ISS - Expedition 63 Mission patch.
Oct. 2, 2020
During the week of Sept. 28, crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations, including studies of cardiovascular health and fire safety, and worked on several educational activities. The crew also prepared for arrival of the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter carrying nearly 8,000 pounds supplies and gear including an advanced space toilet and brand-new science experiments.
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:
A better look at arteries
Image above: Hardware for the ECHO investigation set up aboard the space station. ECHO evaluates an ultrasound system controlled from the ground for possible use in future research on changes in blood vessels and the heart that occur in space. Image Credit: NASA.
Multiple studies have revealed that crew members experience stiffening of the arteries during space flight. The Cardiac and Vessel Structure and Function with Long-Duration Space Flight and Recovery (Vascular Echo) is a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) investigation that examines these changes in blood vessels and the heart using several measurements, including ultrasound images. ECHO, a technology demonstration from the European Space Agency (ESA), evaluates a new ultrasound system for future cardiovascular research in space. The ECHO technology is powerful and easy to use. It is operated by controllers on the ground, and crew members need to know only where to place the probe. During the week, crew members worked on installing hard drives for the equipment.
Testing fire safety in space
Image above: This image shows a dome-shaped flame and the burner illuminated in red on the left during a BRE test in an atmosphere of about 30% oxygen. Future crew exploration missions may feature vehicles and habitats at elevated oxygen concentrations, and these conditions present increased fire hazard. Image Credit: NASA.
The Burning Rate Emulator (BRE) fire safety study aims at improving our fundamental understanding of the flammability of certain materials and assesses whether existing flammability test methods are appropriate for low and partial-gravity environments. BRE is conducted in the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) as part of the Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME) project. The crew exchanged a gas chromatograph bottle for conducting the second part of BRE.
Students control robots and cameras in space
Image above: The September 2020 EarthKAM mission produced images of Mexico; Quebec, Canada; and Texas, Nevada, and Missouri in the U.S. This image is of Missouri. Image Credit: EarthKAM.
Educational programs conducted aboard the space station encourage students to study the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and help inspire the next generation of explorers. Crew members worked on two such programs this week: conducting rehearsals for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Robo-Pro Challenge) and activating image collection for the Sally Ride Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools (Sally Ride EarthKAM). Robo-Pro Challenge lets students create programs to control one of the three Astrobee free-flying robots aboard the space station. Through EarthKAM, students use the internet to control a special digital camera and photograph Earth from space. Images of coastlines, mountain ranges, and other geographic items of interest requested by students are posted online. So far, 223 schools representing almost 21,000 students and 33 countries have signed up to request images for the current EarthKAM mission.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
- Radi-N2, a Canadian Space Agency investigation, uses bubble detectors to better characterize the neutron environment on the space station, helping to define the risk it poses to crew members.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=874
- JAXA’s Avatar-X demonstrates remote robot technology by controlling from the ground a camera installed near the window of the Japanese Experiment Module.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8232
- ISS Ham Radio gives students an opportunity to talk directly with crew members via ham radio when the space station passes over their schools. This interaction engages and educates students, teachers, parents, and other members of the community in science, technology, engineering and math.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=337
- Astrobee tests three self-contained free-flying robots designed to assist astronauts with routine chores, give ground controllers additional eyes and ears, and perform crew monitoring, sampling, and logistics management.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891
- Crew members regularly photograph various features and natural events on Earth using digital handheld cameras for the Crew Earth Observations (CEO) investigation. Photographs are publically available at the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth: https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=84
Space to Ground: Influential People: 10/02/2020
Related links:
Expedition 63: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition63/index.html
Vascular Echo: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1664
Burning Rate Emulator (BRE): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7629
Robo-Pro Challenge: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7979
Sally Ride EarthKAM: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=87
Astrobee: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891
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/overview.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Video (NASA), Text, Credits: NASA/Michael Johnson/John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist Expedition 63.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
