Orbiter.ch Space News: Space Station Science Highlights: Week of August 20, 2018

vendredi 24 août 2018

Space Station Science Highlights: Week of August 20, 2018

ISS - Expedition 56 Mission patch.

Aug. 24, 2018

Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted science this week on high-tech fabric, expanding space-based imaging of Earth, growing crystals and more.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA

Looking forward, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) “Kounotori7” HTV-7 cargo ship is scheduled to take supplies to the space station in mid-September and Expedition 56 crew members plan to conduct two spacewalks in late September.

Read more details about the scientific work aboard your orbiting laboratory:

Getting ready for Earth’s close-ups

Crew members installed the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS) onto the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock Sliding Table. Its transfer by the JEM Remote Manipulator System (JECM-RMS) to the Multiple User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES) Platform is planned for next week to allow commissioning and performance verification operations. These are a necessary step before declaring the spectrometer operational for science.

Image above: European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst installs the DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS) on the Airlock Slide Table Install in preparation for operations next week. Image Credit: NASA.

DESIS expands the use of space-based hyperspectral imaging (using the visual to near infrared spectrum) for Earth remote sensing, producing high-value hyperspectral imagery for commercial purposes. After collection, requested images are transferred to the MUSES server for delivery to a hosted cloud for user access. DESIS has a number of commercial and humanitarian applications.

Astronaut exercise wear put to the sweat test

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst wore a special shirt and monitoring equipment during an exercise session using the Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (CEVIS) for two ESA investigations.

One, SpaceTex-2, evaluates a fabric that provides a much higher rate of sweat evaporation and a corresponding higher evaporative heat loss than conventional cotton. Astronauts exercise daily while aboard the space station to prevent cardiovascular deconditioning and its associated health problems. Scientists suspect that lack of gravity impairs natural convective heat transfer from the body surface, affecting the comfort of crew members.

Image above: NASA astronaut Drew Feustel fills a subset of the new PCG card wells. The CASIS PCG 13 investigation seeks to enhance the way crystals are grown in a microgravity environment. Image Credit: NASA.

The other, Metabolic Space, demonstrates a wearable technology that supports cardio-pulmonary diagnosis during physical activities, yet maintains unrestricted mobility for the wearer.

Learning to control complex colloids with temperature

The crew configured the Light Microscopy Module (LMM) in the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR) and installed a sample for Advanced Colloids Experiment-Temperature-2 (ACE-T-2), which looks at the assembly of complex structures from micron-scale colloidal particles. Regulating the temperature enables control of the particle interactions, leading to growth of complex structures.

Image above: External cameras on the International Space Station captured this picture of Hurricane Lane in the Pacific Ocean as it approached Hawaii. Image Credit: NASA.

Colloids consist of small particles suspended in a mixture. The investigation provides a better understanding of how complex interactions lead to complex structures, and the dynamics of the way these structures grow.

Demonstrating crystal growth in real time

The crew performed operations for BioServe Protein Crystallography (BPC-1) this week, observing samples and photographing sample wells using the microscope. BPC-1 seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting protein crystal growth in real time aboard the space station. Crew members can observe crystal formation and adjust for follow-on experiments. This approach optimizes a scientist’s ability to grow crystals in microgravity without having to wait for samples to return to Earth and launch a follow-up investigation.

Swabbing the decks, and the curtains, for science

For the Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST) investigation, crew members swabbed surfaces on the Permanent Multi-purpose Module (PMM) blackout curtain and areas around crew quarters. They stowed the samples in a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The BEST investigation studies using genetic sequencing to identify unknown microbial organisms living on the space station and how humans, plants, and microbes adapt to living in the orbiting laboratory.