By NASA
September 26, 2021
A part of the SpaceX Cargo Dragon automobile is imagined at lower left as the spaceport station orbited above northern France. Credit: NASA
Rodent research, microorganism sampling and Dragon packing filled the Expedition 65 crews day at the end of the week aboard the International Space Station. Three orbital citizens are also preparing their Soyuz team ship to switch docking ports next week.
NASA Flight Engineers Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough began their day observing mice once again inside the Life Science Glovebox (LSG) located in Japans Kibo lab module. The space biology study is assisting researchers determine genes and observe cell functions that are affected by weightlessness and affect skin procedures.
Assisting the duo, ESA (European Space Agency) Thomas Pesquet continued the mice observations during the afternoon. NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei dealt with the LSG established and closeout operations during Fridays experiment work.
During the afternoon, McArthur swabbed and collected microbe samples from surfaces in the stations U.S. sector. She photographed the surface locations and stowed the samples for later analysis to document the kinds of microorganisms residing on the orbiting lab.
Vande Hei and Commander Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration (JAXA) invested a number of hours on Friday packing the SpaceX Cargo Dragon resupply ship for go back to Earth. The Cargo Dragon will undock from the Harmony modules forward international docking adapter on Thursday at 9:05 a.m. EDT. It will parachute to a splashdown off the coast of Florida numerous hours later for retrieval by SpaceX and NASA workers.
Vande Hei will join his Russian crewmates when they undock from the Rassvet module at 8:21 a.m. on Tuesday. The Russian sections Zvezda service module fired its engines for less than a minute today slightly reducing the area stations orbit. The deorbit increase, as it is called, places the station at the correct stage ahead of the arrival of the Soyuz MS-19 team ship and the departure of the Soyuz MS-18 team ship in October.
It will parachute to a splashdown off the coast of Florida several hours later for retrieval by SpaceX and NASA personnel.
Vande Hei will join his Russian crewmates when they undock from the Rassvet module at 8:21 a.m. on Tuesday. The Russian sections Zvezda service module fired its engines for less than a minute today a little lowering the space stations orbit. The deorbit boost, as it is called, positions the station at the proper stage ahead of the arrival of the Soyuz MS-19 crew ship and the departure of the Soyuz MS-18 crew ship in October.
