ISS - Expedition 68 Mission patch.
Jan 6, 2023
The Expedition 68 crew will go into the weekend packing a U.S. resupply ship before it departs the International Space Station on Monday. In the meantime, the seven orbital residents concluded the work week researching a variety of space phenomena, maintaining advanced science hardware, and wrapping up three days of eye exams.
The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft will complete a 43-day mission at the orbital lab when it undocks from the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 5:05 p.m. EST on Monday. NASA astronauts Josh Cassada, Nicole Mann, and Frank Rubio will join astronaut Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and spend Saturday and Sunday loading Dragon with critical research samples from completed station experiments for analysis on Earth after it splashes down off the coast of Florida. NASA TV will begin live coverage of Dragon’s undocking and departure at 4:45 p.m. on NASA’s website and the agency’s app.
Image above: (Nov. 27, 2022) --- The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft, loaded with over 7,700 pounds of science, supplies, and cargo, approaches the International Space Station while orbiting 259 miles above the African continent. Image Credit: NASA.
However, the station’s four astronauts spent Friday servicing advanced research gear and conducting microgravity experiments. Three NASA astronauts also concluded several days of vision tests as Mann scanned the retinas of Cassada and Rubio using standard medical imaging hardware found in an optometrist’s office.
Wakata began his day taking photos of a set of nanosatellites as they were deployed outside the Kibo laboratory module into Earth orbit. The CubeSats will demonstrate a variety of technologies such as communications, propulsion systems, and Earth observations. He also assisted Rubio connecting communications gear and patching cables inside the Columbus laboratory module.
Image above: Astronaut Koichi Wakata is pictured inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock where external payloads are placed into the outer space environment. Image Credit: NASA.
Mann researched ways to generate nutrients on demand by manipulating genetically engineered microbes. Cassada tended to tomatoes growing for a space botany study. Both experiments are informing ways NASA and its international partners can sustain crews on missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Commander Sergey Prokopyev from Roscosmos worked on several science projects at the end of the week as he tested a 3-D printer, explored futuristic spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques, and studied ways international crews and mission controllers can communicate better. Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Anna Kikina took turns attaching sensors to themselves measuring their heart activity then downloading the data to researchers on Earth for a long-running cardiac study.
Related article & link:
NASA to Provide Live Coverage of SpaceX Cargo Craft Station Departure
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-provide-live-coverage-of-spacex-cargo-craft-station-departure
NASA TV: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive
Related links:
Expedition 68: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition68/index.html
Harmony module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/harmony
Kibo laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/japan-kibo-laboratory
Communications: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8881
Propulsion systems: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8858
Earth observations: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8865
Columbus laboratory module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/europe-columbus-laboratory
Generate nutrients on demand: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8521
Space botany study: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7443
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), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.
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