ISS - Expedition 58 Mission patch.
Feb. 21, 2019
The three crew members living and working aboard the International Space Station were busy last week as they studied how the body responds to microgravity, the use of free-flying robots within the station and how heat, bubbles, and liquid flow work in space.
Image above: An external view of the forward portion of the space station featuring the U.S. Destiny Laboratory, the Harmony Module, JAXA’s Kibo Laboratory, and ESA’s Columbus Laboratory. Image Credit: NASA.
Here are some details about the science conducted last week:
Three crew to be joined by three robots
The station’s three crew members will soon be joined by Astrobee: three free-flying, cube-shaped robots designed to help scientists and engineers develop and test technologies for use in microgravity. These robots will use vision-based navigation to assist the crew with routine chores and give ground controllers additional eyes and ears on the station. The autonomous robots, powered by fans, perform crew monitoring, sampling, logistics management, and may accommodate up to three investigations.
Image above: The crew installed the Astrobee docking station, seen above, in preparation for the robots’ arrival to the orbiting laboratory. Image Credit: NASA.
In preparation for the Astrobee robots, the crew participated in a conference with the developer to discuss details about installing the docking station, a task completed on Friday of this week.
Crew tracks ability to switch between tasks
Crew members are often required to switch their attention from one task to another while working within the orbiting laboratory; however, if they struggle with this shift, performance on the original task and/or the subsequent task can be affected. Team Task Switching studies whether or not crew members have difficulty in switching tasks and determines the impacts of these switches in order to both reduce any negative consequences and improve individual and team motivation and effectiveness.
The crew filled out a Team Task Switching survey in order to track their experiences.
Preparations begin for heat transfer investigation
Boiling normally removes heat by turning liquid into vapor at the heated surface, and that vapor returns to a liquid by way of a condenser, which continues to cycle and make a cooling system. In microgravity, the heat transfer rate used to design cooling systems must be changed because liquid and bubble behavior is drastically different than on Earth. JAXA’s Two Phase Flow investigates the heat transfer characteristics of flow boiling in a microgravity environment and seeks to build a database on the heat transfer efficiency of liquids in space, information that could be used in the design of high-performance thermal management systems for future space platforms.
Animation above: NASA astronaut Anne McClain relocates the hardware for Two Phase Flow, an investigation that examines heat transfer characteristics of flow boiling in a microgravity environment. Image Credit: NASA.
In preparation for Two Phase Flow operations, the crew located the necessary power cables and connection spots and relocated the Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) laptop to the MSPR.
Other work was performed on these investigations:
- The Actiwatch Spectrum is a waterproof, nonintrusive, sleep-wake monitor worn on a crewmember’s wrist to analyze circadian rhythms, sleep-wake patterns and activity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=838
- The Fluid Shifts investigation measures how much fluid shifts from the lower body to the upper body, in or out of cells and blood vessels, and determines the impact these shifts have on fluid pressure in the head, changes in vision and eye structures: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1126
- Students from Alberta, Canada made contact with the space station using the station’s ham radio. ISS Ham Radio (ARISS) engages with and educates students, teachers, parents and other members of the community about science, technology, engineering, and math by providing a means for direct communication between astronauts and ground Ham radio units: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=337
- MARROW looks at the effect of microgravity on bone marrow: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1673
- LMM Biophysics 5 tests whether solution convection – movement of molecules through the fluid – enhances or suppresses formation of the dense liquid clusters from which crystals form: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7742
- Food Acceptability examines changes in how food appeals to crew members during their time aboard the station. Acceptability of food – whether crew members like and actually eat something – may directly affect crew caloric intake and associated nutritional benefits: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7562
- Kubik is a small controlled-temperature incubator or cooler with removable inserts designed for self-contained, automatic microgravity experiments such as those using seeds, cells, and small animals: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=894
Space to Ground: Busy as Astrobees: 02/15/2019
Related links:
Expedition 58: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition58/index.html
Astrobee: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891
Team Task Switching: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7538
Two Phase Flow: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1034
Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1090
Spot the Station: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
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), Animation (mentioned), Video (NASA), Text, Credits: NASA/Michael Johnson/Vic Cooley, Lead Increment Scientist Expeditions 57/58.
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