The astronauts onboard the International Space Station are researching how microgravity affects fluid shifts in a crew member’s body. Ground controllers are also guiding Canada’s robotic arm into position before next week’s grapple and release of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
The Fluid Shifts experiment will wrap up operations this week with the crew wearing specialized body suits. The suits, known as Chibis Lower Body Negative Pressure devices, measure how fluids move from the lower body to the upper body while living in space. The research also observes fluid shifts in and out of cells and blood vessels which may impact head pressure potentially affecting vision.
Robotics controllers are remotely guiding the Canadarm2 to the Harmony module where it will grapple Dragon ahead of the spacecraft’s May 11 release and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Yesterday, the controllers surveyed the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’s condition with the Canadarm2 and its cameras.
Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka is on his second mission aboard the space station. His first mission during Expedition 25/26 lasted 159 days. Currently, he is Expedition 47 Flight Engineer and today is his 47th day aboard the orbital lab since his March arrival with fellow crew members Jeff Williams and Alexey Ovchinin.