ISS - Expedition 59 Mission patch.
April 15, 2019
Astronauts on the International Space Station completed the third spacewalk since March 22 and continued preparations for resupply ships from both SpaceX and Northrop Grumman carrying important science experiments as part of their cargo.
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA
Here are details on some of the scientific investigations the Expedition 59 crew members conducted in the orbiting lab the week of April 8:
Mission 66 for student photos from space
Image above: An image of the coast of Belize taken in April by the Sally Ride EarthKam aboard the International Space Station. Image Credits: Sally Ride EarthKam Gallery.
The crew performed hardware setup and activation For the Sally Ride Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools (EarthKAM) mission 66. This program allows students to control the special camera aboard the space station to photograph coastlines, mountain ranges and other geographic features on Earth from the unique vantage of space. The EarthKAM team posts these photographs on its website for viewing by the public and participating classrooms around the world. As of last week, sign-up to request images totaled 218 schools representing 24,065 students from 30 countries and submitted image requests numbered 12,668 with 1,968 images downlinked.
Harvest day on the space station
Image above: Pak Choi plants growing in the Vegetable Production System (Veggie) for Veg-03H, a NASA-sponsored experiment exploring how crew members can grow their own food to sustain long-term space missions. Image Credit: NASA.
Crew members harvested Wasabi Mustard Green and Extra Dwarf Pak Choi plants, which began growing on the space station on March 9 for the Veg-03H investigation. The Wasabi grew faster than the Pak Choi and the crew times this harvest to occur before the Wasabi plants flowered, which can change the flavor of the plants. Even though the Pak Choi did not grow as well, investigators can use the data to refine future experiments on plant growth. Organisms from single-celled bacteria to plants and humans all grow differently in space. Crews need to grow their own food on future long-duration space missions and understanding plant response to microgravity is an important step toward that goal.
Keeping astronauts healthier with probiotics
Image above: Sampling sequence for the JAXA Probiotics investigation, which includes 28 days of taking beneficial bacteria or probiotics. Image Credit: JAXA.
The JAXA Probiotics investigation studies the effect of continuous consumption of beneficial bacteria or probiotics on the immune function and intestinal microbiota of astronauts in microgravity. Some species of harmful bacteria grow stronger and more virulent in space, while the human immune system becomes weaker, leading to increased health risks. A crew member collected saliva samples and completed a questionnaire for the investigation last week.
Solid leads on better crystals
The SUBSA investigation crystallizes melts in microgravity to improve understanding of solidification phenomena and crystal production. The crew processed samples of Indium Iodide (InI), which is ideal for these experiments because it is non-toxic, has a relatively low melting point, and does not react with or stick to the silica crucible. This investigation advances the process of fabricating high-quality InI and other crystals on Earth for use as better and less expensive detectors of nuclear radiation.
Image above: NASA astronaut Nick Hague conducting Space Integrated Global Inertial Navigation System (SIGI) 2 GPS Remove and Replace to recover sensors. Image Credit: NASA.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
- 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
- The ISS Experience, a virtual reality film, documents daily life aboard the space station to educate 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
- Airway Monitoring analyzes exhaled air to study airway inflammation in crew members and help maintain crew well-being on future missions: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1067
- Lighting Effects studies the effects that replacing fluorescent light bulbs on the space station with solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has on crew member circadian rhythms, sleep, and cognitive performance: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2013
- Food Acceptability examines changes in the appeal of food aboard the space station during long-duration missions: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7562
- 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
- Cerebral Autoregulation uses non-invasive tests to measure blood flow in the brain before, during, and after a long-duration spaceflight to provide new insights into how the brain safeguards its blood supply in a challenging environment: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1938
Space to Ground: Extended Duration: 04/12/2019
Related links:
Expedition 59: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition59/index.html
EarthKAM: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=87
Veg-03H: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1159
Probiotics: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2047
SUBSA: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=308
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 59/60.
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