ISS - Expedition 59 Mission patch.
March 26, 2019
Last week on the International Space Station, Expedition 58 crew members were joined by those of Expedition 59. Once again at a full complement of six, the crew conducted science experiments and prepared for the first of three planned space walks. It took place on Friday, with NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nick Hague performing battery upgrade work.
Image above: NASA astronaut Christina Koch wears a virtual reality headset for the Vection study to explore how microgravity affects an astronaut's perception of motion, orientation, and distance. Image Credit: NASA.
Read more about some of the science conducted during the week of March 18 on the space station:
Blood samples help battle bone loss
The crew collected blood samples for the JAXA Medical Proteomics investigation. It evaluates changes in proteins in blood serum, bone, and skeletal muscles after space flight, and supports identification of those related to osteopenia or early bone loss. Data from the space-flown mice helps clarify the relationship between osteopenia in microgravity and osteoporosis on the ground. Use of these marker proteins may benefit future assessment of the health of astronauts and osteoporosis patients on Earth.
Detecting neutrons aboard the space station
RADI-N2, a Canadian Space Agency investigation, seeks to characterize the neutron environment aboard the space station, define the risk it poses to the crew, and provide data to develop better protective measures for future spaceflights. Neutrons make up 10 to 30 percent of the biologically effective radiation exposure in low-Earth orbit. The bubble detectors used in the investigation detect only neutrons and ignore all other types of radiation. This week, the crew deployed six detectors in the NOD3F3 Rack, one in the crew member sleeping area, and one in a pouch worn by the crew.
Visual perception in space
The crew performed experiment sessions for Vection this week. These sessions include three tasks: orientation perception, relative height or motion processing, and depth perception or vection (the visual illusion that makes someone think they are moving when they are actually still but can see the world moving past them).
Animation above: NASA astronaut Christina Koch wears a virtual reality headset for the Vection study. Image Credit: NASA.
Results help determine how microgravity may disrupt an astronaut's ability to visually interpret motion, orientation, and distance. It also looks at how that ability may adapt during space travel and then change upon return to Earth, using multiple experimental time points during flight and post-flight.
Students talk to astronauts
North Point School for Boys in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where students range from kindergarten to ninth grade, spoke with the crew during an Amateur Radio on ISS or ISS HAM contact. Students asked questions about astronaut training, their daily routines, and Extravehicular Activity (EVA) activities or spacewalks. ISS Ham Radio engages students, teachers, parents and other members of the community in science, technology, engineering and math through direct communication between astronauts and ground HAM radio units.
Image above: close up of plant seedlings that have sprouted and started growing inside a cushioned “plant pillow”. A crew member adds water to a VEG-03H small plant pillow. This investigation uses the Veggie plant growth facility to cultivate Extra Dwarf Pak Choi and Wasabi mustard for harvest on-orbit, one step closer to growing food in space for long-duration missions. Image Credit: NASA.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
- The Behavioral Core Measures investigation analyzes whether a standardized suite of measurements can rapidly and reliably assess the risk of adverse cognitive or behavioral conditions and psychiatric disorders during long-duration spaceflight: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7537
- Standard Measures captures a consistent, optimized, and minimal set of measures from crew members throughout the ISS Program in order to characterize adaptive responses to and risks of living in space: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7711
- Time Perception 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. This week’s footage included docking of the Soyuz: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7877
- Future long-duration space missions will require crew members to grow their own food, and Veg-03H uses the Veggie plant growth facility to cultivate Extra Dwarf Pak Choi and Wasabi mustard for harvest on-orbit: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1159
- 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
- Lighting Effects studies the effects of replacing fluorescent light bulbs on the space station with solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2013
- The long-term Marrow study looks at the negative effects of microgravity on the bone marrow and the blood cells it produces: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1673
Space to Ground: Stepping Out: 03/22/2019
Related links:
Expedition 59: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition59/index.html
JAXA Medical Proteomics: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7590
RADI-N2: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=874
Vection: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7484
ISS HAM: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=337
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/Jorge Sotomayor, Lead Increment Scientist Expeditions 58/59.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
