Space Station

The Expedition 71 crew is getting ready for a spacewalk on Thursday while finishing payload operations inside a U.S. cargo craft before its return to Earth. The International Space Station residents also investigated antibiotic resistance and participated in a cardiorespiratory study on Wednesday.

Two cosmonauts will exit the orbital outpost’s Poisk airlock at 10:55 a.m. EDT on Thursday for a planned seven-hour spacewalk. Station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub will work outside in the vacuum of space to install hardware and science experiments on the station’s Roscosmos segment. The duo from Roscosmos spent Wednesday finalizing their procedure reviews and completing checks and component installations on their Russian Orlan spacesuits.

Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin joined his cosmonaut crewmates for the procedure reviews and installed radiation detectors on the duo’s spacesuits. Grebenkin will be on duty Thursday helping Kononenko and Chub in and out of their Orlan spacesuits and monitoring them while they work outside the space station.

Watch the year’s first spacewalk live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app beginning at 10:30 a.m. Coverage also will air live on NASA Television, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Meanwhile, in the opposite side of the station, the astronauts are packing the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with completed experiments and their research samples for return and analysis back on Earth. NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Matthew Dominick removed science freezers containing the critical science from inside the station and transferred them to Dragon for stowage. NASA Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Jeanette Epps assisted with the experiment loading and prepared more research hardware that will soon carry biology samples back to the planet.

Earlier, Dyson pedaled on an exercise cycle while attached to sensors measuring how heart activity and breathing in microgravity affects a crew member’s blood pressure. After Dominick wrapped up his cargo activities, he serviced cardiac tissue samples printed inside the BioFabrication Facility and loaded them inside a MERLIN research incubator.

Barratt and Epps spent half the day exploring why microbes are more resistant to antibiotics in space. Barratt worked in the Kibo laboratory module processing bacteria samples in the Life Science Glovebox. Epps selected some of those bacteria colonies then moved into the Harmony module and extracted DNA from the samples for genomic analysis. Results may help researchers understand how bacteria adapts to weightlessness and develop ways to protect space crews and humans on Earth.

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The Expedition 71 crew kicked off a busy schedule on Monday exploring ways to treat neurological diseases while gearing up for a spacewalk planned for Thursday. Cargo operations are also picking up as a U.S. cargo craft gets ready for its departure from the International Space Station.

Researchers use the orbital outpost’s weightless environment to gain insights impossible to achieve on Earth’s surface. Results extrapolated from the space investigations can be applied not only to promoting living in space for crews but also improving health and industry on Earth for humans.

On Monday, NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt took turns processing brain organoid samples for a neurodegenerative disorder study. Dyson first serviced the specimens and injected a drug treatment into the sample cultures for a microscopic analysis of the therapy’s ability to counteract the effects of microgravity. Barratt processed the samples at the end of the day preparing them for stowage and later analysis. Doctors will use the results to learn how protect a crew member’s central nervous system and provide treatments for neurodegenerative conditions on Earth.

The duo then joined fellow NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps and helped pack the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with cargo ahead of its targeted undocking on Friday, April 26. Soon the crewmates will begin concentrating on stowing completed science experiments, including the brain organoid study, and their critical research samples inside Dragon for the ride back to Earth and analysis in laboratories.

Station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub are getting ready for the year’s first spacewalk at the orbital lab set to begin at 10:55 a.m. EDT on Thursday. The duo tried on their Orlan spacesuits today checking for pressure leaks and testing their communications and medical systems. The cosmonauts will spend about seven hours in the vacuum of space configuring hardware and installing experiments on the Roscosmos segment of the space station.

Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin assisted his cosmonaut crewmates helping the duo in and out of their Orlan spacesuits and checking the suits’ components and batteries. Grebenkin then spent the rest of Monday servicing Roscosmos life support hardware and ventilation systems.

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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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Biomedical duties to understand how space affects the human body and develop ways to treat microgravity-induced conditions were the prime research objectives for the Expedition 71 crew on Friday. The orbital residents also continued loading a U.S. cargo craft for its upcoming departure and preparing for a spacewalk at the International Space Station.

Living long-term in the weightlessness environment creates fluid shifts and blood pressure issues that doctors seek to address and promote crew health. The astronauts use a variety of biomedical tools collect their health data and monitoring how their body adapts to microgravity.

One of the most visible symptoms of living in space is a condition called “puffy face.” This is a result of body fluids moving toward a crew member’s head due to microgravity. Astronauts have reported this condition may also cause internal head and eye pressure affecting vision. A new thigh cuff, similar to a blood pressure cuff, is being tested for its ability to prevent space-caused fluid shifts toward an astronaut’s head. NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps partnered together for that investigation performing chest scans with the Ultrasound 2 device, measuring blood pressure, and conducting eye exams. Doctors are exploring if the thigh cuff can be worn in space to counteract the headward fluid shifts for healthier crews.

NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson attached electrodes to herself, wore a sensor-packed cap, and operated a portable ultrasound device on Friday. She was measuring her brain blood flow and blood pressure simultaneously. Scientists are studying how the brain regulates blood flow in weightlessness potentially revealing new therapies for spaceflight-induced and Earthbound blood pressure conditions.

NASA astronaut Mike Barratt spent all day Friday tending to mice living in rodent habitats located in the Destiny laboratory module. He refilled food and water and cleaned the habitats where the mice are being treated with a gene therapy that may improve eye health in space.

All four NASA astronauts will go into the weekend readying the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft for its undocking scheduled for April 26. The quartet has been taking turns all week transferring cargo in and out of Dragon. Next week, the NASA foursome will be making room inside the spacecraft and packing finalized experiments that will be returned to Earth for analysis.

Spacewalk preparations were underway once again in the Roscosmos segment of the orbital laboratory. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub checked their Orlan spacesuits for leaks, tested their suits’ communications and medical components, and reviewed procedures to ready the Poisk airlock for their April 25 spacewalk. The duo will exit the station for seven hours of hardware installation work on the Poisk module.

Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin joined his Roscosmos crewmates on Friday afternoon for the Poisk airlock procedure reviews. He started his day pedaling on a treadmill for a periodic fitness evaluation. Grebenkin completed his shift after practicing futuristic spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques that may be used on planetary missions.

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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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The Expedition 71 crew had its hands full on Thursday with a multitude of research activities filling the schedule. The orbital septet also continued gearing up for next week’s spacewalk amidst ongoing cargo operations aboard the International Space Station.

Advanced space science is continually taking place aboard the orbital outpost with the experiments being run by astronauts, remotely controlled by researchers on the ground, or autonomously operated. The equipment housing and powering the research also requires constant monitoring and maintenance ensuring high quality results that provide valuable insights into microgravity phenomena.

NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Tracy C. Dyson split their schedule on Thursday servicing hardware supporting a pair of different investigations. Epps began her day in the Kibo laboratory module cleaning components and swapping samples inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace. The high temperature research device explores the thermophysical properties of materials difficult to observe in Earth’s gravity environment. Next, Dyson set up biomedical hardware she will use on Friday to measure how the brain regulates blood flow in the absence of gravity. Results may lead to new therapies and countermeasures for spaceflight-induced and Earthbound blood pressure conditions.

NASA Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Matthew Dominick spent their morning supporting two space biology investigations looking at separate but critical phenomena. Barratt attached electrodes to his chest and used an ultrasound device to scan his vascular system with remote guidance from doctors on Earth. The medical data is being used to assess the cardiovascular risk of living in space and is one part of the CIPHER human research study. Dominick swabbed surfaces throughout the station’s U.S. segment collecting microbe samples for analysis. The specimens will be treated on the orbital lab and examined on Earth to determine microbial resistance to antibiotics and the risk to crew health.

Dominick then partnered up with Barratt mid-afternoon testing portable breathing gear. At the end of the day, Dominick joined Dyson and swapped cargo in and out of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Dragon is due to complete its cargo mission and depart the station on April 26. Dyson earlier collected microbe samples for incubation and analysis. Epps wrapped up her shift installing a computer with a camera pointed out a window in the Destiny laboratory module for Earth observations.

Spacewalk preparations have been well underway this week as cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub get ready for a seven-hour excursion to swap hardware outside the space station on April 25. The Roscosmos duo began the day pedaling on an exercise cycle for a pre-spacewalk fitness evaluation. Afterward, the crewmates checked their Orlan spacesuit systems and components inside the Poisk airlock.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin remained focused on life support maintenance and orbital plumbing tasks in the cosmonaut’s portion of orbital outpost. Later in the afternoon, he participated in the spacewalk preparations staging standard medical equipment and tools in Poisk.

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Cargo operations and spacewalks preparations topped the schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 71 crew members also worked on biomedical research and reviewed procedures for a simulated emergency.

NASA astronauts Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt kicked off their day swapping cargo in and out of the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft that arrived at the orbital outpost on March 23. Afterward, NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps took over the cargo transfers and wrapped up the work before lunchtime. Dragon is due to undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing port and return to Earth at the end of the month.

The quartet regrouped in the afternoon and participated in a pair of space biology activities to help doctors understand how the human body adapts to weightlessness. First, Barratt operated the Ultrasound 2 device and scanned Dyson’s neck, shoulder, and leg veins as part of regularly scheduled medical checkups. Barratt then joined Dominick and Epps to try on and test a garment that may help crews adjust quicker to the return to Earth’s gravity after a long-term space mission. The threesome then measured the circumference of the waist and right leg during the garment fit check.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub continue preparing for this year’s first spacewalk. The duo from Roscosmos were once again collecting tools, configuring spacesuits, and readying the Poisk airlock for their planned seven-hour spacewalk scheduled for April 25. The pair also took turns during the morning wearing a cap packed with sensors while practicing on a computer futuristic spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques that may be used on planetary missions. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin worked throughout the day servicing a variety of life support hardware and video gear in the space station’s Roscosmos segment.

At the end of the day, all seven orbital residents gathered together and watched a video describing the operation of emergency simulation software. Next, the crewmates familiarized themselves with emergency hardware, such as breathing masks, and procedures, including closing hatches and evacuation paths.

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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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The Expedition 71 crew members continued ongoing biology and physics research, as well as spacewalk preparations on Tuesday. The seven International Space Station residents also kept up more CubeSat work, cargo operations, and lab maintenance throughout their shifts.

Eye checks were on the schedule Tuesday as NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt contributed to the CIPHER human research study. The duo participated in a pair of eye exams looking at the retina and optic nerve for one portion of the investigation that examines ocular structure and function in microgravity. Results may inform countermeasures that protect an astronaut’s vision on long-term space missions farther away from Earth.

Dyson earlier replaced cardiac cell samples inside the Advanced Space Experiment Processor, a research incubator, that were printed using the BioFabrication Facility. Barratt installed a small satellite orbital deployer into the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock. The Japanese robotic arm will grapple the deployer and point it away from the station where it will release a series of CubeSats into Earth orbit for scientific and technology research.

NASA Flight Engineers Jeanette Epps and Matthew Dominick joined each other during the afternoon finalizing hardware swaps inside the Cold Atom Lab. During the installation work the duo also cleaned filters and checked power readings on the research device that observes the quantum behavior of atoms chilled to near absolute zero.

Dominick began his day processing blood samples with Dyson spinning them in a centrifuge for later analysis. The duo later took turns transferring cargo in and out of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub continue preparing for an April 25 spacewalk that will see the Roscosmos duo work outside in the vacuum of space for about seven hours. The two crewmates spent the afternoon gathering spacewalking tools and preparing their Orlan spacesuit components for upcoming operations. During the morning, the pair took turns studying spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques that may be used on future planetary missions.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin spent the majority of his day servicing life support components inside the Zvezda service module. At the end of the day, Grebenkin moved to the Tranquility module and worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device for an exercise evaluation.

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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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