health – Space Station

Crew Studies Fire in Microgravity, Tests a Medical Device, and Transfers Cargo from Dragon

Expedition 67 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins services components that support the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SOFIE) fire safety experiment inside the International Space Station's Combustion Integrated Rack on June 24, 2022. — Expedition 67 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins services components that support the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction (SOFIE) fire safety experiment inside the International Space Station’s Combustion Integrated Rack on June 24, 2022.

The seven-member Expedition-67 crew split their time studying burning in microgravity, space manufacturing, testing an ultrasound device, and more, in addition to conducting some maintenance work aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Watkins focused on setting up the Combustion Integrated Rack inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module to support the operations for the SoFIE-GEL, or Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction – Growth and Extinction Limit, study. The investigation measures the amount of heating in a fuel sample to determine how fuel temperature affects material flammability. Results could improve understanding of early fire growth behavior and help determine optimal fire suppression techniques, improving crew safety in future space facilities.

NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren opened the Cell Biology Experiment Facility to set up the Rodent Research-22 experiment. He also completed a Robotic On-Board Trainer for Research (ROBoT-r) session as part of the Behavioral Core Measures experiment. Later in the day, Lindgren performed the fourth medical technology demonstration of the Butterfly IQ Ultrasound device, focused on testing the effectiveness of a portable ultrasound device used in conjunction with a mobile device in the space environment. Such commercial off-the-shelf technology could provide essential medical capabilities for future deep space exploration missions.

ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti conducted public affairs activities for ESA and moved cargo from the SpaceX CRS-25 Dragon spacecraft. NASA Flight Engineer Bob Hines worked on the Genes in Space-9 investigation, Space Fibers-3 space manufacturing study, and transferred supplies from the Dragon spacecraft.

The station’s three cosmonauts focused mainly on maintenance and exercise. Commander Oleg Artemyev spent his morning searching for leaks in the Zvezda service module while cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov checked the brakes on the European Robotic Arm. Cosmonaut Denis Matveev set up an electrocardiogram for a 24-hour survey of his heart health. He rested for 20 minutes before using the Tranquility module’s advanced resistive exercise device (ARED) to perform exercises such as bench presses, squats, and deadlifts.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Prep for New Research and Orbital Plumbing on Crew’s Monday Schedule

The sun's glint beams off the Caspian Sea in this photograph from the International Space Station as it was orbiting on a southwest to northeast trek 262 miles above Turkey near the Black Sea coast on June 24, 2022. — The sun’s glint beams off the Caspian Sea in this photograph from the International Space Station as it was orbiting on a southwest to northeast trek 262 miles above Turkey near the Black Sea coast on June 24, 2022.

The Expedition 67 crew members kicked off their work week setting up for experiments later in the week and completing orbital plumbing duties.

NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Watkins and ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti supported the Rodent Research-22 experiment. The space biology experiment observes how microgravity affects tissue regeneration.

In the morning, NASA Flight Engineer Bob Hines removed samples of the final Fiber Optic Production-2 space manufacturing study and packed up the hardware. And, in the evening, Hines set up hardware for the new Space Fibers-3 space manufacturing study.

Station Commander Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos worked on the Cardiovector study. Cardiac research is also a space research priority as doctors learn to keep astronauts safe and healthy during long-term exploration missions. Along with Cosmonaut Denis Matveev, Artemyev also stowed the hardware and tools from Thursday’s spacewalk. Cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov checked the brakes on the European Robotic Arm.

NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren was on plumbing duty, servicing the station’s bathroom. He checked drain valves and replaced the recycle tanks. Located in the Tranquility module, the Waste and Hygiene Compartment also recycles urine into drinking water.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Week’s Last CubeSats Deployed as Crew Studies Space Health

CubeSat Deployment — A pair of CubeSats, with the Earth’s limb in the background, is seen moments after being ejected from a small satellite deployer outside of the space station’s Kibo lab module.

The week’s final set of CubeSats were deployed today from outside the Japanese Kibo lab module’s airlock. Inside the International Space Station, the Expedition 51 crew continued exploring microgravity’s effects on muscles, bone cells and vision.

Over a dozen CubeSats were ejected into Earth orbit this week outside the Kibo module to study Earth and space phenomena for the next one to two years. Today’s constellation of tiny satellites will explore a variety of subjects including hybrid, low temperature energy stowage systems and the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere known as the thermosphere.

Commander Peggy Whitson started her morning with eye checks for the Fluids Shifts study to determine how weightlessness affects eyes. That same study is also analyzing the Lower Body Negative Pressure suit for its ability to offset the upward flow of blood and other body fluids possibly affecting crew vision. Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin assisted European astronaut Thomas Pesquet into the unique suit today that draws fluids into the lower body preventing face-swelling and elevated head pressure.

More bone cell samples were inserted into a science freezer during the crew’s afternoon. The samples are part of the OsteoOmics experiment researching the mechanisms that drive bone loss in space. Results may impact therapies benefitting astronaut health and those suffering bone diseases on Earth.

New station crew member Jack Fischer is studying how high intensity, low volume exercise may improve muscle, bone and cardiovascular health in space. He scanned his thigh and calf muscles with an ultrasound device to help doctors understand the impacts of the new exercise techniques.

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Crew Observes Space Effects on Bone Cells and Fluid Shifts

Astronaut Jack Fischer works outside the Japanese Kibo laboratory module during a spacewalk on May 12, 2017.

The Expedition 51 crew members are back at work today on human research after a historic 200^th spacewalk at the International Space Station on Friday. More Cubesats also are being prepared for deployment outside the Japanese Kibo lab module this week.

Commander Peggy Whitson continued studying bone cells using the Microgravity Science Glovebox research facility. She swapped out bone cell samples inside the glovebox and stowed them inside a science freezer to be analyzed later back on Earth. The experiment may help doctors treat bone diseases on Earth and keep astronauts strong and healthy in space.

Flight Engineers Jack Fischer, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Novitskiy tested a unique suit that reverses the upward flow of fluids in an astronaut’s body. Fluid Shifts is a joint NASA-Russian experiment that investigates the causes of lasting physical changes to astronauts’ eyes. Results from this study may help to develop preventative measures against lasting changes in vision and eye damage. Fischer and Novitskiy wore the Lower Body Negative Pressure suit undergoing fluid pressure checks and ultrasound scans. Yurchikhin and ground support personnel assisted the duo.

Fischer started his day loading a CubeSat deployer in the Kibo lab module’s airlock. The deployer will be extended outside the airlock into the vacuum of space and eject more CubeSats studying a variety of Earth and space phenomena.

Get weekly video highlights at: http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Crew Shares New Year’s Wishes, Research Continues

Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti answer questions posed by CBS and BBC reporters on Dec. 30, 2014.

As the crew of the International Space Station prepares to ring in the new year with a fruit juice toast, NASA today released a pre-recorded New Year’s greeting from space for everyone on Earth.

> Watch the Happy New Year message

Expedition 42 Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore of NASA and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency shared their plans for a New Year’s Eve celebration and some resolutions during an interview with CBS News and the BBC.

> Watch the Dec. 30 interview

The crew spent most of its day conducting a variety of experiments, ranging from human life sciences to physics and Earth observations, and threw in a good measure of routine maintenance on station systems.

Cristoforetti set up hardware for eye exams using ocular coherence tomography, which records a detailed 3-D image of the retina and the interior of the eyes, so doctors may look to better understand why some astronauts return to Earth with long-term vision problems. Wilmore then conducted the tests on both Cristoforetti and NASA Flight Engineer Terry Virts.

Wilmore also continued work setting up and conducting experiment runs with the European Space Agency Haptics-1 experiment, using a body-mounted force-feedback joystick and a tablet computer to help scientists learn how people in weightlessness might use such game-like hardware to someday control robots on another planet, moon or asteroid from an orbiting human spacecraft.

Russian cosmonauts Elena Serova, Alexander Samoukutyaev and Anton Shkaplerov spent their day performing station life support system maintenance, testing a procedure for detecting air leaks on the station and conducting a Russian physics experiment on the dynamics of charged particles in space.