ISS - Expedition 62 Mission patch.
April 2, 2020
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA
The International Space Station expanded its research capabilities overnight after robotics controllers installed a new external science platform. Meanwhile, the Expedition 62 crew is packing cargo for return to Earth while getting ready for its own departure.
Europe’s latest contribution to the orbiting lab, Bartolomeo, was attached to the outside of the Columbus laboratory module early Thursday morning. Robotic engineers remotely commanded the Canadarm2 robotic arm and the Dextre robotic hand and completed the fine-tuned installation work over two days. Bartolomeo, delivered last month aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft, gives private and institutional researchers the ability to command and control science payloads outside the space station.
Image above: NASA astronaut Jessica Meir strikes a superhero pose in the weightless environment of the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA.
Commander Oleg Skripochka with NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan are preparing to end their mission in space on April 17. They checked their Sokol launch and entry suits they will wear when they parachute to Earth inside the Soyuz MS-15 crew ship for leaks today. The crew is also gathering personal items for stowage inside the Soyuz spaceship.
Before they leave, the SpaceX Dragon space freighter will return to Earth after being released from the Canadarm2 on Monday at 9:52 a.m. EDT. Meir and Morgan will finish loading over 4,000 pounds of station hardware and research samples, including live mice and plant cells, late Sunday. NASA TV will begin its live coverage of Dragon’s departure on Monday at 9:30 a.m.
Image above: SpaceX's Dragon resupply ship slowly approaches the orbiting lab as both spacecraft were orbiting 258 miles above the Mediterranean Sea Dec. 9, 2019. Filled with more than 4,000 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo, Dragon is now set to leave the International Space Station Monday, April 6. Image Credit: NASA.
The station boosted its orbit again today raising it to the correct altitude enabling the new Expedition 63 crew to launch and dock on April 9 inside the Soyuz MS-16 crew ship. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner will take a six-hour ride to their new home in space and begin a 195-day mission aboard the orbital lab.
Related links:
Expedition 62: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition62/index.html
Expedition 63: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition63/index.html
Bartolomeo: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7799
Columbus laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/europe-columbus-laboratory
Canadarm2: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/mobile-servicing-system.html
Dextre: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/special-purpose-dextrous-manipulator
Live mice: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8150
Plant cells: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8223
NASA TV live coverage: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-tv-to-air-us-cargo-ship-departure-from-space-station-1
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), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
