Orbiter.ch Space News: Space Station Science Highlights: Week of June 18, 2018

mardi 26 juin 2018

Space Station Science Highlights: Week of June 18, 2018

ISS - Expedition 56 Mission patch.

June 26, 2018

Scientific operations continued aboard the International Space Station as crew members finished up post EVA (spacewalk) activities. Soon, new hardware, supplies and research materials will be delivered aboard the SpaceX CRS-15 Dragon.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA

Here are more details on some of the science that happened this week aboard your orbiting laboratory:

New sensor installed in preparation for investigation

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) MagVector investigation studies how Earth’s magnetic field interacts with an electrical conductor. Using extremely sensitive magnetic sensors placed around and above a conductor, researchers gain insight into ways that the magnetic field influences how conductors work. This research not only helps improve future experiments aboard the station and other electrical experiments, but it could offer insights into how magnetic fields influence electrical conductors in general, the backbone of our technology on Earth.

Image above: Eurpoean Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst performs the GRASP experiment, which studies how the body adapts to the microgravity environment. GRASP uses virtual reality headsets as a way to understand how important gravity is, compared to the other senses, when reaching for an object. Image Credit: NASA.

Last week, crew installed a 3D sensor array in preparation for upcoming runs of the investigation.

Cultural questionnaire completed by crew members

The station serves as home, office and recreation room for astronauts. They share this confined space far above the Earth with crew members from different countries and cultures for as long as six months or more. At the same time, maintaining individual well-being and crew harmony is important for the crew and mission success.

The Culture, Values, and Environmental Adaptation in Space (At Home In Space) investigation, sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency, looks at changes in perceptions about home in space and the ways a unique culture may develop aboard the station during a mission.

Last week, crew members completed At Home in Space questionnaires to be analyzed by researchers.

Plants undergo thinning activities

Understanding how plants grow and thrive in harsh environments, both on Earth and in space, is important for advancements in agriculture. The Advanced Plant Habitat Facility (Plant Habitat) is a fully-automated facility used to conduct plant bioscience research and provides a large, enclosed, environmentally-controlled chamber aboard the space station.

Image above: NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold performs plant thinning operations for the Plant Habitat-1 investigation. Image Credit: NASA.

The Plant Habitat-1 compares differences in genetics, metabolism, photosynthesis, and gravity sensing between plants grown in space and on Earth. This investigation provides key insights on major changes occurring in plants exposed to microgravity. The investigation began with the growth of Arabidopsis, small flowering plants related to cabbage and mustard. Arabidopsis is of particular interest because it contains the thale cress, a model organism and the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced. Last week, thinning activities were performed on the plants before being placed into single foil packs and inserted into MiniCold bags.

Space to Ground: Clearing the Cosmos: 06/22/2018