ISS - Expedition 64 Mission patch.
Nov. 20, 2020
The week of Nov. 16, crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations on how microgravity affects body movement and wrapped up another mission taking student-requested photographs of Earth. The crew also set up a virtual reality camera to capture the Nov. 17 arrival of NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker; and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Image above: The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft approaching the International Space Station for docking to the Harmony module's forward port. Image Credit: NASA.
The new crew members are part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which increases the crew time available for science on the orbiting lab. The space station has been continuously inhabited by humans for 20 years and has supported many scientific breakthroughs during that time. The station provides a platform for long-duration research in microgravity and for learning to live and work in space, experience that 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:
Take a virtual spacewalk
During the week, crew members set up and filmed for The ISS Experience. The project is creating an immersive virtual reality (VR) series documenting life and research aboard the space station, using a customized 360-degree camera that arrived in December 2018. An additional camera, launched on the 14th Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft, was modified in order to film a spacewalk from start to finish. It features special design elements to accommodate unique conditions in space, including temperature extremes and variable light exposure due to the multiple sunsets and sunrises the station experiences as it orbits Earth about every 90 minutes. The project also plans to capture footage of Earth and the exterior of the space station for the final episodes of Space Explorers: The ISS Experience. The series, which premiered its first episode this fall on multiple platforms, is a partnership of the ISS National Lab, Time, and Felix and Paul Studios.
Moving around in space
Animation above: NASA astronaut Victor Glover performs a session for the VECTION investigation, which determines how microgravity affects the way astronauts visually interpret their physical motion, orientation, and distance from objects. Animation Credit: NASA.
Understanding the effects of microgravity on body movement is important for astronaut safety and performance in space and on future missions to the Moon and Mars. A Canadian Space Agency (CSA) investigation, VECTION, determines how microgravity affects the way astronauts visually interpret their physical motion, orientation, and distance from objects and how those abilities may adapt in space. Multiple experimental time points inflight and upon return to Earth allows for examining adaptation in space and the recovery process once back in normal gravity. The crew performed sessions for the investigation during the week.
Studying Earth from above
Image above: Taken from the space station as part of EarthKAM Mission 72, this image shows part of Madagascar, Africa. Image Credit: NASA.
Marking the conclusion of another successful mission, the crew stowed hardware for EarthKAM, a project that allows students to photograph and examine Earth from the perspective of space. Students on the ground control a special digital camera on the space station to photograph the Earth's coastlines, mountain ranges, and other geographic items of interest. The EarthKAM team posts the photographs online for viewing by the public and participating classrooms around the world. To date, more than one million students from almost 13,000 schools have requested more than 713,000 images.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
- Avatar-X, an investigation from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), controls a space station camera from the ground to demonstrate remote robotic technology.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8232
- SERFE demonstrates a new water evaporation technology to maintain appropriate temperatures in spacesuits.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7514
- Drop Vibration examines the behavior of big liquid drops when their contact lines move rapidly as drops change shape through merging or due to vibration. These motions are fast and small on Earth but become slower and larger in microgravity, making it possible to observe them more closely.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7681
- STaARs BioScience-12 examines how specific proteins behave under the stress of microgravity and cosmic radiation in an effort to determine how to prevent instability and degradation, potentially supporting better design of biopharmaceuticals.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8169
- Standard Measures collects a set of consistent measurements from U.S. crew members to help characterize the effects of living and working in space on the human body.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7711
Image above: Radish plants grow in the space station’s Advanced Plant Habitat for the Plant Habitat-02 investigation, which determines the effects of space on growth of this model organism. Image Credit: NASA.
- Plant Habitat-02 cultivates radish plants (Raphanus sativus) to determine the effects of space on their growth. This model plant is nutritious, has a short cultivation time, and is genetically similar to Arabidopsis, a plant frequently studied in microgravity.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7793
- Radi-N2, a Canadian Space Agency investigation, uses bubble detectors to map the neutron environment aboard the space station and better define the risk posed to the health of crew members.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=874
- Food Acceptability looks at how the appeal of food changes during long-duration missions. Whether crew members like and actually eat foods directly affects caloric intake and associated nutritional benefits.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7562
- Actiwatch is a monitor worn by a crew member that continuously collects data on circadian rhythms, sleep-wake patterns, and activity during flight, beginning as soon as possible after arrival aboard the station.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=838
Space to Ground: Resilience Rises: 11/20/2020
Related links:
Expedition 64: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition64/index.html
The ISS Experience: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7877
Customized 360-degree camera: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/virtual_reality_camera_captures_life_on_ISS/
ISS National Lab: https://www.issnationallab.org/blog/experience-the-international-space-station-like-never-before/
Time: https://time.com/space-explorers/
Felix and Paul Studios: https://www.felixandpaul.com/?projects/intro
VECTION: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7484
EarthKAM: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=87
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), Animation (mentioned), Video (NASA), Text, Credits: NASA/Michael Johnson/John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist Expedition 64.
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