ISS - Expedition 61 Mission patch.
Feb. 02, 2020
Scientific investigations taking place aboard the International Space Station the week of Jan. 27 included studies of hardening arteries and recycling in space. NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan and Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) completed the fourth and final spacewalk to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) on Jan. 25 – a record-breaking ninth spacewalk for the Expedition 61 crew – and the Cygnus cargo craft departed the space station on Jan. 31. After its departure, Cygnus used the SlingShot system to deploy eight CubeSats studying different optical and communication technologies as well as atmospheric and natural phenomena.
Space to Ground: Luca's Record: 01/31/2020
Now in its 20th year of continuous human presence, the space station provides a platform for long-duration research in microgravity and for learning to live and work in space. Experience gained on the orbiting lab supports Artemis, NASA’s program to go forward to the Moon and on to Mars.
Here are details on some of the microgravity investigations currently taking place:
Monitoring blood vessel changes
Some crew members returning from their time on the space station have much stiffer arteries than when they went into space. An investigation sponsored by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Vascular Echo, examines changes in blood vessels and the heart while crew members are in space and their recovery after return to Earth. The results could provide insight into potential countermeasures to help maintain the health of crew members in space and to improve quality of life for people on Earth. The crew conducted scans and blood pressure measurements for the investigation during the week.
Recycling in space
Ground teams successfully initiated and completed the first of five sample prints using material already recycled once on the ground for Refabricator. This investigation demonstrates a process for repeated closed-loop recycling of a material for additive manufacturing or 3D printing in space. The technology eventually could allow crews on long space missions to keep reusing waste plastic materials for 3D printing, enabling sustainable fabrication and repair of tools and hardware and reducing waste. Refabricator represents a key component of NASA's In-Space Manufacturing (ISM) technology development.
During the week, the crew also installed hardware for another recycling technology, the Made in Space - Recycler. It creates 3D printer filament from polymer materials and parts that have reached the end of their useful lives. Recycling would reduce the weight and mass of supplies that must be brought into space from Earth, important for deep space missions.
Answering burning questions
Animation above: Image from operations for the Combined Combustion investigation, which studies flame spread in confined spaces, where it may pose a more serious hazard than in open spaces. Microgravity allows scientists to better study the underlying physics of flame spread. Animation Credit: NASA.
The Confined Combustion investigation studies flame spread in confined spaces, specifically the interactions between spreading flames and surrounding walls. Flame spread in spaces such as buildings and vehicles may pose a more serious hazard than it does in open spaces. Because gravity complicates the process of fire growth, microgravity allows scientists to better study the underlying physics of flame spread. Crew members conducted operations for the experiment using different materials and baffle types.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
- Food Acceptability examines the effect of repetitive consumption of the food currently available during spaceflight. “Menu fatigue” from a limited choice of foods over time may contribute to the loss of body mass often experienced by crew members, potentially affecting astronaut health, especially as mission length increases.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7562
- Standard Measures captures an ongoing, optimized set of measures from crew members to characterize how their bodies adapt to living in space. Researchers use these measures to create a data repository for high-level monitoring of the effectiveness of countermeasures and better interpretation of health and performance outcomes.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7711
Image above: NASA astronaut Christina Koch works on the Cold Atom Lab (CAL), which enables research into the quantum effects of gases chilled to nearly absolute zero, colder than the average temperature of the universe. Image Credit: NASA.
- The Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) produces clouds of atoms chilled to temperatures much colder than deep space so scientists can study fundamental behaviors and quantum characteristics that are difficult or impossible to probe at higher temperatures.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7396
- Astronauts show accelerated arterial stiffening, thicker artery walls, and other aging-like changes after spending six months in space. Vascular Aging monitors these changes using artery ultrasounds, blood samples, and other measures to identify risk and possible mechanisms for reducing that risk.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7644
- The ISS Experience creates virtual reality videos from footage taken by astronauts of different aspects of crew life, execution of science and the international partnerships involved on the space station.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7877
- The Structure and Response of Spherical Diffusion Flames (s-Flame), part of the ACME project, advances prediction of the structure and dynamics of soot-free and sooty flames. Results could contribute to engines with improved efficiency and reduced emissions on Earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2063
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1651
Image above: Plant pillows at Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility packed and ready for their upcoming flight on Northrop Grumman’s 13th resupply services (NG-13) mission. The pillows, a common method used to grow plants in space, are part of a series of VEG-03 experiments studying the growth of three types of leafy greens in a microgravity environment. Image Credit: NASA.
- Veggie Monitoring collects microbial samples from the surface of the station’s plant production system to help establish requirements to protect these systems, plants and crew from contamination on future long exploration missions.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7949
Image above: The AstroRad vest floating inside the space station before a crew member puts in on to test fit, range of motion and other factors. The vest could help protect crew members from space radiation on missions to the Moon and Mars. Image Credit: NASA.
- For AstroRad, crew members provide feedback on a vest designed to protect them from radiation caused by unpredictable solar particle events (SPEs), including how easy the vest is to put on, fit and feel, and range of motion allowed.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7803
Related links:
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=729
SlingShot: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7847
Vascular Echo: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1664
Refabricator: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7321
Made in Space - Recycler: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7745
Confined Combustion: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7886
ISS National Lab: https://www.issnationallab.org/
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, Text, Credits: NASA/Carrie Gilder/John Love, Lead Increment Scientist Expedition 61.
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