ISS Daily Summary Report – 8/31/2021

Payloads:

ESA Biofilms: The crew reviewed the big picture words and then installed the Biofilm Experiment Containers (ECs) into the appropriate locations in Kubik 5 and Kubik 6.  The goal of the Biofilm Inhibition On Flight Equipment and On Board the ISS Using Microbiologically Lethal Metal Surfaces (ESA-Biofilms) investigation is to compare how biofilms are formed in low gravity and in a liquid environment on inhibiting and non-inhibiting metal surfaces for the purposes of spacecraft sanitation and crew health. Various species of bacteria are tested not only on different metallic surfaces (copper, stainless steel, and brass), but also on an array of different laser-etched surface treatments to ascertain whether topological differences influence biofilm formation in space. Through this investigation, teams will learn what surface types hold the highest antimicrobial properties and how that can contribute to future designing of spacecraft surfaces to safeguard crew health.

Faraday facility: The crew performed the necessary steps to install the Faraday facility into EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack 3 Locker 1.  Faraday Research Facility is a multipurpose, standalone research facility that loads into the EXPRESS Racks. EXPRESS Racks provide structural interfaces, power, data, cooling, water, and other needed items and consumables to operate science experiments in space. Faraday accommodates up to twelve 1.5 Unit or up to six 3 Unit microlabs (µLabs).

Lumina: The crew used a Bluetooth connection to transfer data from the Lumina radiation monitoring device via the EveryWear Application.  ESA’s Lumina experiment is an active fiber dosimeter that monitors, in real-time, the received radiation dose by exploiting the capacity of optical fibers to darken when exposed to radiation.  The dosimeter provides reliable dose measurements in complex environments that are subject to radiation exposure from electrons, protons, gamma-ray, X-ray, photons, or neutrons.

Materials Science Research Rack/Materials Science Laboratory/Low Gradient Furnace (MSRR/MSL/LGF): The crew performed the steps necessary to remove the processed Sample Cartridge Assembly (SCA) and install the next SCA that will be processed. The MSL SCA-Batch 3a-ESA investigation serves two projects, investigating how different phases organize in a structure when metallic alloys are solidified.  The Microstructure Formation in Casting of Technical Alloys under Diffusive and Magnetically Controlled Convective Conditions (MICAST) experiment aims to deepen the understanding of the physical principles that govern solidification processes in metal alloys.  The Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Solidification Processing (CETSOL) experiment also aims to deepen the understanding of the physical principles that govern solidification processes in metal alloys.

Nanoracks Module-9 ops 1: The crew gathered tubes 1, 5, and 6 from Nanoracks Module-9, opened the green clamps on the tubes to activate them, shook them to mix their contents, and then restowed them.  NanoRacks Module-9 consists of multiple student experiments housed within a NanoRacks Module container in individual Mixture Tubes.  Some experiments require crew interaction in which they remove clamps to mix materials and activate and/or deactivate the experiments. The experiments will be returned to the ground for analysis.

Plant Habitat-04: The crew accessed the plant growth chamber, removed any plant debris, and installed plant support rods.  Microgravity Growth of New Mexico Hatch Green Chile as a Technical Display of Advanced Plant Habitat’s Capabilities (Plant Habitat-04) demonstrates using the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) by growing peppers in space for the first time. An excellent source of Vitamin C, peppers are more difficult to cultivate than many possible space crops due to their longer time to germinate, grow, and develop fruit. The investigation includes microbial analysis to improve understanding of plant-microbe interactions in space and assessment of flavor and texture, which vary based on the growth environment and care such as amount of watering.

Tangolab-4: The crew removed payload card 02 from Slot A and installed it in Slot B. The crew also attached a new cube to payload card 018 and installed it into slot A of the TangoLab-4 Facility.  Space Tango’s TangoLab lockers are reconfigurable general research facilities designed for microgravity research and development (R&D) and pilot manufacturing aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Systems:

In-Flight Maintenance Airlock (A/L) Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Water Separator R&R: Today, the crew removed and replaced the Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Water Separator for the Airlock Cabin Air Rack (A/L1A1). The CCAA is the primary component responsible for the control of temperature and humidity in the USOS segment and consists of a fan, a condensing heat exchanger, an air/water separator, temperature and liquid sensors, and other electrical controlling hardware.

SpX-23 Cargo Dragon Cargo Operations: The crew continued cargo transfer operations by unloading cargo from Cargo Dragon. The crew also transferred and installed two Polar units to the ISS. Polar is a Cold Stowage managed facility that provides transport and storage of science samples at cryogenic temperatures (-80ºC) to and from the ISS. Polar operates on 75 W supplied power and uses air cooling as its heat rejection method. Polar can accommodate up to 12.75 liters of sample volume and 20 lbm including sample support equipment.

Resupply Air Tank Re-pressurization: Today, two of the Resupply Air Tanks that were delivered on NG-16 were vented in the spacecraft to re-pressurize the ISS internal volume. The remaining six tanks will be vented next week.

External Mobility Unit (EMU) Resize: The crew completed resizing of the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) EMU 3009 in support of the upcoming IROSA Prep 4A EVA on September 12th. Thomas Pesquet and Aki Hoshide will continue to work ongoing EVA preparation tasks.

Completed Task List Activities:

  • None

Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

  • Temperature and Humidity Control (THC) Airlock Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Activation
  • Command and Control Software (CCS) S-band Telemetry (TLM) Housekeeping 1 (HK1)
  • PRO Basic EXPRESS Rack 11B Activation Commanding in the LAB
  • Atmospheric Control System (ACS) Oxygen Leak Check [ACTIVE]

Look Ahead Plan

Wednesday, September 1 (GMT 244)
Payloads:

  • APEX-8
  • Astrobee
  • Eklosion
  • Food Acceptability
  • ISS Experience EVA camera data transfer
  • JAXA video take-8
  • Nanoracks mainframe Alpha install
  • Nanoracks Module-92
  • POLAR transfers
  • Redwire Regolith Print remove
  • RR-D1 crew conference and transfers
  • T2AR

Systems:

  • Extravehicular Activity (EVA) loop scrub
  • Environmental Health System (EHS) Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Collect
  • Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Manual Fill
  • Dragon Cargo Operations

Thursday, September 2 (GMT 245)
Payloads:

  • Astrobee stowage replace
  • ELF cartridge replace
  • EPO Blob conclude
  • FIR/ALL/ACE oil dispense
  • GIS-8
  • ICE cube 8/9 experiment install
  • Nanoracks module-9 ops 2
  • POLAR desiccant swap
  • RSD retrieve
  • SALI 1 install

Systems:

  • On Board Training (OBT) ROBoT T&C Self Study
  • EVA Procedure Review
  • Dragon Cargo Operations

Friday, September 3 (GMT 246)
Payloads:

  • Astrobee perching arm removal
  • Cold Stowage unpack
  • Food Acceptability survey
  • GIS-8
  • ISS Experience SSD change-out
  • MUSES server vent clean
  • POLAR desiccant swap/media retrieve
  • RSD sample exchange
  • Space Embryo
  • Technology Box

Systems:

  • Russian Segment (RS) EVA #49
  • Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Setup and Functional Checkout
  • Environmental Health System (EHS) – Coliform Water Sample Analysis
  • EVA procedure review

Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

  • Cold Stowage Double Coldbag Unpack
  • Rodent Research Rodent Habitat Recable
  • In Flight Maintenance Airlock Stowage Removal
  • JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side
  • ISS Experience EVA Z-Cam Removal
  • VEGGIE Hardware On-Board Training
  • In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Airlock (A/L) Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) Water Separator (WS) Remove & Replace (R&R)
  • Nanoracks Module-9 OBT
  • HRF Hardware Consolidation
  • JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side
  • MERLIN hardware retrieval
  • Biofilms Experiment Container installation
  • In Flight Maintenance Airlock Stowage Replace
  • JEM Common Gas Support Equipment (CGSE) Upper Ar Gas Supply Start
  • Nanoracks Module-9 Ops Session 1
  • MSRR Rack Inspection
  • EVA Battery Operations Terminal Autocycle Terminate [ABORTED]
  • JAXA Stowage Consolidation
  • Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Resize
  • TangoLab-4 Card Cube Replace
  • Polar Dragon Uninstall, Handover, Transfer and EXPRESS Rack Install
  • Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Water Recharge
  • Plant Habitat-04 DEBRIS Hardware Gather
  • Resupply Air Tank Setup and Initiation
  • APEX-08 Procedure Review #1
  • Extravehicular Activity Hard Upper Torso Gather
  • Cargo Transfer to Dragon
  • Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) in Columbus
  • Faraday-2 Facility Installation and Checkout
  • Rodent Research Activity Review