ISS - Expedition 60 Mission patch.
August 22, 2019
Russia’s uncrewed Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station following its launch just a few hours after Wednesday’s spacewalk. The Expedition 60 crew is back on a full science schedule today and preparing to send a U.S. cargo craft back to Earth.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan called down to Mission Control today to discuss yesterday’s spacewalk when they installed the station’s second commercial crew vehicle docking port, the International Docking Adapter-3. The duo, including NASA Flight Engineer Christina Koch, talked about normal technical issues and task challenges they faced before, during and after the spacewalking job.
Image above: NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan is pictured working outside the International Space Station during a six-hour and 32-minute spacewalk to install the orbiting lab’s second commercial crew vehicle docking port, the International Docking Adapter-3. Image Credit: NASA TV.
Koch spent most of Thursday tending to lab mice living aboard the station. Scientists seek therapeutic insights not possible on Earth by observing the rodents due to their genetic similarity to humans.
Hague spent a portion of his day contributing to experiments designed by middle and high school students researching a variety of space phenomena. Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) continued exploring ways to manufacture safer, more fuel-efficient tires before moving on to more cell differentiation research.
Image above: A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft approaches the International Space Station July 27, 2019, on the company's 18th cargo delivery to the space station as it orbits 265 miles above the Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of Namibia. Image Credit: NASA.
Morgan is preparing the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft for its return to Earth next week. The crew will be packing Dragon over the weekend and into Monday with the results of numerous space experiments for analysis. Robotics controllers will command the Canadarm2 to release Dragon from its grips on Tuesday at 10:42 a.m. EDT. It will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California a few hours later for retrieval by SpaceX personnel.
The first unpiloted Soyuz spacecraft launched yesterday from Kazakhstan about nine hours after Hague and Morgan completed their spacewalk. The Soyuz MS-14 is orbiting Earth today headed toward the station following a successful 2.1a booster test during its ascent. Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Alexander Skvortsov will monitor its automated approach and rendezvous when it docks Saturday to the Poisk module at 1:31 a.m. EDT.
Artemis Program Identity Makes Its Debut in Space
During a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Aug. 22, astronaut Nick Hague debuted the Artemis program identity in space. Hague and fellow crewmember Andrew Morgan installed the second International Docking Adapter on the complex to enable commercial spacecraft from Boeing and SpaceX to carry astronauts to the station.
The work happening now is paving the way for the future. We are going to the Moon to stay, by 2024. NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program will send the first woman and the next man to surface of the Moon within five years, and prepare for human exploration of Mars.
For more information about NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration plans, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/moontomars
Related articles:
NASA TV to Air US Cargo Ship Departure from Space Station
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-tv-to-air-us-cargo-ship-departure-from-space-station
Uncrewed Soyuz Rocket Launches on Two-Day Trip to Station
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/08/uncrewed-soyuz-rocket-launches-on-two.html
Related links:
Expedition 60: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition60/index.html
Artemis: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
NASA TV: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public and https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive
Spacewalk: https://go.nasa.gov/2Z4QDqh
International Docking Adapter-3: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/meet-the-international-docking-adapter
Lab mice: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/search.html?#q=rodent+research&i=&p=&c=&g=&s=
Variety of space phenomena: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8060
Manufacture safer, more fuel-efficient tires: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7716
Cell differentiation: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7653
SpaceX Dragon: https://go.nasa.gov/2YqDfHE
Canadarm2: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/remote-manipulator-system-canadarm2/
Poisk module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/poisk-mini-research-module-2
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/Sarah Loff.
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