Month: July 2016

PREPARATION FOR SPACE WALK

NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins work on a pair of U.S. spacesuits in the Quest airlock for upcoming space walk. Credit: NASA TV

Two space suits are being outfitted for a mid-August space walk while other crew members continue various tasks aboard ISS (International Space Station).

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NASA astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins work on a pair of U.S. spacesuits in the Quest airlock for upcoming space walk. Credit: NASA TV

The Expedition 48 crew continued researching how living in space affects the eyes and the brain today. Two NASA astronauts also are getting ready for a mid-August space walk to install a new docking port.

Commander Jeff Williams and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin participated in the Fluid Shifts experiment today. They used an ultrasound scan and a tonometer to monitor the fluid pressure in an astronaut’s head and eyes. Microgravity tends to shift fluids to the upper body increasing pressure in the head with some astronauts experiencing vision problems.

Williams then joined Flight Engineer Kate Rubins in the U.S. Quest airlock to resize a pair of spacesuits. The duo are scheduled for an Aug. 19 space walk to install an International Docking Adapter on the Harmony module.

The adapter will be removed from the SpaceX Dragon Aug. 17 during a six-hour robotic maneuver to place it in installation position. The adapters will enable future commercial crew vehicles from Boeing and SpaceX to dock to the International Space Station.

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for some of NASA’s projects and work. This article and some others were written by NASA and are mostly unedited. We do not claim credit, we simply want to make them more available to the general public.

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SPACE RESEARCH BENEFITS HEALTH

Astronaut Kate Rubins works to set up a new microscope for the Heart Cells research and study. Credit: NASA TV

Heart and DNA Science Research Is Underway At the International Space Station

New heart and DNA research is underway aboard the space station. The Expedition 48 crew shares science in action below.

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Astronaut Kate Rubins works to set up a new microscope for Heart Cells research and study. Credit: NASA TV

New science unloaded from the latest SpaceX Dragon to visit the International Space Station is under way. The variety of new and ongoing space research is designed to benefit life on Earth and astronauts on long duration missions.

Astronaut Kate Rubins, a biological researcher on Earth, is lifting her science expertise to new heights today setting up a microscope in space for the first time. The new microscope will observe heart cells to help doctors understand how the human heart adapts in space and improve crew health.

Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi checked the habitat for the Mouse Epigenetics experiment today. That study is researching how microgravity alters the gene expression in mice and DNA in their offspring.

Commander Jeff Williams joined cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin for ultrasound scans today to investigate how fluids shift from the lower body to the upper body. The study is exploring how these fluid shifts affect fluid pressure in an astronaut’s head and eyes potentially affecting vision.

Cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Anatoly Ivanishin partnered together for a study of the upper body that observes changes in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The research explores breathing and blood pressure in microgravity to maintain the health of crews living in space.

Written By: Mark Garcia NASA

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for some of NASA’s projects and work. This article and some others were written by NASA and are mostly unedited. We do not claim credit, we simply want to make them more available to the general public.

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NEW SCIENCE AND SPACESUITS ON ISS

Astronaut Jeff Williams photographed South African agricultural fields from the space station while new science experiments begin. Credit: @Astro_Jeff

DRAGON HAS BEEN UNLOADED, NEW SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS BEGIN AND A NEW SPACESUIT WILL BE USED

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Astronaut Jeff Williams photographed South African agricultural fields from the space station while new science experiments begin. Credit: @Astro_Jeff

Expedition 48 is moving ahead with preparations for an upcoming spacewalk. New science also is under way aboard the International Space Station after being delivered last week.

A new U.S. spacesuit was unpacked from inside Dragon and will be used during an August spacewalk to install a Commercial Crew docking port. An older U.S. spacesuit will be returned to Earth inside the Dragon for refurbishment.

Housed inside the trunk of the Dragon space freighter is the International Docking Adapter. The new docking adapter will be installed to the Harmony module during next month’s spacewalk. It will enable future crew spacecraft from Boeing and SpaceX to dock to the station.

The new Heart Cells study got under way last week to observe how heart muscle tissue adapts to microgravity. Another life science experiment, Mouse Epigenetics, is being set up this week to explore how living in space affects gene expression. The hardware and mice for both experiments were delivered last week inside Dragon.

Written By: Mark Garcia NASA

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for some of NASA’s projects and work. This article and some others were written by NASA and are mostly unedited. We do not claim credit, we simply want to make them more available to the general public.

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HEART AND DNA STUDIES ON ISS BEGIN

The Sun’s rays illuminate the SpaceX Dragon after it was attached to the International Space Station’s Harmony module. Heart and DNA studies begin on ISS.
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The Sun’s rays illuminate the SpaceX Dragon after it was attached to the International Space Station’s Harmony module. Heart and DNA studies begin on ISS.

The Expedition 48 crew is beginning work on new science delivered aboard the SpaceX Dragon space freighter. More cargo is also being unloaded from the new Russian Progress 64 resupply ship.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins has begun work on the new Heart Cells study that will observe how heart muscle tissue adapts to microgravity. Rubins also partnered with Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi for the Body Measures experiment that researches how the body shape changes in outer space. Onishi later setup Mouse Epigenetics gear that will enable research into genetic expression and DNA in mice and their offspring.

Commander Jeff Williams worked on plumbing activities in the U.S. segment of the International Space Station. He also worked on biological research hardware before moving on to cargo transfers from the new Dragon cargo craft.

Cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Anatoly Ivanishin are unloading gear from the new Progress cargo craft today. The duo also looked at cell cultures for the Kaskad study. Fellow cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka worked on Russian maintenance tasks and joined Ovchinin for the Korrektsiya bone loss study.

Written By: Mark Garcia NASA

UNIVERSAL DIGEST is pleased to be a conduit for some of NASA’s projects and work. This article and some others were written by NASA and are mostly unedited. We do not claim credit, we simply want to make them more available to the general public.

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