ISS - Expedition 65 Mission patch.
May 3, 2021
The seven-member Expedition 65 crew aboard the International Space Station will be orbiting Earth until October after watching the SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts depart over the weekend. The five astronauts and two cosmonauts staying behind prepared for the next SpaceX Cargo mission and researched a variety of space phenomena today.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting June 3 for the launch of the next Cargo Dragon mission to resupply the orbital lab. NASA Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough and station Commander Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency began getting the station ready for the upcoming space shipment. The duo organized the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the Kibo laboratory module today to make room for the new cargo.
Image above: NASA astronaut Megan McArthur is at the robotics workstation participating in Canadarm2 robotic arm training. Image Credit: NASA.
Monday’s science activities ran the gamut of robotics, human research and drug development. Research on the orbiting lab can improve the health of humans on and off the Earth, benefit a range of industries, and advance the commercialization of space.
The Astrobee robotic assistants were flying around inside Kibo testing automated rendezvous techniques as Kimbrough monitored the activities. Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency wore a virtual reality headset and reached for virtual objects to help scientists understand how weightlessness affects the central nervous system.
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA
NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur cleaned up the Microgravity Science Glovebox after closing out the Transparent Alloys physics study. Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei of NASA checked out emergency hardware then set up gear for an immune system study that may promote the development of new vaccines and drugs to treat diseases.
Related article:
NASA Invites Media to Next SpaceX Cargo Launch to Space Station
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-invites-media-to-next-spacex-cargo-launch-to-space-station
Related links:
Expedition 65: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition65/index.html
Permanent Multipurpose Module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/permanent-multipurpose-module
Kibo laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/japan-kibo-laboratory
Astrobee: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7841
Central nervous system: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=2038
Microgravity Science Glovebox: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=341
Transparent Alloys: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8215
Immune system study: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7818
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
Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
