GITAI S2 modular robotic arm, which demonstrates the design, build, and operations of extravehicular robotic systems. This tech demonstration aims to aid in the development of robots for in-space assembly and manufacturing, supporting future commercial lunar missions.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli spent her day on a few different tasks, collecting blood pressure data for the Vascular Aging investigation, stowing the Bio-Monitor garment and headband she donned yesterday, and collecting atmosphere samples throughout the station.

NASA astronaut Loral OHara assisted Mogensen with the Nanoracks-GITAI S2 install before photographing Plant-Microbe Interactions in Space (APEX-10) petri plates, which launched aboard Northrop Grummans 20th commercial resupply mission to the station. The new investigation examines whether beneficial microbes can mitigate some of the negative effects the space environment can have on plant growth and development.

In the Kibo Laboratory, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa spent his day recording space demonstrations suggested by students for JAXAs Try Zero-Gravity educational activity. Students can vote for and suggest tasks for JAXA astronauts to carry out on station, such as putting in eye drops, performing push-ups on the ceiling, and more, to allow the youth to interact with station residents and learn about living and working in microgravity.

In the Roscosmos segment, Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov completed some orbital maintenance tasks and ran a distillation cycle on the Roscosmos water management system.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Tech Installs and Maintenance for Crew Ahead of Cargo Launch - NASA Blogs

STEMonstrations, Station Upkeep, and Hearing Assessments Top Wednesday’s Schedule – NASA Blogs

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The suns first rays begin illuminating Earths atmosphere in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

A STEMonstration, station upkeep, and routine hearing assessments kept the Expedition 70 crew busy on Wednesday. The seven orbital residents split up duties aboard the International Space Station as they continue their microgravity research missions into the new year.

NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli began her day recording a STEMonstration for teachers and students grades 5-8, demonstrating how to use a microscope for cell research aboard the station. To connect with students and teachers around the world, crew members will routinely record short three- to five-minute educational videos that demonstrate popular STEM topics in microgravity. Afterward, Moghbeli moved onto some station and spacesuit upkeep to install restraint straps and stowage bags on spacesuits that will be used for upcoming spacewalks this year, and perform inspections of various modules around the station.

Experiencing 16 sunrises and sunsets per day can affect crew members circadian rhythms while in low-Earth orbit. To counter this, the Circadian Light investigation tests a new lighting system to help astronauts maintain an acceptable circadian rhythm, which could in turn boost cognitive performance. ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen began his day performing a Circadian Light assessment before moving into surveying various station segments to send to grounds teams for assessments of station configuration.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa focused his day on prepping the Life Sciences Glovebox for upcoming research and measuring acoustic levels within the orbiting laboratory.

Near the end of the day, NASA Flight Engineer Loral OHara was joined by cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Konstantin Borisov to complete routine hearing assessments using specially designed space software to measure auditory function while exposed to the microgravity environment.

Kononenko also spent part of his day removing and replacing hardware in the Zvezda service module and running the 3D printer once more, while Borisov picked back up on inventory audits that began yesterday.

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

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: http://www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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STEMonstrations, Station Upkeep, and Hearing Assessments Top Wednesday's Schedule - NASA Blogs

From Spacesuit Loop Scrubs to VR Therapy: Decoding a Day of Science Aboard the ISS – SciTechDaily

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Expedition 70 Flight Engineers (from left) Loral OHara and Jasmin Moghbeli, both NASA astronauts, pose for a portrait while installing helmet lights on spacesuits and checking the functionality of their spacesuits components. Credit: NASA

Thursday marked another day of station upkeep aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Expedition 70 crew spent most of the day on spacesuit and station maintenance, auditing equipment, and wrapping up experiments started earlier this week.

In the morning, NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli was joined by ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen to perform a loop scrub on spacesuits that will be used during upcoming spacewalks this year. Moghbeli then reconfigured the hardware to initiate iodination, which is performed to remove contaminants from transfer loops.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen replaces computer hardware inside the Advanced Space Experiment Processor-2 (ADSEP-2) that can house and process samples for a variety of biological and physical science experiments. Credit: NASA

Mogensen had a busy rest of the day, completing a VR Mental Care session, which demonstrates the use of virtual reality for mental relaxation. He then moved on to station upkeeprestocking the battery pantry and completing monthly maintenance on the orbital labs treadmillbefore rounding out the day with a hearing assessment.

NASA Flight Engineer Loral OHara began the day setting up a microphone to be worn on her shoulder to take sound measurements around the station and then completed some orbital plumbing tasks, removing and replacing the filter in the waste and hygiene compartment.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa poses for a portrait next to the Cell Biology Experiment Facility Incubator Unit inside the International Space Stations Kibo laboratory module. Credit: NASA

Earlier in the week, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa hydrated and incubated production packs for the BioNutrients-1 investigation. On Thursday, Furukawa retrieved the samples to inspect and photograph, which will help researchers better understand on-demand production of human nutrients over long-duration missions. He then wrapped up his day installing the Robotics Work Station for upcoming research.

All three cosmonauts aboard the station continued audit and inventory tasks that started earlier this week. Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko inventoried the Rassvet module, while Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub audited medical kits and Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov audited light units throughout Roscosmos segments. Borisov also ran a Pilot-T session, an ongoing experiment to practice piloting techniques, while Chub replaced the carbon monoxide sensor in the Zarya module.

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From Spacesuit Loop Scrubs to VR Therapy: Decoding a Day of Science Aboard the ISS - SciTechDaily