ISS Daily Summary Report – 1/09/2023

SpaceX-26 Undock and Return: Cargo Dragon SpaceX-26 (SpX-26) undocked from the ISS today at 4:05 PM CT to return cargo and payloads to the ground concluding the 43-day mission aboard the ISS. SpX-26 will complete departure phasing throughout the next day, jettison the Trunk for destructive re-entry, deorbit, and then splash down off the coast of Tampa, Florida on Wednesday January 11th.

Payloads:

Food Physiology: Various samples were gathered, processed, and prepared for return to the ground. The Integrated Impact of Diet on Human Immune Response, the Gut Microbiota, and Nutritional Status During Adaptation to Spaceflight (Food Physiology) experiment is designed to characterize the key effects of an enhanced spaceflight diet on immune function, the gut microbiome, and nutritional status indicators. These factors are interlinked, but diet is the only one that can be easily and meaningfully altered on Earth or during flight. This investigation aims to document the effect of dietary improvements on human physiology and the ability of those improvements to enhance adaptation to spaceflight.

Moderate Temperature Protein Crystal Growth (MTPCG): Following the end of the crystallization period, the MTPCG samples and support hardware were removed from Freezer-Refrigerator Of STirling cycle-2 (FROST2) and prepared for return on SpX-26 for later analysis. JAXA’s MTPCG investigation is designed to grow high quality protein crystals in microgravity. The crystals are returned to Earth to determine protein structures in detail; the structures are used to develop pharmaceutical drugs and to explore the mystery of our lives. The protein samples were launched to the ISS by a cargo resupply vehicle and crystallized at 20°C using the counter-diffusion method.

ISS: Engineering Stem Cell-Derived Cardiac Microtissues with Metabolic Regulators in Space to Promote Cardiomyocyte Maturation (Project EAGLE): A subset of the samples was packed for return so the ground can assess the cold stowage transport method. Culturing human cardiomyocytes or heart cells holds potential for disease modelling and drug discovery. In microgravity, cardiac cells can grow into 3D cultures that have better structural maturation compared with 2D cultures grown on Earth. Project EAGLE grows 3D cultures of cardiomyocytes that could provide a better model of heart disease and improve assessment of therapeutic measures.

TangoLab-3: Cubes LMDA_PAR010 and MAGN_GRW07 were removed from their TangoLab facility cards and prepared for return on SpX-26. These experiment cubes look at artificial retina manufacturing and legume nitrogen fixation in microgravity. The TangoLab facility is a reconfigurable general research facility designed for microgravity research and development (R&D) and pilot manufacturing aboard the ISS.

Veg-05: The young plants growing the two Veggie facilities were inspected, watered if necessary, and photographed. The experiment is growing Red Robin dwarf tomatoes for a little over 3 months and will perform multiple harvests of the fruits produced. The Pick-and-Eat Salad-Crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System (Veg-05) investigation is the next step in efforts to address the need for a continuous fresh-food production system in space.

Systems:

Cargo Dragon Undock Preparation Activities: Prior to departure, the crew relocated Space Station Computer (SSC) 16 and SSC 27 in support of monitoring tools setup for SpX-26 undocking. The crew verified all straps were securely tightened on all visible cargo and completed the final Cargo Dragon Closeout, as well as loading Double Cold Bags into Cargo Dragon. Finally, the crew configured Cargo Dragon for departure, final egress, and Dragon Hatch closure.

USOS Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparation Activities: In preparation for the upcoming EVA, the crew reviewed the EVA operations plan using the Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Software. DOUG is a 3D viewing tool or graphic engine designed by the Virtual Reality Training Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. DOUG produces mission-specific scene configuration databases that are utilized in major simulations throughout NASA centers. The crew also inspected all Safety and Waist Tethers and D-ring Extenders for structural integrity. In addition, the crew performed a Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Powered Hardware Checkout for glove heaters and Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) TV.

Transfer Cargo Dragon Cargo Operations: Today, the crew completed transferring science experiments and cargo from the ISS to the SpX-26 cargo vehicle. SpX-26 undocked this afternoon to return cargo and payloads to the ground.

Completed Task List Activities:

  • N/A

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

  • Dragon SSC Reboot
  • Dragon Configuration for Departure
  • SDMS Activation
  • SPS Power Down
  • ACS Configuration for Dragon Undocking from PMA3

Look Ahead Plan

Tuesday, January 10 (GMT 010)
Payloads:

  • Food Physiology
  • RFIDISS Bar Code Report
  • Standard Measures Saliva Collect
  • Veg-05 check

Systems:

  • Crew Off Duty Day

Wednesday, January 11 (GMT 011)
Payloads:

  • HRF-1 Rack rotation
  • JEM COSMIC LED R&R
  • Veg-05 Check

Systems:

  • EMU Cooling Loop Maintenance Scrub
  • EVA Tool Configuring
  • EMU Water Recharge
  • EMU Checkout
  • EMU LVCG Water Fill
  • HRF-1 Rack Umbilical Mate
  • Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations

Thursday, January 12 (GMT 012)
Payloads:

  • CIR/SoFIE High O2 Manifold Bottle Replace
  • EXPRESS Rack 8 Laptop HD swap
  • JEM COSMIC Sample Removal
  • JWRS Valve Replace
  • MSPR Video Cable Disconnect
  • Plant Habitat-03A Plant Thinning
  • Standard Measures Presleep Question
  • Veg-05 Check

Systems:

  • EVA Equipment Lock Preparation
  • EVA Procedure Review
  • EVA Suit IV Review
  • POC DOUG Software Review
  • EHS TOCA WRS Sample Analysis

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

  • HRF Generic Saliva Collection
  • HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval and Insertion
  • HRF Generic Urine Collection
  • EVA Tether Inspection
  • Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations
  • POC DOUG Software Review
  • Cargo Dragon SSC Relocate
  • LUMINA Device Power Reboot
  • Cold Stowage Double Cold Bag Pack and Transfer to Dragon
  • LUMINA Data Transfer with EveryWear
  • METOX Regeneration Termination
  • REBA Powered Hardware Checkout
  • Project Eagle Sample Retrieval from MELFI 2
  • JAXA MT PCG Sample Retrieval and Installation
  • IMS Update
  • Transfer Cargo Dragon Cargo Operations
  • VEG-05 Plant Check/Water
  • Food Physiology MELFI Sample Insertion and Retrieval
  • Food Physiology Fecal Sample Processing
  • HRF Generic Ambient Blood Collection
  • Docking Dragon Monitoring Tools Setup
  • TangoLab-3 Card Cube Remove
  • Cargo Dragon Closeout
  • Dragon Departure Photos
  • CWC-I Degas
  • Dragon Egress in Preparation for Departure
  • Dragon Undock Monitor