ISS - Expedition 67 Mission patch.
June 8, 2022
Wednesday saw daylong automated robotics activities as the crew tested advanced attire while working aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 67 crew also ensured communications and life support systems continued operating in tip-top shape today.
The Kibo laboratory module from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the site of a pair of robotics free-flyers, known as Astrobees, autonomously navigating and performing maneuvering techniques today. NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins cleared Kibo of obstacles in the morning then activated the Astrobees for a day full of automated robotics operations.
Image above: Expedition 67 crew members pose with fresh fruit flying weightlessly in microgravity delivered recently aboard the Progress 81 cargo craft. Image Credit: NASA.
The toaster-sized, cube-shaped devices are using uplinked command algorithms while downlinking video so scientists can monitor their automated abilities in real-time from the ground. Researchers are testing the robotic assistants for their ability to aid astronauts with routine tasks and monitor station systems, thus increasing mission effectiveness in space.
Watkins also continued testing the comfort and mobility of wearing a specialized radiation protection vest while working aboard the orbiting lab. She then serviced hardware supporting advanced combustion and physics experiments.
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA
ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti tested another experimental garment today that monitors crew health. She wore a smart-shirt that is integrated with sensors and wirelessly transmits data about the performance of a crew member’s cardiovascular system in microgravity.
NASA Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines worked throughout Wednesday on a variety of station maintenance activities. Lindgren replaced components on the advanced resistive exercise device before inspecting hatch seals in the station’s U.S. segment. Hines measured airflows throughout the station then installed a scratch pane on a window inside the cupola.
Image above: The International Space Station orbits into a dawn 261 miles above a cloudy Pacific Ocean in this image from April 2022. Image Credit: NASA.
Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Korsakov were back on exercise research duty today studying ways to maximize the effectiveness of a workout in microgravity. Artemyev then set up Earth observation hardware while Korsakov checked out life support gear inside the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module. Flight Engineer Denis Matveev tested different methods of communicating with students on Earth then worked on ventilation systems and video recording hardware.
CRS-25 Cargo Mission Targeted for No Earlier Than June 28, 2022.
Related links:
Expedition 67: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition67/index.html
Kibo laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/japan-kibo-laboratory
Astrobees: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=1891
Specialized radiation protection vest: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7803
Cardiovascular system in microgravity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8563
Advanced resistive exercise device: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=973
Earth observation hardware: https://www.energia.ru/en/iss/researches/study/09.html
Nauka multipurpose laboratory module: https://www.roscosmos.ru/tag/nauka/
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), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.
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