Space Biology on Station Ahead of Cargo and Crew Ship Activities

Expedition 62 Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan are pictured in front of the hatch to the Space Dragon resupply ship shortly after it was attached to the Harmony module on March 9.

The Expedition 62 crew wrapped up the workweek with more space biology research to understand what living in space does to the human body. The International Space Station is also getting ready to send off a U.S. cargo craft and swap crews.

A 3D bioprinter inside the station’s Columbus laboratory module is being deactivated and stowed today after a week of test runs without using human cells. NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Meir packed up the device that seeks to demonstrate manufacturing human organs to help patients on Earth. The Bio-Fabrication Facility may even lead to future crews printing their own food and medicines on missions farther away from Earth.

NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan checked out hardware for an experiment exploring how to create heart cells on the orbiting lab. The investigation may lead to advanced treatments for cardiac conditions on Earth and in space.

Morgan and Meir are also getting the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship ready for its departure on April 6. The duo gathered U.S. spacesuit components and packed them inside Dragon for engineering analysis on the ground.

During the morning, Commander Oleg Skripochka continued servicing a variety of laptop computers in the station’s Russian segment. After lunchtime, the veteran cosmonaut serviced hardware for a pair of experiments, one looking at the Earth’s upper atmosphere and the other to understand the degradation of station gear.

Back on Earth at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, three new Expedition 63 crewmembers are in final preparations for their April 9 launch to the station. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner stepped out of the Cosmonaut Hotel today for pre-launch activities celebrating spaceflight heroes such as Yuri Gagarin.

7 thoughts on “Space Biology on Station Ahead of Cargo and Crew Ship Activities”

  1. Just seen the space station from Bury Manchester England at the time 19.36 going across the night sky

    1. I’m in Preston Lancashire and saw it too, it amazes me and intrigues me so much.
      I’ve been googling it ever since.

  2. Loving this blog. I am 68 and have followed the world’s space programs since a little girl on black/white TV! Just toured Cape Canaveral last fall. As a nurse practitioner I am enjoying the science! I am curious how you diagnose and treat on the ISS? Thx for all the research you do and an insight of life in space. Stay well!

    1. Doctors on the ground monitor the crew in real-time during a variety of health checks. The station also has medicines, first aid equipment and surgical hardware to treat a variety of conditions. In the event of an emergency requiring ground attention, the crew can quickly undock and return to Earth in their Soyuz crew ship.

  3. Followed the space station for the past three nights here in England amazing site to see I wish I could see what they can see

  4. You are serving for the people on earth by staying 250 miles above earth – It only shows the human endurance in zero gravity by sacrificing your own comforts you enjoyed on earth. You are like a soldier in war or peace they are always there to help the nation and its people in the hour of crises. Please let me know what is temp inside out side the ISS as I see you only wearing T- Shirt and jeans not G- suit or mask on the face for O2. – KRSubramanian

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *