ISS – Expedition 59 Mission patch.
April 9, 2019
Astronauts on the International Space Station continue to sustain a high level of activity, following two recent spacewalks and the addition of new crew members in March. The Expedition 59 crew began preparation for a third spacewalk and arrival of resupply ships from both SpaceX and Northrop Grumman in April, bringing more science experiments to the orbiting lab.
Here are details on a few of the scientific investigations conducted during the week of April 1 on the space station:
Guided by the moon and stars
Image above: Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques in the ISS cupola with a camera assembly for collecting images of the moon and adjacent star fields. Algorithms used onboard the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to determine its position are used to analyze these images on the ground. Comparing the station’s derived position to its known position at the moment each photo was taken helps validate the optical navigation system’s performance using ISS as the test vehicle.
Image Credit: NASA.
Over the weekend, the crew performed two sessions for Moon Imagery, photographing the moon’s phases during one 29-day cycle in images of varying brightness. Should a spacecraft lose communication with the ground or with NASA’s Deep Space Network, its crew must navigate as ancient mariners did, using the moon and stars. Moon Imagery collects pictures of the moon from the space station and uses them to calibrate navigation software. This software could guide the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle in case its transponder-based navigation capability is lost. NASA is developing Orion as the exploration vehicle to carry humans farther into space than ever before.
How to feel at home in space
The Canadian Space Agency’s At Home in Space investigation assesses culture, values, and psychosocial adaptation of astronauts to a space environment shared by multinational crews on long-duration missions. Researchers suspect that astronauts develop a shared culture as an adaptive strategy for handling cultural differences and deal with the isolated confined environment of the spacecraft by creating a home in space. Last week, the crew completed questionnaires used to evaluate individual and culturally related differences, family functioning, values, coping with stress, and post-experience growth.
Animation above: NASA astronaut Anne McClain preps the camera for an ISS Experience filming session. Animation Credit: NASA.
Virtual visits to the space station
The virtual reality film The ISS Experience shares life aboard the orbiting lab and science activities conducted there with different audiences on Earth. Last week, crew members recorded an ISS crew conference to create an 8 to 10 minute video. The six-month investigation covers various aspects of crew life, execution of science experiments, and the international partnerships involved.
Image above: Wasabi growing in the Vegetable Production System for the Veg-03 study exploring how crew members can grow their own food to sustain long-term space missions. The plants are harvested on-orbit and samples returned to Earth for testing. Image Credit: NASA.
Other investigations on which the crew performed work:
– Future long-duration space missions will require crew members to grow their own food. Veg-03H uses the Veggie plant growth facility to cultivate Extra Dwarf Pak Choi and Wasabi mustard for harvest on-orbit: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1159
– The Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) includes an optics bench, combustion chamber, fuel and oxidizer control, and five different cameras for performing combustion investigations in microgravity: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=317
– The Material Science Research Rack (MSRR) is used for basic materials research in the microgravity environment of the ISS and can accommodate and support diverse Experiment Modules: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Facility.html?#id=318
– Food Acceptability examines changes in the appeal of food aboard the space station during long-duration missions: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7562
– The Behavioral Core Measures investigation analyzes whether a standardized suite of measurements can rapidly and reliably assess the risk of adverse cognitive or behavioral conditions and psychiatric disorders during long-duration spaceflight: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7537
– Standard Measures captures a consistent, optimized, and minimal set of measures from crew members throughout the ISS Program in order to characterize adaptive responses to and risks of living in space: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7711
Related links:
Expedition 59: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition59/index.html
Moon Imagery: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1794
Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/index.html
At Home in Space: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=1727
The ISS Experience: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7877
Spot the Station: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video (NASA), Text, Credits: NASA/Michael Johnson/Jorge Sotomayor, Lead Increment Scientist Expeditions 59/60.
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