Crew Ends Week Closing Out Health Investigations and Completing Training
The seven International Space Station residents are moving into an off-duty weekend following a busy week of crew departures, health investigations, and spacesuit operations. The Expedition 70 crew spent Friday wrapping up procedures that began earlier in the week and completing some SpaceX Dragon training.
Yesterday, first-time station resident Jeanette Epps processed blood samples for the Immunity Assay investigation. The NASA Flight Engineer continued that work into Friday to monitor how spaceflight impacts cellular immune function. After lunch, Epps carried out an experiment to test the efficiency of an antimicrobial coating in space before completing some crew orientation activities as she continues to adjust to living and working in low Earth orbit.
Following yesterday's set up of the Cerebral Autoregulation investigation, Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick measured blood flow in the brain using non-invasive methods to provide researchers insights on how the brain regulates its blood supply in microgravity. For this specific investigation, Dominick used the Cardiolab Portable Doppler, an instrument that measures blood flow velocity to the brain and blood pressure waveforms in the arteries.
The NASA resident then configured the Sleep in Orbit device, which examines the physiological differences between sleep on Earth and in space. The microgravity environment can affect the daily rhythm and sleep patterns of astronauts. Research from Sleep in Orbit could guide the development of measures that mitigate poor sleep and its effects on astronauts as missions stretch further.
Flight Engineers Michael Barratt and Loral O'Hara of NASA both completed a round of SpaceX Dragon rendezvous and docking training on Friday. O'Hara also conducted some maintenance on the BioFabrication Facility and stowed tools she used earlier in the week while configuring spacesuits. Barratt spent the rest of his day inspecting equipment that would be used in the unlikely event an emergency were to occur on station.
In the Roscosmos segment, Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Alexander Grebenkin and Nikolai Chub spent the morning conducting a weekly conference with ground teams. Afterward, Grebenkin replaced some condensate pump lines while Kononenko and Chub teamed up once more to complete another round of eye exams.
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