Author: Abby Graf

Vision Checks, Communications Hardware Installs, and Rubio’s 300th Day in Space

NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is pictured working inside the International Space Station's Quest airlock.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is pictured working inside the International Space Station’s Quest airlock.

After a well-deserved day off yesterday, the Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station is back to work performing a variety of maintenance activities, science experiments, and vision exams.

NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is on track to set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut later this year; Today, he spent his 300th day in space. Rubio’s day consisted of installing the Surface Avatar laptop, which investigates how haptic controls, user interfaces and virtual reality could command and control surface-bound robots from long distances. Additionally, he analyzed water from the station’s Water Processing Assembly located in the Tranquility module and performed EVA battery maintenance.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg started his morning performing monthly maintenance on the station’s treadmill. Following maintenance, he set up for vision exams that four astronauts, including himself, completed later in the day. Hoburg, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev all took turns using imaging hardware to complete eye exams that help researchers better understand how living in space affects vision.

Hoburg also completed an assortment of other tasks, including surveying and measuring airflows in the station’s U.S. Orbital Segment. With the assistance of Alneyadi, the two also installed ethernet cables and a communications data converter. Ahead of station upgrades and eye exams, Alneyadi spent his morning in the Window Observational Research Facility observing and taking photos of Earth.

Along with vision exams, Bowen also participated in an ARED Kinematics session—a test that assesses current exercise programs to allow for the improvement of future regimens.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos conducted cable maintenance and worked on inventory and cargo plans for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 mission. Cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin prepped for a Pilot-T experiment, in which Fedyeav later donned the sensor-packed cap to practice piloting techniques that explore how spacefarers may react and control spacecraft on future planetary missions.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Crew Spends Monday Off-Duty; Look Ahead to Upcoming Crew and Cargo Missions

The Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm as ground controllers remotely install the cargo craft to the International Space Station's Unity module.
The Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter is pictured in the grip of the Canadarm2 robotic arm as ground controllers remotely install the cargo craft to the International Space Station’s Unity module.

The Expedition 69 crew members took a well-deserved day off after working on past weekends aboard the International Space Station.

Looking ahead, August is shaping up to be a busy month with crew and cargo missions. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft will be delivering new science investigations—including studies of fire suppression, gene therapy, and atmospheric monitoring—as well as crew supplies and hardware to the station. This will mark the company’s 19th commercial resupply mission for NASA.

In addition to science deliveries, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission will make its way to the station in August as well. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andres Mogensen, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will launch to the station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, marking the seventh rotational mission of the company’s human space transportation system.

Following the arrival of Crew-7, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission will come to an end as four astronauts will undock from the station aboard Dragon and return to Earth.

August mission events will be broadcasted live on NASA TV. To stay up to date, visit the NASA TV schedule.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Light-Duty Day for Crew; System Maintenance and In-Flight Surveys Continue

iss069e031305 (July 13, 2023) -- NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio poses for a photo as he inspects blankets and blanket covers in crew quarters for future replacements.
iss069e031305 (July 13, 2023) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio poses for a photo as he inspects blankets and blanket covers in crew quarters for future replacements.

A light-duty day for the Expedition 69 crew is underway following a busy week aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg began his day reconfiguring cable connections on the Multipurpose Experiment Platform. He then moved into completing computer maintenance. Following Monday’s installation of a Small Satellite Orbital Deployer, Hoburg resumed that work in the Japanese Experiment Module in preparation for future mini satellites to deploy.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen completed maintenance in the station’s Harmony module. Afterward, he moved around the station to document the reconfiguration of NASA payload racks which support and store research experiments aboard the orbital lab. Bowen finished out his day charging and swapping batteries on the free-flying robots, Astrobee, a task that has been ongoing all week.

After yesterday’s installation of new handle brackets on the Human Research Facility in the Destiny module, NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio performed a video survey of the hardware. Additionally, Rubio resumed inspections of the blankets in crew quarters, another task that began earlier in the week.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi conducted maintenance on a system used for short-term water storage and water transportation between facilities.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos carried out surveys and maintenance of the Zvezda module while Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin continued the ongoing experiments that study the behavior of liquid diffusion in microgravity. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev began his day checking the performance of computer hardware and cleaning electrical systems. After five days of the system running, he later turned off and stowed the EarthKam, a program that allows students to take photographs of Earth from a remotely controlled camera mounted to the station.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Space Biology, Hardware Installs, and Earth Observations for Crew Today

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi poses for a selfie while taking photos of Earth from the International Space Station.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi poses for a selfie while taking photos of Earth from the International Space Station.

Another Genes in Space investigation is underway today on the International Space Station. The Expedition 69 crew members also installed brackets, completed inspections, and observed Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio took a few moments in the morning to activate the Internal Ball Camera—a free-flying system that helps the crew monitor operations—in the Japanese Experiment Module. The rest of his day was dedicated to running the Genes in Space-10 operation. This specific experiment measures and analyzes DNA length aboard the station using fluorescent samples. The Genes in Space program includes ongoing investigations that allow middle and high school students to design DNA experiments that address a challenge in space exploration.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg started his day reorganizing and consolidating stowage in the Columbus Laboratory Module. He then moved into the Destiny module with NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen to install drawer handle brackets to the Human Research Facility. Hoburg also completed a safety video survey of the station that will allow the ground team to assess the orbital lab’s current configuration.

Additionally, Bowen gathered items that will be disposed on Northrop Grumman’s 19th commercial resupply mission launching no earlier than Tuesday, August 1.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi spent his day charging and swapping batteries on Astrobee—the station’s free-flying robots—inspecting blankets and blanket covers in crew quarters, and observing and photographing Earth from the Window Observational Research Facility.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos charged and reconfigured a cordless, portable microscope then prepped and ran the 3D printer in the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin continued his work that began two days ago, running experiments that studies the behavior of liquid diffusion in microgravity, while Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev installed cables in Zvezda.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Crew Spends Day Continuing Station Upgrades

UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi organizes cables inside the International Space Station's Harmony module.
UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi organizes cables inside the International Space Station’s Harmony module.

The Expedition 69 crew continues work started yesterday and last week and begins new tasks on the International Space Station today.

Following yesterday’s start of installing new hardware to the station’s wastewater processor system, NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg spent his day in the Tranquility module completing further tasks to finish out the system upgrade.  With the help of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi, the two worked together to install new hoses and pumps that will more efficiently process wastewater.

Ahead of the installation assists, Alneyadi once again sported the Dreams headband overnight for sleep monitoring. Following his morning activities of wrapping up the assessment, he configured and stowed the headband for future astronaut use.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Frank Rubio worked together to remove and replace the toilet system, part of the station’s Waste and Hygiene Compartment, in the Tranquility module. Bowen also charged and swapped batteries in Astrobee, the free-flying robots aboard the orbital lab. He ended his day setting up Actiwatch—a sleep-wake activity monitor that crew members wear overnight on their wrists—and inspecting the conditions of blankets and blanket covers in crew quarters for future replacements.

In addition to the toilet system replacement, Rubio connected cables, hoses, and bags to the Japanese Experiment Module Water Recovery System located in the Kibo Laboratory.

Cosmonaut Commander Sergey Prokpyev spent much of his day in the Zvezda service module surveying and performing system maintenance. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin continued his prep of a cargo unload plan he began last week for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 mission. After starting the EarthKAM software two days ago, Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev went back and configured the camera with a new lens. Additionally, he took up-to-date photos of the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, or Nauka, for future installation of additional handrails.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Clean-up Activities and Ultrasound Scans Today

NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is pictured inside the International Space Station's U.S. Destiny laboratory module.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Frank Rubio is pictured inside the International Space Station’s U.S. Destiny laboratory module.

Four Expedition 69 crew members aboard the International Space Station primarily worked in conjunction on Tuesday as they completed clean-up tasks and performed ultrasound scans.

After donning the Dreams headband overnight for sleep monitoring, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi started his day concluding the recording and filling out a questionnaire. Alneyadi, along with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, and Frank Rubio, then moved into the orbital lab’s Destiny module for clean-up activities. Tasks included organizing, sorting, and relocating items stowed in the module.

Ahead of clean-up activities, Hoburg spent most of his morning reconfiguring and installing new hardware to a system that recycles and processes wastewater located in the Tranquility module. Bowen collected water samples from the Potable Water Dispenser for in-flight analysis that will help determine the water quality on the station. The system advances water sanitization methods while reducing microbial growth to provide water for crew consumption and food preparation. Rubio set up the Internal Ball Camera—a free-flying system that helps the crew monitor operations—in the Japanese Experiment Module.

Near the end of the day, the quartet moved onto health activities that helps doctors understand how astronauts adapt to microgravity by scanning arteries. Using the Ultrasound 2 device, Alneyadi, Hoburg, Bowen and Rubio all completed ultrasound scans of their necks, clavicles, shoulders, and back of their knees.

Cosmonaut Commander Sergey Prokopyev reviewed and sorted inventory in the Zarya module. Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin completed an experiment that studies the behavior of liquid diffusion in microgravity, while Andrey Fedyaev performed station maintenance.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Science and Tech Upgrades, Earth Observations and Trainings Kick off Busy Week

The southeast Chinese port city of Xiamen, on the coast of the South China Sea with a population of over 5.1 million people, is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above during an orbital night pass.
The southeast Chinese port city of Xiamen, on the coast of the South China Sea with a population of over 5.1 million people, is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above during an orbital night pass.

A week of station upgrades and science has kicked off on the International Space Station. The Expedition 69 crew is keeping busy today with hardware updates, science tech installs, Earth observations and training.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen began his morning preparing for an upcoming water refill and science install of Plant Habitat-03B, an investigation that assesses if adaptations in one generation of plants grown in space can transfer to the next. In the afternoon, he installed new science to the habitat and added water to its reservoir. Bowen then spent his evening organizing and stowing day/night glasses which help protect astronauts from radiation.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg started his morning removing CubeSat deployers from the Multipurpose Experiment Platform located inside the Kibo Laboratory following last week’s deployment of six CubeSats. Hoburg then moved to install a Small Satellite Orbital Deployer for future mini satellites inside the Japanese Experiment Module.

Meanwhile, United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi prepared the Dreams headband for an upcoming assessment that will monitor astronauts’ sleep quality. Alneyadi then spent time with Hoburg to review procedures for forthcoming maintenance that will be completed in the station’s Tranquility module. He ended his day reconfiguring Extravehicular Mobility Units.

Flight Engineer Frank Rubio of NASA spent his morning, along with Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos completing training on station egress procedures. Following a morning training series, Rubio moved into the Window Observational Research Facility to observe and photograph Earth. In the afternoon, he analyzed water from the orbital lab’s Water Recovery System and took a look at surface and air microbial samples that were previously swabbed.

Following training, Petelin continued preparing a cargo unload plan he began last week for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 mission. Cosmonaut Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev started the EarthKAM software, a program that allows students to remotely control a digital camera mounted on the station to take photographs of mountain ranges, coastlines, and other Earth views that catch their eyes.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Crew Ends Week Continuing Station Upgrades

NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg poses for a portrait during maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg poses for a portrait during maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station.

The Expedition 69 crewmembers aboard the International Space Station are wrapping up their week with a continuation of science activities and station upgrades.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio started his morning continuing to collect samples for the Food Physiology investigation. Later, he spent the afternoon completing upgrades to the Japanese Experiment Module Water Recovery System, which recycles wastewater and humidity in the cabin air into drinking water for astronauts, located in the Kibo Laboratory. Near the end of his day, Rubio conducted maintenance in the station’s Columbus Laboratory Module.

Astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg of NASA spent their morning working together to replace hardware on the station’s Advanced Resistive Exercise Device, or ARED, a machine that simulates free weights for resistive exercise in microgravity. Bowen also retrieved data of the station’s acoustic levels that were measured earlier this week and performed system upgrades to the International Commercial Experiment Cubes (ICE Cubes) Facility, which is a platform that hosts a variety of research experiments, technology demonstrations and educational objectives. Meanwhile, Hoburg continued his efforts that he began yesterday of reconfiguring, rotating and monitoring the Life Support Rack, a system that helps generate water and oxygen.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi took time in the morning to rearrange stowage in the Columbus Laboratory Module. Later in the day, he installed hardware in the Quest Airlock.

Cosmonaut Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos continued with station maintenance they began earlier in the week. Cosmonaut Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin completed upgrades to communications devices then spent most of his day preparing a cargo unload plan for the upcoming ISS Progress 85 cargo mission, arriving to the station next month.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Food Physiology Science, Station Upgrades Continue and CubeSats Deployed

The seven-member Expedition 69 crew poses for a portrait during dinner time inside the International Space Station's Unity module. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev; NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Stephen Bowen; Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev; UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi; Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin; and NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg.
The seven-member Expedition 69 crew poses for a portrait during dinner time inside the International Space Station’s Unity module. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev; NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Stephen Bowen; Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev; UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi; Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin; and NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg.

Another busy day of Food Physiology science and station upgrades is underway today for the Expedition 69 crew on the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio spent most of his day continuing work for the Food Physiology investigation, collecting various samples and stowing them for future space and ground-based analysis, as well as processing samples taken earlier this week. This investigation is an ongoing series of experiments designed to understand the effects of spaceflight diet on astronauts.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen spent his morning working with a 3D chamber that investigates growth of organ buds from human stem cells in microgravity. Most of his day was spent preparing, rotating and verifying system operations throughout the day. Later on, Bowen deployed six CubeSats—mini satellites—into low-Earth orbit outside the Kibo airlock. The CubeSats will explore and monitor Earth’s atmosphere, study orbital conditions to learn more about space weather effects and observe material changes in space.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg spent the morning reconfiguring, rotating and monitoring the Life Support Rack which helps generate water and oxygen. Additionally, he measured acoustic levels of the station’s living quarters. United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi rebooted Lumina, a device that monitors radiation. The two then worked together to install new communications hardware in the station’s Tranquility module.

Cosmonaut Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin continued performing station maintenance, while Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev continued experimental research. Fedyaev donned a sensor-packed cap to practice piloting techniques through Pilot-T, an experiment that explores how spacefarers may react and control spacecraft on future planetary missions.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Station Reboost, Food Physiology, and Hearing Assessments for Crew Mid-Week

Expedition 69 Flight Engineers (from left) Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Woody Hoburg of NASA pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the Unity module and the Tranquility module during maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station.
Expedition 69 Flight Engineers (from left) Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Woody Hoburg of NASA pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the Unity module and the Tranquility module during maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station.

Three Expedition 69 crew members spent their day on the International Space Station performing work in the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, while other crew members completed a variety of Food Physiology experiments and hearing assessments.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi performed maintenance and prepped BEAM for a mid-day entry. The seven-year-old module is an expandable capsule attached to the station’s Tranquility module and allows an additional space for crews to work.

Bowen spent his morning temporarily stowing items and cleaning BEAM, while Alneyadi and Hoburg completed maintenance in tandem. Hoburg later collected atmospheric and surface microbe samples from BEAM for future analysis. Bowen then entered BEAM for inspection, and later, exited and stowed tools and materials. In addition, Alneyadi moved MATISS samples that investigate antibacterial properties of materials in space while Hoburg cleaned vents that monitor the station’s air quality.

NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio spent his day performing connection checks of data management systems and completing a round of sample collections for the Food Physiology investigation. Rubio also conducted a hearing test, regular assessments such as this measure hearing function while exposed to the environment of microgravity in long-duration spaceflight.

Cosmonaut Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin and Commander Sergey Prokopyev also conducted hearing assessments, while Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev performed station maintenance.

Following the July 4 holiday, the space station is orbiting slightly higher after the 83P fired its engines for 18 minutes and 52 seconds Tuesday afternoon. The orbital reboost sets up the correct phasing for the ISS Progress 85 resupply mission next month.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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