Life Science, Spacewalk Preps on Station as Dragon Splashes Down
The Expedition 72 crew continued its life science research and spacewalk preparations on Tuesday as a U.S. resupply spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico. The orbital residents also serviced advanced exercise gear and reconfigured a science airlock on the International Space Station.
NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Nick Hague worked on two different space biology experiments Tuesday each exploring different facets of microgravity's effects on humans. Pettit cleaned up a research incubator that earlier housed biological samples exposed to the stresses of space that cause muscle and bone loss. Those samples have been returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft for analysis. Hague strapped on a sensor-packed headband and vest that recorded his heart and breathing activity as he pedaled on an exercise bike. The data will be downlinked to researchers to learn how the body adapts to microgravity conditions.
Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, joined each other in the Columbus laboratory module and began installing new exercise gear. Combining bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities, the small and compact European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device will be tested for its effectiveness aboard the space station before being used for longer term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Wilmore partnered with Hague near the end of their shift and reconfigured the Nanoracks Bishop airlock. Bishop will be repressurized after being reattached to the Tranquility module following a weekend of transfer activities with the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Bishop had earlier contained the Euro Materials Ageing experiment hardware that was robotically maneuvered to the Bartolomeo research platform attached to the outside of Columbus.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner are nearing a spacewalk that will see the duo remove external science experiments and relocate European robotic arm hardware. The pair organized their spacewalking tools and conducted photographic inspections inside the Poisk airlock where they will exit into the vacuum of space at 10:10 a.m. EST on Thursday. Ovchinin and Vagner will spend about six hour and 40-minutes wearing their Orlan spacesuits while tethered to the outside of the orbital outpost.
Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov split his day on Earth observations and life support maintenance inside the station's Roscosmos segment. Gorbunov tested new imaging hardware in the Nauka science module that can view the effects of natural and man-made disasters on Earth in different wavelengths. The first-time space flyer also worked an orbital plumbing and ventilation system cleaning throughout the day.
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