The International Space Station soars into an orbital sunset 258 miles above the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. In the left foreground, is the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship docked to the Prichal docking module. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
Astronauts on Expedition 71 are set for a spacewalk to perform hardware removal and study microorganisms in space. Other team members are working on genetic sequencing and routine maintenance, while cosmonauts have a day off.
The Expedition 71 crew is in final preparations for a science and maintenance spacewalk set to begin in the morning on Thursday, June 13. The two astronauts on microorganisms released through station vents can survive the external microgravity environment.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson works inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock and checks procedures on a computer tablet to prepare a spacesuit for a fit verification. Credit: NASA
Spacewalk Support and Coverage
Dyson and Dominick readied Quest, checked their spacesuits, and organized spacewalking tools on Wednesday morning. NASA Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Jeanette Epps practiced on a computer the Canadarm2 maneuvers they will use during Thursday’s spacewalk. All four astronauts at the end of the day called down to mission controllers for a final spacewalk preparedness conference.
NASA TV will begin its spacewalk broadcast at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. Live coverage will air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
Lakes Mansarovar (top) and Rakshastal, on the Chinese side of the Himalayan border with India, are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above the Indian subcontinent. Credit: NASA
Maintenance and Research Activities
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams spent Wednesday focusing on lab maintenance and researching advanced biotechnology. Wilmore started his day checking cargo stowed in the Harmony module before replacing components in the station’s bathroom, known as the waste and hygiene compartment located in the Tranquility module. Williams extracted sequenced their genes for identification. Results may inform ways to keep crews healthy and space habitats cleaner.
Leisure Day for Cosmonauts
The station’s three cosmonauts, Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Alexander Grebenkin, had an off-duty day on Wednesday spending time relaxing, exercising, and on light housekeeping tasks.
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