December 23, 2024

Spacewalk Prep, Galactic Gardening, and Earth’s Night Glow on the Space Station

The Canadarm2 robotic arm extends from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Turkey. NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral OHara worked in tandem today as they prepare for their first spacewalk next week. The duo will exit the station on Monday at 8:05 a.m. to remove the Radio Frequency Group– an electronic devices box– and replace bearing assemblies on a solar selection rotary joint.

The Canadarm2 robotic arm extends from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Turkey. Below, the Sinai Peninsula, the Red Sea, and the Nile River Delta are visualized leading toward the Mediterranean Sea at bottom. Credit: NASA
Spacewalk preparations topped the Expedition 70 team members schedule on Monday, October 23, as 2 Roscosmos cosmonauts get ready to exit the station on Wednesday, October 25, and 2 NASA astronauts expect their very first spacewalk next week.
Roscosmos Cosmonaut Spacewalk
Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub will venture beyond the International Space Stations Poisk module at 2:10 p.m. EDT on Wednesday to set up interactions hardware, release a nanosatellite, and examine the external backup radiator that experienced a coolant leak. The duo worked together today prepping tools theyll use during their seven-hour trip and installing lights and video cameras to the helmets of the Orlan suits they will don.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral OHara is pictured trying on her spacesuit and screening its elements aboard the International Space Stations Quest airlock in preparation for an upcoming spacewalk. Credit: NASA
NASA Astronauts Gear Up for Their Spacewalk
NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral OHara worked in tandem today as they prepare for their first spacewalk next week. The duo will exit the station on Monday at 8:05 a.m. to get rid of the Radio Frequency Group– an electronic devices box– and replace bearing assemblies on a solar variety rotary joint.

Station Maintenance and Research Activities
In the world of research study, last month witnessed the last harvest of Arabidopsis plants from the Plant Habitat-03. This research study looks for to comprehend how one generation of plants may pass on adaptations to the next in the difficult conditions of microgravity. Today, Commander Mogensen cleaned up the facility and readied Seed Bags for an upcoming return to Earth. Simultaneously, Furukawa attended to the replacement of a filter assembly in a system processing wastewater.
While the majority of the station locals focused on preparation and procedure reviews for the upcoming spacewalks, Roscosmos Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov completed maintenance jobs and conducted an experiment that evaluates the radiance of Earths environment at night in near ultraviolet.