This image taken from the International Space Station shows swaths of airglow hovering in Earth’s atmosphere. NASA’s new Atmospheric Waves Experiment will observe airglow from a perch on the space station to help scientists understand, and ultimately improve forecasts of, space weather changes in the upper atmosphere. Credit: NASA
The Expedition 70 team on the ISS is busy with scientific research, including aging studies, atmospheric experiments, and microgravity cell analysis, along with ISS maintenance, following Another busy day of science activities is underway for the Expedition 70 crew and robotics ground controllers following the arrival of SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft last weekend. The seven members aboard the
Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara started work in the morning on an experiment that studies age-related liver dysfunction and regeneration. The first-time station resident of
Four Expedition 70 crew members pose for a fun portrait inside their crew quarters aboard the International Space Station’s Harmony module. Clockwise from bottom are, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen; JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa; and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara. Credit: NASA
After yesterday’s ILLUMA-T extraction, mission controllers from the U.S. spent another day on robotics activities to retrieve more science hardware delivered inside Dragon’s unpressurized trunk. Remotely controlling the Canadarm2 robotic arm, engineers extracted the new Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) payload to mount it to the exterior of the orbiting laboratory. From its perch, AWE will track small-scale atmospheric gravity waves in our home planet’s upper atmosphere to investigate how they contribute to space weather, which affects space- and ground-based comms, navigation, and tracking systems.
While ground teams worked remotely outside the station, research experiments continued for other residents aboard. Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (four-month investigation that will test a coating to inhibit microbial growth on several surfaces aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Expedition 70 Flight Engineer and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa removes experiment hardware from inside the Multi-use Variable-g Platform, a biology research device that can generate artificial gravity inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. Credit: NASA
Meanwhile, after yesterday’s start on treating cell samples inside the Kibo laboratory, astronaut Satoshi Furukawa of Cell Gravisensing-2 study. Using a microscope, he observed additional samples to help researchers learn how lack of gravity affects cell response.
The trio of cosmonauts kept busy with their own scientific research and maintenance activities. Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov worked on an ongoing investigation that observes Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet and photographed the Zarya and Nauka modules to assist in future planning of repairs and science equipment placement. Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko inspected hardware in Nauka, while Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub completed some orbital plumbing and investigated the processes of liquid phases in microgravity.