Category: Expedition 72

Two NASA astronauts have finalized preparations for the first spacewalk of 2025 to service astrophysics hardware on the International Space Station. The rest of the Expedition 72 crew split the day between assisting the upcoming spacewalkers and keeping up human research.

Flight Engineer Nick Hague and space station Commander Suni Williams, both from NASA, will set their spacesuits to internal battery power at 8 a.m. EST on Thursday beginning a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk. They will exit the Quest airlock and patch light leaks in the NICER X-ray telescope then ready the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer for future upgrades. The experienced spacewalking duo will also replace advanced engineering hardware to maintain station orientation and provide navigation data. NASA+ begins its spacewalk coverage at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Hague and Williams started Wednesday in Quest reviewing the procedures they will use to fulfill their spacewalking tasks. The pair also staged spacesuits and organized the specialized tools inside Quest. NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Butch Wilmore assisted with the spacewalking preparations then joined Hague and Williams for a readiness review with mission controllers on the ground at the end of their shift.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner were back on human research duty on Wednesday attaching sensors to their forehead, fingers, and toes measuring how blood flows to the tiniest vessels in microgravity. Scientists want to understand how the human circulatory system in the limbs of crew members adapt to living long-term in microgravity. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov took a fitness test pedaling on an exercise cycle while electrodes measured his aerobic and cardiovascular output ensuring his health in weightlessness. All three cosmonauts also continued their orbital maintenance tasks servicing a variety of life support gear throughout the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment.

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Spacewalk preparations continued aboard the International Space Station as two astronauts conducted health checks and installed hardware on their spacesuits. Biology, physics, and lab maintenance also rounded out the Expedition 72 schedule on Tuesday.

Flight Engineer Nick Hague and space station Commander Suni Williams, both from NASA, began their shifts on Tuesday with standard health exams taken prior to the start of a spacewalk. The duo measured their vital signs including heart rate, breathing rate, and temperature, and participated in a hearing test. Next, the two spacewalkers installed lithium-ion batteries and tested electrical and communication components on their spacesuits. Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore also assisted the pair and readied cameras the astronauts will carry with them into the vacuum of space.

Hague and Williams will set their spacesuits to battery power at approximately 8 a.m. EST on Thursday signifying the official start of the first spacewalk of 2025. The experienced spacewalkers will exit the Quest airlock and spend about six-and-a-half hours servicing astrophysics hardware including the NICER X-ray telescope and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer.  Also on the task list, are the replacement of a rate gyro assembly to maintain station orientation and the replacement of a planar reflector to provide navigation data. NASA+ begins its spacewalk coverage at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Earlier in his shift, Wilmore set up and calibrated genetic sequencing hardware that analyzes station water samples to identify bacteria and fungi species. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit started his day on orbital plumbing tasks before removing and processing research samples collected from the Gradient Heating Furnace that enables semiconductor crystal growth research.

Working in the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment, all three cosmonauts, including Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov, studied how microgravity affects blood flow through the tiniest vessels in the human circulatory system. The trio also replaced electronics gear and serviced orbital plumbing hardware throughout the day on Tuesday.

Two NASA astronauts are gearing up this week for the first spacewalk of the year at the International Space Station. The Expedition 72 crew members also started the week working on botany, combustion, and human research and practicing departing the orbital outpost.

Flight Engineer Nick Hague and Commander Suni Williams are scheduled to set their spacesuit batteries to internal power at approximately 8 a.m. EST on Thursday to officially begin their science and maintenance spacewalk. They will exit the Quest airlock into the vacuum of space and spend about six-and-a-half hours servicing astrophysics gear including the NICER X-ray telescope and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. The pair on Monday organized and configured spacewalking tools inside Quest as NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore charged and installed the lithium-ion batteries that will power their spacesuits. NASA+ begins its spacewalk coverage at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.

Hague and Williams also spent the first half of their day focusing on research to improve spacecraft safety and sustain crews on long term missions. Hague opened up the Combustion Integrated Rack and swapped samples of materials to observe how they burn in weightlessness. Understanding how flames spread in space may improve fire safety on crew missions. Williams installed new hardware and supplied water to the Advanced Plant Habitat for a space botany study exploring how different water levels affect plant growth to provide food for crews on long-term space missions.

Wilmore had earlier started his shift collecting potable water samples for analysis then inspecting emergency gear such as fire extinguishers and breathing masks. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit joined cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner and conducted emergency training in the unlikely event the trio would have to evacuate the orbital outpost inside the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship and return to Earth.

Ovchinin and Vagner later attached sensors to themselves and measured how microgravity affects blood flow through the tiniest vessels in the human circulatory system for a Roscosmos human research investigation. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov worked on life support maintenance throughout the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment on Monday.

The Expedition 72 crew wrapped up the week aboard the International Space Station preparing for a spacewalk to service science and station hardware next week. The orbital residents also continued their biotechnology and human research activities to advance health on Earth and in space.

Two spacewalks are scheduled for Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 to maintain astrophysics research gear, replace advanced communications gear, and search for potential microbes living on the outside the space orbital outpost.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams will go on the first spacewalk and spend about six-and-a-half hours patching a light leak on the NICER X-ray telescope, readying the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer for future upgrades, and replacing station orientation and navigation gear. The pair was joined by NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Butch Wilmore on Friday reviewing next week’s spacewalk procedures and conferring with engineers on the ground.

The second spacewalk will see two yet-to-be-announced astronauts exiting the station’s Quest airlock to replace an antenna assembly, search for external microbes, and checkout the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Both spacewalks will begin around 7 a.m. with NASA+ coverage starting at 5:30 a.m.

Hague began his day processing samples of micro-algae that may be able to produce food to sustain crews and oxygen to support spacecraft life support systems. Next, he downloaded his health data collected for analysis after he jogged on the COLBERT treadmill and worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device.

The other three NASA astronauts including Commander Williams and Flight Engineers Pettit and Wilmore spent the first half of their day on a variety of orbital maintenance. Williams checked out components on a fluorescence biology microscope while Pettit and Hague serviced electronics, plumbing, and life support systems.

Working in the station’s Roscosmos segment, cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner took turns exploring how a crew member living in weightlessness uses vision to adapt their sense of balance and orientation. Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov inspected piloting and navigation gear throughout his shift on Friday.

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

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Wednesday was packed with an array of advanced microgravity research promoting fire safety in space, exploring the effects of exercising in weightlessness, and testing futuristic piloting techniques. The Expedition 72 crew is also gearing up for a spacewalk to repair and upgrade science hardware on the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Nick Hague had their hands full with a variety of space science and spacesuit activities. Pettit began his shift collecting his urine samples and stowing them in a science freezer for later analysis. Later he replaced experiment samples inside the Combustion Integrated Rack to safely observe how flames spread on a variety of materials in microgravity potentially improving fire safety on future space missions.

Hague spent the first half of his shift wearing the Bio-Monitor vest and headband that recorded his heart and breathing rate while he worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device and jogged on the COLBERT treadmill. Afterward, he joined NASA Commander Suni Williams organizing the Quest airlock and readying a pair of spacesuits for a Jan. 16 spacewalk.

NASA managers will talk about that spacewalk and a second one planned for Jan. 23 during a spacewalk preview briefing that will be broadcast on NASA+ beginning at 2 p.m. EST on Friday. During the first spacewalk, Hague and Williams will exit Quest to repair a “light leak” on the NICER X-ray telescope and prepare the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer for future upgrades. The second spacewalk will see two yet-to-be announced astronauts remove radio communications gear and collect samples for analysis of potential microbes living outside the space station. Both spacewalks will begin around 7 a.m. with NASA+ coverage starting at 5:30 a.m.

NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore started his shift inside the Kibo laboratory module stowing and photographing space biology gear. Afterward, he ended his day conducting cargo operations inside the Cygnus resupply ship and inventorying medical kits inside the orbital outpost’s two Human Research Facilities.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Aleksandr Gorbunov started their day taking turns wearing a sensor-packed cap that measured their reactions as they practiced on a computer futuristic planetary and robotic piloting techniques. Future crews may use the data gained from these tests to plan missions farther away from Earth. Ovchinin later joined Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner and checked out audio hardware in the Zvezda service module.

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

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Most of the Expedition 72 crew was off duty on Tuesday while a pair of NASA astronauts conducted human research and studied biotechnology. Two spacewalks are now planned this month for science maintenance and station upgrades.

Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Nick Hague kept up a host of advanced space research aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The NASA duo explored how microgravity affects the human body and studied ways to produce fresh food and oxygen in space.

Pettit focused on human research Tuesday as he collected his saliva, blood, and urine samples. He processed and stowed those samples in a science freezers for later analysis to understand how weightlessness affects station crew members. Hague serviced samples of micro-algae exposing them to various light intensities to observe how they produce oxygen and nutrients in microgravity. Observations may promote crew health and advance life support systems on future spacecraft.

At the end of his shift, Hague refilled tanks and liquid cooling ventilation garments with water preparing a pair of spacesuits for a pair of upcoming spacewalks. He and Commander Suni Williams of NASA are scheduled to begin the first spacewalk at 7 a.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 16. The pair will exit the orbital outpost’s Quest airlock and spend about six-and-a-half hours replacing a rate gyro assembly, servicing the NICER X-ray telescope, and preparing the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer for future upgrades.

Mission managers will discuss that spacewalk and a second one planned for Jan. 23 on NASA+ beginning at 2 p.m. EST on Friday. NASA+ will also broadcast both spacewalks beginning at 5:30 a.m. with the Jan. 23 excursion also starting at 7 a.m.

Meanwhile, Williams and NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore had the day off on Tuesday following a busy day on Monday. Cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov also relaxed Tuesday as they observed the Eastern Orthodox Christmas holiday.

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

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