The Expedition 72 crew kicked off Thanksgiving week with a multitude of advanced biology and technology studies to improve human health and industry on and off the Earth. The orbital residents also focused on spacesuits and space cargo rounding out Monday aboard the International Space Station.
Keeping humans healthy on Earth and during space missions is a key research objective for NASA and its international partners. Scientists use the weightless environment of the orbital outpost to gain unique insights impossible to achieve on Earth’s surface supporting the medicine, commercial, and space industries.
NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore started their day wrapping up a biology experiment seeking ways to prevent space-caused stress effects and overcome age-related diseases on Earth. The duo processed samples in an artificial gravity-generating incubator, then stowed the research hardware, and disconnected a laptop computer closing out the investigation. During the experiment operations the astronauts used a fluorescence microscope to observe the samples and understand how microgravity impacts inflammation and the immunity system.
Hague then moved on and set up the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox to begin exploring the feasibility of manufacturing nanomaterials that mimic DNA and design advanced therapies enhancing quality of life. Wilmore collected station water samples for microbial analysis then swapped samples for a physics study exploring ways to separate viruses from biological fluids and improve disease detection methods.
NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit started his day loading items inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft for return to Earth following its undocking on Thursday, Dec. 5. Next, he serviced the Additive Manufacturing Facility, a 3D printer, then collected a variety of seed samples that will be returned to Earth for growing in school classrooms. At the end of his shift, Pettit turned on the SphereCam-1 to test its ability to capture ultra-high-resolution video for detailed imagery of spacecraft systems.
Working in the Quest airlock, station Commander Suni Williams spent all day configuring spacesuit systems. She first serviced airlock oxygen and nitrogen tanks, then filtered and inspected suit cooling loops, and finally installed shields protecting suit life support systems.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Aleksandr Gorbunov worked together on Monday and continued unpacking the Progress 90 resupply ship that arrived on Saturday loaded with nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies. After the hatch to Progress 90 was first opened, crew members reported an unusual odor from the spacecraft. Flight controllers on the ground activated air scrubbing equipment as part of normal procedures, indicating that the odor likely was outgassing from materials inside the cargo spacecraft. The crew reported the odor dissipated quickly and cargo transfer operations are proceeding on schedule.
Vagner also cleaned ventilation systems and conducted photography inspections. Gorbunov downloaded radiation data then installed Earth observation hardware to image Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet wavelengths. Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin began his day exploring futuristic spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques, then transferred water from the newly arrived Progress 90, before finishing up in the Nauka science module cleaning fans.
The International Space Station is orbiting slightly higher today after the docked Progress 89 cargo craft fired its engines for three-and-a-half minutes early Monday. The debris avoidance maneuver positioned the orbital outpost farther away from a satellite fragment nearing the station’s flight path.
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.
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