ISS - Expedition 56 Mission patch.
September 13, 2018
Japan is poised to launch its HTV-7 resupply ship, nicknamed the Kounotori, loaded with over five tons of cargo to the International Space Station on Friday, U.S. time. Back on Earth, a new crew is preparing for its launch from Kazakhstan next month to the orbital lab.
Image above: Astronauts Drew Feustel and Serena Auñón-Chancellor train on a computer in the U.S. Destiny laboratory practicing rendezvous procedures and robotics maneuvers ahead of the arrival of Japan’s HTV-7 resupply ship. Image Credit: NASA.
JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) H-IIB rocket is set to blast off from the Tanegashima Space Center Friday at 4:59 p.m. EDT and send the Kounotori cargo craft on a four-day ride to the station. Commander Drew Feustel and will be in the Cupola Tuesday, with Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor as his backup, to command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the Kounotori at 7:30 a.m. The duo trained Thursday morning on a computer and practiced rendezvous procedures and robotics maneuvers.
More rodent research continued today as four astronauts teamed up to study how microgravity affects the gastroinstestinal systems of mice. In particular, scientists want to know how gut microbes react to the space environment and the impact it may have on astronaut health. Results will help doctors devise plans and treatments to keep astronauts healthy on long-term missions in outer space.
Image above: Sunrise over Japan, seen by EarthCam on ISS, speed: 27'627 Km/h, altitude: 405,80 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 September 13, 2018 at 20:13 UTC. Image Credits: Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Two new Expedition 57 crew members are getting ready for their mission at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Moscow. Alexey Ovchinin from Roscosmos and Nick Nague from NASA are in Russia for qualification exams ahead of their launch and six-hour ride aboard the Soyuz MS-10 crew ship to the station on Oct. 11.
Related article:
NASA to Preview Two International Space Station Spacewalks, Provide Live Coverage
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-preview-two-international-space-station-spacewalks-provide-live-coverage
Related links:
Expedition 56: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition56/index.html
Expedition 57: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition57/index.html
Gastroinstestinal systems of mice: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7425
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) HTV: http://global.jaxa.jp/projects/iss_human/index.html
NASA TV: https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
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.
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