ISS - Expedition 65 Mission patch.
May 7, 2021
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted research during the week of May 3 that included studies of how space affects the human immune system and solidification of alloys in microgravity. The crew also worked on a computing competition for European students.
Image above: This image taken from the space station shows the visible plasma trail as SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience reenters Earth's atmosphere. A few minutes later, astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida. Image Credit: NASA.
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.
Here are details on some of the microgravity investigations currently taking place:
Examining immune response
Image above: NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei performs operations for Celestial Immunity, an investigation that evaluates the effects of gravity on the human immune response. Image Credit: NASA.
Celestial Immunity evaluates the effects of gravity on functional immune response using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). It builds on earlier space station studies that evaluated the function of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, extending the observation period from hours to days and expanding the analysis to an array of activated immune pathways. Celestial Immunity also examines the role of age in regulating immune pathways by evaluating cells from both elderly and younger adult donors. On Earth, gravity, convection, and buoyancy interfere with cell behavior in laboratory-based studies, but microgravity eliminates these factors. Results could support development of new vaccines and drugs to prevent and treat existing and emerging human diseases. During the week, crew members performed preparation and initiated the investigation’s three-week run.
Bonding with brazing
SUBSA-BRAINS examines the mechanisms behind solidification of brazing alloys in microgravity. Brazing is a method used to bond similar materials, such as an aluminum alloy and aluminum, or dissimilar ones, such as an aluminum alloy and ceramics, at temperatures above 450°C. It could provide a tool for constructing human space habitats and manufactured systems and for repairing space vehicles and habitats damaged by micrometeoroids or space debris. The flow of the brazing liquid is controlled by gravity on Earth, but further analysis is needed to determine how the process behaves in microgravity. The crew set up hardware and conducted operations for the investigation during the week.
Computer competition for students in Europe
Image above: These two AstroPi computers on the space station are part of an ESA competition to encourage and strengthen the teaching of computing and coding and motivate students to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Image Credit: NASA.
For AstroPi, two augmented Raspberry Pi computers flew to the space station as part of ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Tim Peake’s mission in 2015 and 2016. The computers are equipped with hardware that measures the space station environment, detects how the station moves through space, and picks up the Earth’s magnetic field. One of the computers carries an infrared camera and the other a standard visible spectrum camera. ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet currently is coordinating an education program for schools across Europe to compete on a number of thematic software and hardware challenges using the computers. These challenges address diverse needs in the space industry such as survival in the space environment, measurement and calibration, hardware re-configurability, and image processing. The project encourages and strengthens the teaching of computing and coding and motivates students to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
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
- For Story Time from Space, crew members read children's books and complete simple science experiments, helping to inspire interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1152
- 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
- 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
- Myotones, an investigation from ESA, observes the biochemical properties of muscles during long-term spaceflight using specific biomarkers.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7573
- 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 Physiology examines the effects of an enhanced spaceflight diet on immune function, the gut microbiome, and nutritional status indicators, with the aim of documenting how dietary improvements may enhance adaptation to spaceflight.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7870
- ISS Ham Radio provides students, teachers, parents, and others the opportunity to communicate with astronauts using HAM radio units. Before a scheduled call, students learn about the station, radio waves, and other topics, and prepare a list of questions on topics they have researched.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=337
Space to Ground: Astro Beekeeping: 05/07/2021
Related links:
Expedition 65: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition65/index.html
Celestial Immunity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7818
SUBSA-BRAINS: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8295
AstroPi: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7534
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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