ISS - Expedition 64 Mission patch.
Jan. 15, 2021
The week of Jan. 11, scientific investigations conducted aboard the International Space Station included studies of perception of motion in microgravity, capturing footage for a virtual reality series about life on station, testing of a new spacesuit cooling system, and monitoring adaptation of the body to space. An upgraded SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule departed the station on Tues. Its historic splashdown off the coast of Florida on Wed., moved to the Gulf of Mexico due to weather, makes possible delivery of science samples back into the hands of researchers in as few as four to nine hours.
Image above: The SpaceX CRS-21 mission Dragon capsule is pictured after splashdown off the coast of Florida. The spacecraft returned more than 4,000 pounds of scientific research and cargo. Image Credit: SpaceX.
Seven crew members currently inhabit the station, including four from NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, providing increased crew time 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:
Sensing motion and distance in space
Changes in an astronaut’s ability to judge body motion and orientation and to estimate distances could have a big effect on performance of their mission activities. The VECTION investigation from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) looks at how changes in gravity affect these abilities as well as how they may adapt in space and upon return to Earth. Virtual reality is used to create simulations of body movement and orientation and present a crew member with images of objects so they can estimate the size and distance away of those objects. Results could help drivers, pilots, and robotic manipulators control vehicles in low-gravity environments. During the week, crew members conducted sessions for the investigation.
Almost like being there
Crew members set up to capture footage for The ISS Experience during the week. This project is creating an immersive virtual reality (VR) series documenting life and research aboard the space station using customized 360-degree cameras, including one modified for filming a spacewalk and the exterior of the space station. Those modifications include elements that 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 first episode of Space Explorers: The ISS Experience premiered in fall 2020 on multiple platforms. The series is a partnership of the ISS National Lab, Time, and Felix and Paul Studios.
Keeping cool on spacewalks
Crew members retrieved samples for the SERFE investigation from cold stowage and packed them for return on the departing SpaceX CRS-21 Dragon cargo capsule. SERFE demonstrates a new technology using evaporative cooling to remove heat from spacesuits and maintain appropriate temperatures for crew members and equipment during space walks. The investigation evaluates the technology’s effect on contamination and corrosion of spacesuit material and seeks to determine whether microgravity affects performance. Results could support improvements to spacesuits for future exploration missions, including better tolerance of water contamination.
Monitoring the human body in space
Monitoring the health of crew members and assessing how spaceflight affects the human body are critical functions to ensure safety and success on current and future missions. Standard Measures and Food Physiology are just two of many investigations that contribute to these functions. Food Physiology determines the effect of dietary improvements on the human immune system and gut microbiome and the ability of those improvements to enhance adaptation to spaceflight. Standard Measures ensures consistent collection of specific data from crew members throughout the space station program in order to characterize the adaptive responses to and risks of living in space. During the week, crew members collected blood samples for these investigations and packed them unfrozen for return to ground teams on the departing Dragon. The teams use these samples to perform different analyses and comparisons to previous samples.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
Image above: NASA astronaut Shannon Walker tends to plants growing inside the Veggie plant growth facility for the Veg-03J space botany study. The investigation is cultivating Extra Dwarf Pak Choi, Amara Mustard, and Red Romaine Lettuce, which are harvested in orbit, with samples returned to Earth for testing. Image Credit: NASA.
- The Veg-03 investigation cultivates various plants using pillows – low-mass modules that require little energy and maintenance – as part of efforts to understand how plants respond to microgravity so crews can eventually grow them for food on long-duration missions.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1159
Image above: NASA astronaut Kate Rubins services samples of microbes for Bacterial Adhesion and Corrosion, an experiment that seeks to understand the microbial risk in a spacecraft environment. Image Credit: NASA.
- Bacterial Adhesion and Corrosion tests an antimicrobial coating on materials used to represent typical surfaces on the space station, which could provide insight into better ways to control and remove resistant biofilms on long-duration spaceflights.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7956
- Rodent Research-23 looks at the function of arteries, veins, and lymphatic structures in the eye and changes in the retina before and after spaceflight in order to clarify whether these changes impair visual function.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8147
- 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
- APM measures and quantifies the concentration of both small and large particles in cabin air as part of efforts to maintain air quality in the occupied environment on station, vital for the crew’s health.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7936
- ACME is a set of six independent studies of gaseous flames. ACME’s goals are to advance fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant production in practical combustion on Earth, and to improve spacecraft fire prevention.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1651
Space to Ground: Science Splashdown: 01/15/2021
Related links:
Expedition 64: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition64/index.html
Commercial Crew Program: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html
VECTION: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7484
The ISS Experience: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7877
ISS National Lab: https://www.issnationallab.org/blog/experience-the-international-space-station-like-never-before/
Time: https://time.com/space-explorers/
Standard Measures: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7711
Food Physiology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7870
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 64.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
