ISS - Expedition 56 Mission patch.
August 7, 2018
The six-member Expedition 56 crew was busy Tuesday juggling science hardware maintenance and a variety of research work. The orbital residents are also helping students contribute to space research and testing an ancient navigation technique.
Image above: Expedition 56 Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold works with a student-designed experiment using NanoRacks commercial science hardware. The study is researching the impacts of microgravity on tissue regeneration, concrete properties, antibiotics, and growth of plant, fungi, and bacteria. The research introduces students to the principles of space science. Image Credit: NASA.
A cancer study wrapped up last week and astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor stowed the life science gear today used during operations inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. The AngieX Cancer Therapy experiment looked at endothelial cells as a potential test model for developing safer and more effective vascular-targeted drugs. The research samples were sent back to Earth Friday inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft for scientific analysis.
Commander Drew Feustel and Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold are getting a pair of tiny satellites, known as SPHERES, ready for a student competition. Middle school students in the United States are competing to write the best algorithms that will operate the SPHERES simulating a mission on Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
Image above: Flying over North Pacific Ocean, seen by EarthCam on ISS, speed: 27'625 Km/h, altitude: 402,17 Km, image captured by Roland Berga (on Earth in Switzerland) from International Space Station (ISS) using ISS-HD Live application with EarthCam's from ISS on August 7, 2018 at 20:14 UTC. Image Credits: Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
German astronaut Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) explored using a sextant with star maps as an emergency form of navigation in space. The study will provide insights that mission planners will use on future Orion spaceflight missions farther away from Earth.
Related links:
AngieX Cancer Therapy: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7502
SPHERES: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=679
Sextant: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7646
Expedition 56: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition56/index.html
SpaceX Dragon: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/us-cargo-ship-departs-international-space-station-with-critical-scientific-research
Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
