ISS - Expedition 64 Mission patch.
Apr 16, 2021
Scientific activities conducted aboard the International Space Station the week of April 12 included testing autonomous robots, harvesting leafy green plants, and measuring radiation dose throughout the space station.
Image above: The Nile River, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aqaba, and Mediterranean Sea are pictured in this image taken from the International Space Station as it orbits 263 miles above Egypt. Image Credit: NASA.
Ten crew members currently occupy the station, including the newly-arrived members of Expedition 65, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos. Crew-1, which includes NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, is scheduled to depart the station on Wednesday, April 28. The space station has been continuously inhabited by humans for 20 years, supporting many scientific breakthroughs. The orbiting lab 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.
Image above: NASA astronauts Shannon Walker and Michael Hopkins install temporary sleeping quarters for when as many as 11 crew members briefly occupy the International Space Station. These new Crew Alternate Sleep Accommodations also can be converted to cargo storage racks. Image Credit: NASA.
Here are details on some of the microgravity investigations currently taking place:
Testing robot helpers
The ISAAC investigation demonstrates technology that could enable autonomous robots in human exploration vehicles to track vehicle health, transfer and unpack cargo, and respond to critical faults such as leaks and fires. These robots could perform these and other vehicle and habitat operations on future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as maintain vehicles while astronauts are away for extended periods. Crew members conducted a session during the week.
Bringing in the crop
Image above: This image shows plants from the Veg-03 investigation ready for final harvest. This investigation grew Red Romaine lettuce, Extra Dwarf Pak Choi, and Amara Mustard aboard the space station. Image Credit: NASA.
Plants for two of the Veg-03 groups reached the end of their several-month life cycle, and the crew performed final sample gathering and harvest. This investigation uses plant pillows, low-mass modules that require little energy and maintenance, to cultivate leafy green vegetables including Red Romaine lettuce, Extra Dwarf Pak Choi, and Amara Mustard. It continues efforts using the space station to understand plant response to microgravity, helping to refine the growth media, fertilizers, plant species, materials, and protocols for the pillow concept, so crews can eventually grow plants for food and recreation on long-duration missions.
Pinpointing radiation levels
Image above: The gold cylinder in this image is the Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC) Radiation Detector, one of several radiation measurement devices used for DOSIS-3D. This investigation is creating a 3D map pinpointing the distribution and levels of radiation inside station. Image Credit: NASA.
People in space are exposed to varying levels of radiation, some of which can be harmful to their health. An ESA (European Space Agency) investigation, DOSIS-3D, uses several active and passive detectors to measure radiation doses and create a three-dimensional radiation map covering all sections of the space station. Pinpointing the distribution and levels of radiation helps provide a comprehensive understanding of exposure and could lead to specific recommendations to protect the crew. The experiment also could provide insight into using different devices for monitoring and help protect those exposed to higher than average doses of radiation on Earth, including commercial and military airline crews. Crew members took measurements for DOSIS-3D during the week.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
- Transparent Alloys, a set of five ESA experiments, seeks to improve the understanding of melting-solidification processes in plastics. These studies add to basic knowledge for solidification dynamics and microstructure formation.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8504
- The ESA’s Time Perception investigation quantifies subjective changes in time perception during and after long-duration exposure to microgravity.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7504
- Vascular Echo, a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) experiment, examines changes in blood vessels and the heart during flight and upon return to Earth. Results could provide insight into potential countermeasures to help maintain crew member health and improve quality of life on Earth as well.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1664
- SERFE demonstrates a technology using evaporation of water to remove heat from spacesuits and maintain appropriate temperatures for crew members and equipment during space walks.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7514
- Gecko-Inspired Adhesive Grasping uses the station’s Astrobee robots to test an adhesive for robotic grasping and manipulating, which could allow robots to rapidly and controllably attach to and detach from objects even if they are moving or spinning.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7840
- Antimicrobial Coatings tests a coating to control microbial growth on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, potentially creating new risks to crew health and spacecraft.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8352
- The ESA GRASP investigation examines how the central nervous system integrates information from the senses to coordinate hand movement and visual input, in part to determine whether gravity is a frame of reference for control of this movement.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2038
- RTPCG-2 demonstrates new methods for producing high-quality protein crystals in microgravity for analysis on Earth to identify possible targets for drugs to treat disease.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8073
- Standard Measures collects a set of core measurements from astronauts before, during, and after long-duration missions to create a data repository to monitor and interpret how humans adapt to living in space.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7711
- 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
Space to Ground: Signing Out: 04/16/2021
Related links:
ISAAC: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8427
Veg-03: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/Seven-Ways-the-ISS-Helps-Study-Plant-Growth/
DOSIS-3D: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=177
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/Ana Guzman/John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist Expedition 65.
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