ISS - Expedition 65 Mission patch.
Sep 24, 2021
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Sept. 20 that included monitoring sleep quality during spaceflight, studying characteristics of bacteria and fungi on surfaces inside the space station, and capturing student-requested images of Earth.
International Space Station (ISS), flying over the Earth. Animation 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:
Sweet Dreams are Made of This
Sleep is vital to human health and well-being. Along with helping to repair and reset the body for optimal performance, adequate sleep can reduce the risk of developing certain medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease. The Dreams investigation from ESA (European Space Agency) uses a headband to monitor sleep quality of crew members. This week, a crew member wore the headband during sleep and answered questions about sleep quality upon waking up.
Follow that Fungi (and Bacteria)
Image above: Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA collects samples for Microbial Tracking, an investigation of the potentially disease-causing bacteria and fungi present on the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA.
Microbes make genetic changes to survive in challenging environments. Some of these changes can represent threats to human health. Microbial Tracking-3 continues a series of studies monitoring pathogenicity (the ability to cause disease) and antibiotic resistance in potentially disease-causing bacteria and fungi on the space station. This week, crew members collected samples from surfaces, documenting with photographs where each sample was taken. Analyses from the investigation add important data to the NASA GeneLab, a comprehensive space-related database.
Lights, Camera, EarthKAM!
Image above: This image, taken by middle school students with the space station’s EarthKAM, shows the coast meeting the shoreline in Brazil, South America. Image Credits: NASA/EarthKAM.
Not everyone can go to space, but anyone can see Earth from an astronaut’s perspective with the Sally Ride EarthKAM. Students remotely control a digital camera mounted on the space station, using it to take photographs of coastlines, mountain ranges, and other interesting features and phenomena. The EarthKAM team posts the images on the Internet, where they are available to the public and participating classrooms. The image gallery provides support for teaching activities ranging from Earth science to space and environmental science, geography, social studies, mathematics, communications, and art. During the week, crew members set up the hardware for collection of images.
Other investigations involving the crew:
- RFID Recon tests using radio frequency identification tags to identify and locate cargo on the space station using the space station’s free-flying Astrobee robots. The technology could help crew members find items more quickly and efficiently and enable more efficient packing, reducing launch mass and stowage volume.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7722
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891
- Changes in the liver enzymes that metabolize medicines may cause some to be less effective in space. Genes in Space-8 tests a technology to monitor the expression of the genes that control these enzymes, which could provide a better understanding of changes and help support development of new medicines to address them.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8438
- For Eklosion, a crew member grows a Marigold plant in a specially designed vase and takes photographs to document the flower’s growth each week. This ESA investigation gathers data on plant growth and the psychological benefits of tending the plant for the crew member.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8358
- 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
- Ring Sheared Drop uses a device to create shear flow, or a difference in velocity between adjacent liquid layers. Previous research shows shear flow plays a role in the formation of protein aggregations in the brain called amyloid fibrils. Amyloids may be involved in development of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and results could contribute to a better understanding of those diseases.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7383
- The Four Bed CO2 Scrubber demonstrates improvements in technology for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere aboard spacecraft. Better reliability and performance of carbon dioxide removal systems in future spacecraft will help to maintain the health of crews and ensure mission success.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7635
- Cool Flames Investigation with Gases, part of the ACME series of studies, observes chemical reactions of cool flames, which burn at lower temperatures. Nearly impossible to create in Earth’s gravity, cool flames are easily created in microgravity and studying them may improve understanding of combustion and fires on Earth.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8270
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1651
Image above: NASA astronaut Megan McArthur cleans up debris in the Plant Habitat where Hatch Green chiles are growing for the Plant Habitat-04 experiment. Image Credit: NASA.
- Plant Habitat-04 grows New Mexico Hatch Green Chili peppers in the Advanced Plant Habitat and conducts microbial analysis to improve understanding of plant-microbe interactions in space, assessment of flavor and texture, and nutritional analysis.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8276
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=2036
Space to Ground: Interactive Investigations: 09/24/2021
Related links:
Expedition 65: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition65/index.html
Dreams: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8344
Microbial Tracking-3: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8333
NASA GeneLab: https://genelab.nasa.gov/
Sally Ride EarthKAM: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=87
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), Animation (mentioned), Video (NASA), Text, Credits: NASA/Ana Guzman/John Love, ISS Research Planning Integration Scientist Expedition 65.
Greetings, Orbiter.ch
