May 4, 2024

Space Station Crew Unpacks Cargo Dragon and Starts New Research

Russias latest docking module, referred to as Prichal and still connected to the Progress delivery vehicle, is imagined docked to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module as the International Space Station orbited into a sunrise 260 miles above the Central African Republic. Credit: NASA Johnson
The Expedition 66 team members continue unloading the SpaceX Cargo Dragon automobile and initiating brand name new microgravity examinations. A few of the new science occurring aboard the International Space Station is taking a look at plant genetics, human cellular function, and even area laundry strategies.
The four NASA astronauts living on the orbital lab took turns on Tuesday offloading a few of the 6,500 pounds of new crew supplies, station hardware, and science experiments. Flight Engineer Kayla Barron began her morning working inside the Cargo Dragon. She then serviced samples inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace, a research device that observes the thermophysical homes of high temperature level products.
Astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Thomas Marshburn, and Raja Chari got together on Tuesday afternoon to unload the Cargo Dragon also. Vande Hei and Marshburn have actually likewise begun deal with a pair of new experiments exploring how to improve life in area. Vande Hei is evaluating cleaning agent samples to learn how to keep clothing clean in a range of gravity environments throughout long-term area missions. Marshburn established the Veggie botany research center for observing plant development at the genetic level to promote area farming. Chari gathered and spun his blood samples in a centrifuge then stowed them for later analysis. Afterward, Chari entered the Columbus laboratory module and began organizing freight loaded within.

Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) collected research hardware from inside Columbus for a space biology examination. He then started assembling that gear and thawing culture chambers inside the Kibo laboratory module. The work is for the brand-new Cytoskeleton biology study, happening in the Life Science Glovebox, and will check out how the machinery of the human cell is affected by weightlessness.
Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, in addition to Vande Hei, started their day practicing emergency evacuation procedures. The trio trained on a computer system for the treatments they would utilize in the unlikely event they would need to quickly board the Soyuz MS-19 team ship, undock and return to Earth. Shkaplerov then unpacked Russian spacewalk gear delivered just recently aboard the Prichal docking module. Dubrov focused on electronics and hardware upkeep for the remainder of the day.

Vande Hei and Marshburn have also begun work on a set of new experiments exploring how to improve life in area. Vande Hei is checking detergent samples to learn how to keep clothes tidy in a variety of gravity environments throughout long-lasting area objectives. Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) collected research study hardware from inside Columbus for a space biology examination.