ISS - Expedition 58 Mission patch.
March 18, 2019
The Expedition 58 crew of the International Space Station had days off on Monday and Friday last week, resting up from several very busy previous weeks that included arrival and departure of the SpaceX Demo-1 craft, preparations for upcoming space walks, receiving new crew members, and conducting science experiments.
Image above: The Expedition 59 crew, including Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Christina Koch arrived at the space station this week. Image Credit: NASA.
On Friday, March 14, at 3:14 pm EDT, the Expedition 59 crew, including Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Christina Koch, launched to the space station, docking there approximately six hours later.
Read more about some of the science conducted on the space station during the week of March 11:
Protecting computers from space radiation
Crew replaced a power inverter for Spaceborne Computer, a yearlong experiment testing high-performance, off-the-shelf computer systems on the space station. The investigation verifies that lowering their power and, therefore, speed can enable these systems to continue to operate correctly during high radiation events. This may help scientists identify ways to use software rather than expensive, time-consuming or bulky protective shielding to protect computers from space radiation.
Salads in space
Image above: Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques plants seeds for the Veg-03H investigation. Image Credit: NASA.
The crew performed several activities for Veg-03-H, a plant growth experiment using plant pillows containing Wasabi Mustard Green and Extra Dwarf Pak Choi seeds. Future crews need to be able to grow their own food on long-duration space missions, and understanding how plants respond to microgravity is an important step toward that goal. Veg-03-H uses the Veggie plant growth facility and harvests plants on-orbit.
Resetting the biological clock of astronauts
To conclude the current experiment run of Circadian Rhythms, crew removed, cleaned and stowed the equipment. This investigation looks at the role of circadian or daily rhythms and how they change during long-duration spaceflight, when astronauts experience a cycle of light and dark that does not conform to the usual 24 hours on Earth.
International Space Station (ISS). Image Credit: NASA
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
- The Actiwatch waterproof, nonintrusive, sleep-wake activity monitor worn on the wrist of a crewmember collects data to help determine if space travel has an impact on the sleep-wake patterns of crewmembers: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=362
- Time Perception in Microgravity quantifies the subjective changes in time perception that people experience during and after long-duration exposure to microgravity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7504
- A virtual reality film documenting daily life aboard the space station, ISS Experience educates a variety of audiences about life aboard the orbiting lab and science conducted there: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7877
- The Team Task Switching investigation examines whether crew members have difficulty switching tasks and determines the effects of these switches in order to both reduce any negative consequences and improve individual and team motivation and effectiveness: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7538
- The Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) includes an optics bench, combustion chamber, fuel and oxidizer control, and five different cameras for performing combustion investigations in microgravity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=317
Space to Ground: Fire in the Sky:03/15/2019
Related links:
Expedition 58: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition58/index.html
Expedition 59: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition59/index.html
Spaceborne Computer: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2037
Veg-03-H: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1159
Veggie: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=374
Circadian Rhythms: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=869
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), Video (NASA), Text, Credits: NASA/Michael Johnson/Jorge Sotomayor, Lead Increment Scientist Expeditions 58/59.
Greetings, Orbiter.ch
