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https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/04/10/crew-researches-biology-and-physics-practices-for-emergency/

Crew Researches Biology and Physics, Practices for Emergency

Mark Garcia
Posted Apr 10, 2018 at 1:18 pm


This oblique view taken above southeastern Europe looks west over Italy and into the Mediterranean Sea toward France and Spain.

The fully-staffed Expedition 55 crew worked throughout the International Space Station today exploring how microgravity affects a variety of phenomena including biology and physics. The six long-term space residents also practiced a simulated emergency today to maintain their safety skills and awareness.

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Flight Engineer Drew Feustel started Tuesday collecting a urine sample and stowing it inside the Human Research Facility's (HRF) science freezer for later analysis. Shortly afterward, Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai ins erted a dosimeter and biological samples in the HRF's freezer to research the effects of cosmic radiation on mammalian reproduction.

Commander Anton Shkaplerov swapped manifold bottles inside the Combustion Integrated Rack, a device that enables the safe observation of flames and soot on the orbital laboratory. Shkaplerov's work today is in support of the Advanced Combustion Microgravity Experiment (ACME). ACME is a se t of five independent studies researching gaseous flames in space that may enable more fuel efficient and less polluting technologies on Earth.

NASA astronaut Scott Tingle unpacked new medicine for the crew from the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship today. He also packed up and stowed expired or unused medicine back inside Dragon for return and disposal back on Earth.

The entire crew got together in the middle of the day and trained for the unlikely event of an emergency aboard the orbital lab today. The four astronauts and two cosmonauts practiced communication coordination and familiarized themselves with the location of response areas and safety gear.

Meanwhile, robotics flight controllers are remotely swapping Pump Flow Subassemblies on the outside of the station. They are removing a spare launched on Dragon and replacing it with a failed unit on the Port 6 truss. This is the first of a series of maneuvers that will culminate with another swap of components during the next spacewalk in mid-May.

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NASA Kennedy / KSC‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASAKennedy 15 ч. назад

On Monday, NASA astronaut Scott Tingle surprised the Veggie ground crew during a #SpaceToGround when he revealed a bolting red romaine lettuce during a harvest on @Space_Station. When lettuce bolts, it enters the reproduction stage - a first for Veggie @ISS_Research.

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Expedition 55 Inflight Educational Event - Queens University, April 6, 2018

NASA Video

Опубликовано: 10 апр. 2018 г.

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Expedition 55 Inflight Interview - Czech TV, April 9, 2018

NASA Video

Опубликовано: 10 апр. 2018 г.

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Paxi on the ISS: Sleeping in space

European Space Agency, ESA

Опубликовано: 9 апр. 2018 г.

Our alien friend Paxi, ESA Education's mascot, went to visit American astronaut Scott Tingle on board the International Space Station. Tingle tells Paxi about how astronauts sleep in weightlessness, an important aspect of living on the ISS.

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Alexander Gerst training in Houston

European Space Agency, ESA

Опубликовано: 10 апр. 2018 г.

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst will fly to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft in June 2018.

It will be the second mission to space for the German astronaut. During his stay he will take over duties as commander of the Space Station.

Alexander will spend some six months aboard for his Horizons mission, named for its goal of broadening our knowledge of Earth, low-Earth orbit and beyond.

Alexander has an exciting (and packed) schedule of science for Horizons. Over 50 European experiments are planned, targeting areas such as human ageing and medicine, climate, digitalisation and fundamental research.

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2018/04/10/iss-daily-summary-report-4102018/

ISS Daily Summary Report – 4/10/2018

Human Research Program (HRP) Collections (Biochemical Profile and Repository):

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A 54S crewmember collected urine samples for his FD15 sessions of the Biochem Profile and Repository investigations.

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• The Biochemical Profile experiment tests blood and urine samples obtained from astronauts before, during, and after spaceflight. Specific proteins and chemicals in the samples are used as biomarkers, or indicators of health. Post-flight analysis yields a database of samples and test results; which scientists can use to study the effects of spaceflight on the body.
• Repository is a storage bank used to maintain biological specimens over extended periods of time and under well-controlled conditions. The repository supports scientific discovery that contributes to our fundamental knowledge in the area of human physiological changes and adaptation to a microgravity environment and provides unique opportunities to study longitudinal changes in human physiology spanning many missions.
  

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Earth Imagery from ISS Target (EIISS):

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The crew captured images today of the Nile delta at night. EIISS captures a series of videos showcasing targets around the world as seen from the ISS. These videos will be integrated into a product for later release.

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Space Pup:

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Today the crew ins erted Space Pup samples into a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The Space Pup investigation is designed to support the study of the effects of cosmic radiation on mammalian reproduction. Freeze-dried mouse spermatozoa are kept on board the ISS and exposed to cosmic radiation for various lengths of time before they are returned to Earth.

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Payload Network Attached Stowage (PL NAS):

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The crew replaced the failed PL NAS shell with a spare unit today. The PL NAS consists of a chassis housing 5 hard disk drives. It provides storage for users like payload laptops that need updated anti-virus software definition files. The Invitrobone payload that arrived on the SpaceX-14 vehicle will need the PL NAS storage space to stage its software prior to operations.

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Space Automated Bioproduct Lab (SABL):

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The crew removed the CO2 Incubator from the SABL this morning and ins erted Metabolic Tracking Thaw pouches. SABL supports a wide variety of experiments in the life, physical and material sciences with a focus on supporting research of biological systems and processes. It has a temperature controlled volume with LED lighting for scientific hardware and experiments. It can be fitted to provide 5% CO2 for cell cultures.

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Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR):

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The crew removed and replaced manifold bottles today to support the ongoing microgravity combustion research operations in the CIR. The ACME experiments being performed in the CIR include five independent studies of gaseous flames. The primary goals of ACME are to improve fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant production in routine fuel combustion activities on Earth. Its secondary goal is to improve spacecraft fire prevention through innovative research focused on materials flammability.

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Story Time From Space:

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A crewmember participated in the Story Time from Space project by reading "The Mission to Catarina" today while being videotaped. The recording will be downlinked and used for educational purposes. Story Time From Space combines science literacy outreach with simple demonstrations recorded aboard the ISS. Crew members read science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related children's books on orbit, and complete simple science concept experiments. Video and data collected during the demonstrations are downlinked to the ground and posted in a video library with accompanying educational materials.

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Water Recovery and Management (WRM) Payload Water Reservoir (PWR) Consolidation:

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Today the crew consolidated condensate from seven PWRs in to one condensate Common Water Container (CWC) using the condensate transfer pump. These PWRs will be returned to Earth for refurbishment and future use. Approximately 35 liters of water were recovered from these PWRs.

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Acoustic Monitoring:

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After wearing acoustic monitors for 24 hours, the crew replaced batteries within the units prior to deploying them to three locations within ISS for static acoustics monitoring. The acoustic monitoring sessions gather data to characterize any changes to the acoustic environment throughout the station.

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Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Sample Collection:

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The crew will collect water samples from the PWD for in-flight and post-flight microbial and coliform analysis. This is a regularly scheduled activity that is performed multiple times throughout the expedition to verify water quality.

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On Board Training (OBT) ISS Emergency Response Simulation:

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All crewmembers and ground control centers are currently participating in an exercise to practice emergency responses.  The crew will be performing the following:

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• Physically translate through ISS to the appropriate response locations to visualize the use of station equipment and interfaces.
• Practice procedure execution and associated decision making based on cues provided by the simulator.
• Practice communication and coordination with Mission Control Center (MCC)-Houston and MCC-Moscow as required for a given emergency scenario.
  

Following the exercise, the crew and ground teams will participate in a review to discuss results and address questions and comments.

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Dragon Robotic Operations:

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Monday night, the Mobile Transporter (MT) was translated from Worksite (WS) 2 to WS 8. The robotics team setup the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) in preparation for the Pump Flow Control System (PFCS) R&R. Upon maneuvering the SPDM ORU Tool Changeout Mechanism (OTCM), it was observed in the downlink video that there is a small EVA Nomex handle attached to the PFCS FSE that was very close to the Launch Lock grapple fixture. This delayed robotic operations while the robotic team assessed and gathered views. They were able to successfully maneuver around the strap and the FSE launch locks were released. Tonight, controllers will complete FSE lid opening, PFCS removal, and installation of the new PFCS onto the P6 Long Spacer after removal and stowage of the degraded PFCS currently occupying that location. The degraded PFCS will be place in to the Dragon trunk later this week for disposal after SpaceX-14 unberth next month.

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https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_a_Thunderstorm

April 10, 2018
Once Upon a Time in a Thunderstorm

Thunderstorms in Earth's upper atmosphere remain something of a mystery. Scientists cannot reach them directly with instruments; they are too high for balloons and too low for weather satellites. Flying through thunderstorms or camping out on mountaintops waiting for one typically ranks low even on an adventurers' bucket list.

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Upper atmospheric phenomena powered by thunderstorms, including terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes and Transient Luminous Emissions (TLEs), electrical discharges that include blue glimpses at the top of thunderstorms, blue jet, gigantic jet, red sprite, haloes, and elves.
Credits: DTU Space, TGF: NASA

An investigation aboard the International Space Station has come to the rescue. The European Space Agency (ESA) Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) is a collection of optical cameras, photometers and a large X- and gamma-ray detector mounted on the outside of ESA's Columbus Module on the station. For at least two years, it will observe thunderstorm-generated electrical discharges in the upper atmosphere – the stratosphere and mesosphere – up to the ionosphere, the edge of space. This Earth observation facility enables study of severe thunderstorms and their role in the Earth's atmosphere and climate.


Thunderstorm seen fr om the space station.
Credits: DTU Space, ESA, NASA

Upper-atmospheric lightning, known as transient luminous events, includes colorful phenomena with names straight out of a fairy tale: sprites, elves, and giants.

The space station offers this investigation an ideal observing platform for several reasons. Its low-Earth orbit brings the observations as close as possible to these upper-atmosphere phenomena. The station's orbit also offers almost complete coverage of tropical and subtropical regions, much of which are difficult to access but are where some of the most intense thunderstorms form. Finally, observations are made in optical bands that are subject to absorption in the atmosphere and so cannot be used for ground observations.

Sprites are flashes caused by electrical breakdown in the mesosphere. Blue jets are lightning discharges reaching upwards through the stratosphere, and elves are concentric rings of emissions caused by an electromagnetic pulse at the ionosphere's bottom edge. Giants are large discharges that create an electrical breakdown of the atmosphere from the top of thunderstorms to the bottom ionosphere. Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes are a flash phenomenon generated at the top of thunderstorms. Evidence suggests that run-away electron discharge causes some of these phenomena.


Blue Jet reaching 30 km upwards into the stratosphere as seen from the space station.
Credits: DTU Space, ESA, NASA

In the 1920s, English scientist C.T.R. Wilson received a Nobel Prize for work with a cloud chamber that made visible the ionizing radiation from cosmic rays and X-rays. He predicted that electrical discharges can occur above thunderstorms in the mesosphere, and that thunderstorm electrical fields can accelerate electrons to relativistic energies. Instruments were not sensitive enough to provide a definitive answer until 1993, however, when flashes of X-rays over thunderstorms were observed from NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.

In 1990, the first observation of a sprite was documented, and since then ground and aircraft observations discovered a multitude of discharges above thunderstorms, and spacecraft in low orbit observed X- and gamma-ray radiation.

ASIM represents a comprehensive global survey of these super-high altitude, difficult-to-observe-from-the-ground events to help determine their physics and how they relate to lightning. The investigation also studies high-altitude cloud formation and determines what characteristics make thunderstorms effective in disturbing the high-altitude atmosphere. The research improves understanding of the effect of thunderstorms on Earth's atmosphere and contributes to better atmospheric models and meteorological and climatological predictions.

"High-altitude observation allows us to study these events without the obscuring clouds," said principal investigator Torsten Neubert of the National Space institute of the Technical University of Denmark. "With ASIM we will better understand the complex processes of upper-atmospheric lightning, which are also elements of ordinary lightning, although they take on different forms. This understanding can improve technology for detecting ordinary lightning."

The investigation also helps clarify the effect of thunderstorms on the atmosphere, ionosphere and radiation belts, and will monitor the influx of meteors in Earth's environment and their effect on its atmosphere. Blue jets at the top of thunderstorm clouds, for example, change the concentration of greenhouse gases, another way thunderstorms can affect the stratosphere.

The types of discharges and their structure help scientists better understand the structure of the atmosphere wh ere they occur and of the thunderstorm battery that powers them.

"We will learn more about thunderstorm clouds and more of the fine-structure of the stratosphere and mesosphere, of which little is known," Neubert said. Based on video taken by ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen from the space station in 2015, scientists already learned more about what types of cloud create such activity, and that lightning comes from clouds at an altitude of about 10.5 miles (17 km). "These are solid scientific results documenting for the first time how active the tops of thunderclouds can be," he added.

ASIM observations also improve understanding of the effect of dust storms, urban pollutants, forest fires, and volcanoes on cloud formation and electrification, and the relation of eye-wall lightning activity to intensification of thunderstorms. That could help us all live more happily ever after.

For more information about current investigations happening aboard the space station, follow @ISS_Research. For opportunities to see the space station pass over your town, check out Spot the Station.


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Melissa Gaskill

International Space Station Program Science Office
Johnson Space Center

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Last Updated: April 11, 2018
Editor: Michael Johnson

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/04/11/variety-of-life-studied-to-benefit-humans-on-earth-and-in-space/

Variety of Life Studied to Benefit Humans on Earth and in Space

Mark Garcia
Posted Apr 11, 2018 at 1:33 pm


Daybreak begins to interrupt this aurora as the International Space Station flies an orbital day pass.

The Expedition 55 crew explored a wide variety of life science today studying how different biological systems are affected by long-term exposure to microgravity. The multi-faceted space residents observed human genetic and tissue samples, rodents and fruit flies aboard the orbital laboratory today.

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Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold started his morning gearing up the student-designed Genes in Space-5 experiment. He processed hardware and genetic samples to help scientists understand the relationship between DNA alterations and weakened immune systems possibly caused by living in space.

Arnold later joined fellow NASA astronaut Drew Feustel for ultrasound eye exams with remote assistance from doctors on the ground. Feustel wrapped up his workday checking on fruit flies housed in the Multi-Use Variable-G Platform that enables research into smaller and microscopic organisms.

Norishige Kanai, from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, tended to mice recently launched to space aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft. The rodents are part of the Mouse Stress Defense experiment that tests strategies to counteract microgravity stresses and cell signaling that lead to bone and muscle loss.

Doctors are learning how medicine works in space and what it does inside astronaut's bodies. NASA Flight Engineer Scott Tingle looked at a particular type of medicine today and how it interacts with human tissue cultures. Results could improve therapies in space and lead to better, cheaper drugs on Earth.

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Oleg Artemyev‏Подлинная учетная запись @OlegMKS 8 ч. назад

#Новороссийск, привет! Как у вас дела? Как погодка в Краснодарском крае? #Novorossiysk, hello! How are you? What kind of weather do you have?

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С Днем космонавтики!

Телестудия Роскосмоса

Опубликовано: 11 апр. 2018 г.

Космонавты Антон Шкаплеров и Олег Артемьев с борта МКС поздравляют ветеранов и сотрудников ракетно-космической отрасли России с Днём космонавтики.

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или , или

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Dwarf Wheat Grows in International Space Station's Advanced Plant Habitat

NASA

Опубликовано: 11 апр. 2018 г.

The Advanced Plant Habitat is up and running aboard the International Space Station. This time lapse demonstrates the growth of dwarf wheat in the new facility.

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2018/04/11/iss-daily-summary-report-4112018/

ISS Daily Summary Report – 4/11/2018

Metabolic Tracking (MT):

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The crew set up MT hardware and materials for thawing and inoculation. They then injected the thawed inoculum into multiwell BioCells, which were ins erted in to the NanoRacks Plate Reader-2. NanoRacks Plate Reader-2 is a laboratory instrument designed to detect biological, chemical or physical events of samples in microtiter plates. The Metabolic Tracking investigation evaluates a rapid, low-cost method for assessing the effects of therapeutic compounds in microgravity. The method contributes to development of custom plans for emergency medical treatment for crew members, using primary tissue samples. This investigation also determines the feasibility of developing improved pharmaceuticals in microgravity using a new method to test the metabolic impacts of drug compounds. This could lead to more effective, less expensive drugs.

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Genes in Space-5:

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For the Genes in Space experiment the crew processed samples in the Miniature Polymerase Chain Reaction (miniPCR), and then transferred the data for downlink. The Genes in Space investigation is a winning student-designed experiment that tests whether the polymerase chain reaction can be used to study DNA alterations onboard the ISS. Spaceflight causes many changes to the human body, including alterations in DNA and a weakened immune system. Understanding whether these two processes are linked is important for safeguarding crew health, but DNA technology that can track these changes is relatively untested in space.

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Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) Protein Crystal Growth (PCG)-9:

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The crew performed a final inspection of the eight CASIS PCG-9 sample bags for crystal growth and then ins erted the sample bags into a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for return on the SpaceX-14 vehicle. The Wisconsin Crystal Growing Contest-Wisconsin Space Crystal Mission (CASIS PCG 9) investigation provides student researchers the opportunity to explore crystal growth in the microgravity environment of the ISS. Crystals grown without the influence of gravity have shown to contain fewer imperfections and grow to larger sizes. Middle and high school students compete to grow the most perfect ground-based crystal, as judged by experts in the crystallography field. The students who present the crystals with the fewest imperfections have the opportunity to fly their experiments to the space station.

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Mouse Stress Defense:

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The crew temporarily relocated the Mouse Habitat Cage Units from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) to the Glove Box to perform maintenance on the cage units. They replaced waste collecting equipment and odor filters. Microgravity provokes cellular mechanical stresses and perturbs cellular signaling, leading to reduction of muscle and bone density. To overcome these stresses, one of the promising strategies is to activate Nrf2, a master regulator of antioxidant pathway. Mouse Stress Defense investigates how Nrf2 contributes to effective prevention of space-originated stresses.

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TangoLab-2:

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The crew removed cubes from a card taken out of the TangoLab-2 facility, placed them in ziploc bags and then put them in a General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER). TangoLab-2 is a reconfigurable general research facilities designed for microgravity research and development and pilot manufacturing aboard the ISS.

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Multi-Use Variable-G Platform (MVP):

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The crew rotated the food chambers in each Drosophila module in the MVP today. MVP is used to conduct research in space with a wide variety of sample types, such as fruit flies, flatworms, plants, fish, cells, protein crystals and many others. It includes 2 internal carousels that simultaneously can produce up to 2 g of artificial gravity. Each carousel hosts 6 separate removable experiment modules on each carousel. Video and still imagery, including microscopy, can be included. The platform provides temperature and humidity controls and monitors and records oxygen and carbon dioxide levels.

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Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) Video Upgrade Equipment (VUE):

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This morning the crew and ground teams were unsuccessful in an attempt to boot up the MSG VUE from a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Flash Drive. The software on the flash drive had been updated following an analysis of the results from troubleshooting performed two days ago. The MSG VUE unit failed on March 1st. A replacement VUE will be flown up on the Orbital ATK-9 (OA-9) vehicle.

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Health Maintenance System (HMS) Eye Ultrasounds:

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Today the crew completed routine eye exams using an Ultrasound machine. Eye exams are performed regularly onboard in order to monitor crewmembers eye health. Eyesight is one of the many aspects of the human body that is affected by long-duration stays in a microgravity environment.

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Solid State Lighting Assembly (SSLA) Installation:

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This morning the crew installed a SSLA at the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) 1 Deck Starboard location. Over the weekend, the crew reported the General Lighting Luminaire (GLA) at this location had failed providing the opportunity to upgrade the lighting assembly in this location. The SSLA was designed to replace the GLA in order to improve visual acuity and provide a crew health countermeasure for circadian rhythms. To accomplish these goals, SSLAs are designed to operate in three different modes and provide control over the amount of emitted blue light. Blue light impacts melatonin production in humans and controlling its presence can assist with sleep, alertness and performance.

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Water Resource Management (WRM) Condensate Sample Collection:

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Today the crew collected a condensate sample from the Condensate Sample Port at the Water Recovery System (WSR) 2 Utility Interface Panel (UIP). This procedure captures condensate being collected into the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) Waste Tanks and contains the most recently collected condensate. A regularly scheduled activity, that collection is performed multiple times throughout the expedition to verify proper condensate quality and ensure optimum WRM performance.

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Dragon Robotic Operations:

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Yesterday and overnight, ground controllers completed Monday's deferred robotics tasks to remove the new Pump Flow Control Subsystem (PFCS), brought up on SpX-14, from the Flight Support Equipment (FSE) stowed on the Enhanced ORU Temporary Platform (EOTP). The failed PFCS (commonly referred to as 'Trippy' by flight controllers) was then removed from the P6 Long Spacer and the new PFCS was installed in its place. The new PFCS has been powered up and pressures and temperatures are within expected ranges. Tonight, ground operators will install 'Trippy' in to the FSE, conduct a Mobile Transporter (MT) translation from Worksite (WS)8 to WS6, and Walkoff the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) from the MT to Node 2.

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https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2018/04/12/crew-researching-plants-medicine-and-unloading-new-science-from-dragon/

Crew Researching Plants, Medicine and Unloading New Science from Dragon

Mark Garcia
Posted Apr 12, 2018 at 11:03 am


NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold works with the student-designed Genes in Space-5 experiment inside the Harmony module. The genetic research is helping scientists understand the relationship between DNA alterations and weakened immune systems possibly caused by living in space.

Today's research aboard the International Space Station is primarily focusing on how plants react and how medicine works in space. The Expedition 55 crew and robotics controllers are also continuing cargo operations inside and outside the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft.

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Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold participated today in the Plant Gravity Perception experiment, one of several ongoing space botany studies. The station crew is helping scientists explore how plants determine which way to grow and perceive light in microgravity. Results may help future astronauts training for longer missions beyond low-Earth orbit learn how to grow crops in space to sustain themselves.

Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai continued research into how the human body in space metabolizes medicine. NASA astronaut Drew Feustel started operations with the Metabolic Tracking (MT) experiment this morning before handing it off to Kanai. MT is looking at a particular type of medicine and how it interacts with human tissue cultures. Results could improve therapies in space and lead to better, cheaper drugs on Earth.

Scott Tingle of NASA partnered with Arnold today unloading more cargo from Dragon. They continue to unpack several thousand pounds of new science experiments, station hardware and crew supplies.

Outside the Dragon in its trunk is the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) experiment that will be robotically removed Friday. Engineers on the ground operating the Canadarm2 will maneuver ASIM, an Earth observation facility, and install it on Europe's Columbus lab module.

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ASIM‏ @ASIM_Payload 50 мин. назад

Follow @ASIM_Payload installation and first activation LIVE April 13 on http://asim.dk  and on twitter from 15:00 CEST. Team ready at @Busoc_official for the check-out and commissioning with @Terma_Global, @DTUSpace. @esaspaceflight

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Oleg Artemyev‏Подлинная учетная запись @OlegMKS 10 мин. назад

Вот так проходило празднование #12апреля и 7 месяцев моей дочки Анфисы на станции - с космическими тортиками "Москва" и чупа-чупсами с планетами .

The celebration of Cosmonautics Day and my daughter's 7-month on the International Space Station.

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http://spacenews.com/nasa-may-extend-space-station-missions-to-address-potential-commercial-crew-delays/

NASA may extend space station missions to address potential commercial crew delays
by Jeff Foust — April 13, 2018


NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot said April 12 that extending durations of crews on the International Space Station could help deal with any future delays in the development of commercial crew vehicles. Credit: NASA

WASHINGTON — NASA is in discussions with its Russian counterparts about extending some upcoming space station missions as a way to buy more time for development of commercial crew vehicles.

During an April 12 hearing by the commerce, justice and science subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee on the agency's fiscal year 2019 budget proposal, NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot said longer "increments" of crews on the ISS could be one way to provide more schedule margin in the event of additional delays by Boeing and SpaceX in the development of their crewed spacecraft.

"Right now we don't show a gap" in U.S. access to the International Space Station, Lightfoot said in response to a question posed by subcommittee chairman Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas). "But we're looking at options at what can we do to not have a gap."

"We're working with our partners, our Russian partners, on if we can have longer increments for crew members that go up," he said.

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He revisited that later in the hearing. "One thing we have is a great relationship with our Russians partners, and we're looking at other alternatives about potentially extending mission duration for the current missions that are there so that we don't gap the ability to get there," he said.

NASA's current agreement with flying astronauts on Soyuz vehicles expires next year, after the agency purchased three seats on Soyuz flights launching in the spring of 2019 and returning in the fall. It's not clear what would be involved in extending ISS mission durations, such as any technical issues regarding how long a Soyuz spacecraft can remain docked to the ISS.

NASA announced April 5 it had updated its existing commercial crew contract with Boeing to study modifications to the crewed test flight for the company's CST-100 Starliner. Those modifications would include adding a third astronaut and extending the spacecraft's stay at the ISS from two weeks to as long as six months. Those changes, Lightfoot noted at the hearing, were another way to mitigate the effects of additional development delays.

At the hearing, Lightfoot said there was still schedule margin for the development of Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon to be ready by the fall of 2019. Schedules last updated in January call for both companies to make uncrewed test flights of their vehicles in August. Boeing would then make a crewed test flight in November, followed by SpaceX in December.

Lightfoot, though, hinted that those schedules would be delayed again. "We still expect to see the first test flights at the end of this year," he said, later elaborating that these were the uncrewed test flights for both companies.

Culberson asked when the crewed test flights would take place, and Lightfoot said he would take that for the record. "I'm focused on the uncrewed one right now," he said.
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Подготовка к извлечению ASIM (314 кг,  122 см x 134 см x 99 см) из багажника Дракона

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Вид на ASIM в багажнике

ASIM‏ @ASIM_Payload 6 мин. назад

Better backdrop....

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