ISS - Expedition 65 Mission patch.
Oct 1, 2021
Crew members aboard the International Space Station conducted scientific investigations during the week of Sept. 27 that included testing augmented reality assistance with maintenance, wrapping up a student robotic challenge, and analyzing the microbiome of diabetic foot ulcers. Crew members also spent time packing the SpaceX Cargo Dragon, which undocked from the space station on Thursday and returned scientific samples to the ground.
Image above: The SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle is visible before its departure, lower left in this image taken as the International Space Station orbited 264 miles above northern France. The long-exposure photograph reveals Earth's atmospheric glow and stars above the horizon. 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:
Lending a virtual hand
Image above: JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi reviews procedures through the T2AR augmented reality goggles as he prepares to conduct routine maintenance on the station’s treadmill (green panels in the bottom of the image). Image Credit: NASA.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) help crew members on the space station in a variety of ways on the space station. The T2AR investigation uses AR to help crew members inspect and maintain the station’s treadmill, COLBERT. The ability to conduct such tasks without assistance from the ground supports future long-term space missions, which will experience significant communication delays. AR and VR also can reduce the amount of time that crew members spend training for and completing tasks. Crew members conducted sessions with the AR headset during the week.
Students remotely control robots
Students learn about space robot technology and gain hands-on experience creating software and observing how it works with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Robo-Pro Challenge. Participants create software to control one of the space station’s Astrobee free-flying robot and receive a score based on how their programs complete each task. The experience helps build critical problem-solving skills needed on Earth and inspires students to pursue careers in the space industry or related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. During the week, crew members conducted the final round of Challenge 2.
Putting a better foot forward
Image above: Pre-flight image of the Project Maleth Biocube, which carried SpaceOMIX, the first investigation from Malta, to the space station. The investigation studies treatment-resistant diabetic foot ulcers using genetic analysis. Image Credits: DOI: Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs, Malta.
Ice Cubes #9-Project Maleth, or SpaceOMIX, examines adaptation to space by the skin microbiome, or community of bacteria, in patients with diabetic foot ulcers that are resistant to treatment. The investigation, sponsored by ESA (European Space Agency), represents the first-ever mission to space from Malta. Scientists use a special type of genetic sequencing to analyze cultures and identify the bacteria present. This information could help determine specific bacteria that could predict resistant ulcers and those that may contribute to treatment resistance. The data will be added to the NASA GeneLab database. During the week, the crew processed the investigation in the ICE Cubes facility.
Other investigations involving the crew:
- NICER is mounted on the exterior of the space station to study the physics of neutron stars, the glowing cinders left behind when massive stars explode as supernovas. The investigation includes SEXTANT, a demonstration for a GPS-like system for future spacecraft navigation using these stars, also known as pulsars, as natural beacons.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1705
- For Eklosion, a crew member grows a Marigold plant 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
- Lumina is an ESA investigation demonstrating real-time monitoring of radiation dose received by crew members using a dosimeter with optical fibers that darken when exposed to radiation. Monitoring ionizing radiation is a key challenge for future space exploration, and this dosimeter could help anticipate radiation flares and guide reaction to them.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8444
- 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
- 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
- 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
- HRF Veg focuses on the overall health benefits to crew members of having various plants and fresh food available. The investigation uses psychological surveys and crew evaluations of the flavor and appeal of plants that are grown on the space station for other investigations.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8434
- 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
Space to Ground: A Short Trip: 10/01/2021
Related links:
Expedition 65: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition65/index.html
T2AR: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7587
COLBERT: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=752
Robo-Pro Challenge: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7979
Astrobee: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891
SpaceOMIX: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8619
Malta: https://www.spaceomix.com/
NASA GeneLab: https://genelab.nasa.gov/
ICE Cubes: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7607
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.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
