ISS - Expedition 68 Mission patch.
March 21, 2023
The Expedition 68 crew members are busy investigating astrobiology and continuing to transfer the 6,200 pounds of research hardware and supplies between the International Space Station and the uncrewed SpaceX CRS-27, which arrived to the space station on March 16.
NASA flight engineer Frank Rubio conducted the Cardinal Heart 2.0 media change and sample collection operations in the Life Sciences Glovebox, a sealed work area in the space station where crew members perform developmental biology experiments. The investigation will test whether clinically approved drugs reduce microgravity-induced changes. Microgravity exposure can cause changes in heart cell function and gene expression that may lead to long-term damage or muscle atrophy.
Image above: The northwestern coastal regions of Brittany and Normandy in France meet on the English Channel in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 264 miles above on Feb. 12, 2023. Image Credit: NASA.
NASA flight engineer Woody Hoburg took over the operations after participating in a cell biology experiment and collecting water samples from the potable water dispenser. The water recycling system reclaims wastewater into potable drinking water aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi from UAE (United Arab Emirates) installed rhodium science chambers in the variable gravity simulator for the Rhodium DARPA Biomanufacturing 01 investigation. Results may help reduce the costs of future missions by improving space biomanufacturing, the process of using microbes in the space station to produce materials and biomolecules like biopolymers, food, and pharmaceuticals.
International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: ESA
Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos spent the evening replacing the condensate evacuation lines that carry away excess moisture from the cabin atmosphere. Meanwhile, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin spent the day performing an eye ultrasound exam with a remote guide after gathering cargo items to return in the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, slated to undock from the station’s Rassvet module on March 28.
Related links:
Expedition 68: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition68/index.html
Cardinal Heart 2.0: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8800
Life Sciences Glovebox: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=7676
Rhodium DARPA Biomanufacturing 01: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8854
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
Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Heidi Lavelle.
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