NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 2 March, 2021 – BEAM Cargo Activities

Two astronauts are gearing up for another spacewalk scheduled this Friday to continue maintenance on the outside of the International Space Station.
The rest of the Expedition 64 crew set up advanced research hardware and also entered BEAM for cargo activities.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins is readying tools and reviewing procedures for Friday’s spacewalk to continue installing solar array modification kits begun during Sunday’s spacewalk. She was joined by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi on Tuesday as he assisted with spacesuit preparations. Flight Engineer Victor Glover partnered with Noguchi for the spacesuit work and collected water samples from the suits for microbial analysis.

Rubins and Noguchi will set their U.S. spacesuits to battery power inside the U.S. Quest airlock around 7 a.m. EST signifying the start of their spacewalk. NASA TV will begin its live coverage of the planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk at 5:30 a.m.

NASA Flight Engineer Shannon Walker checked out radiation and biological gear today. She first deployed an experimental radiation detector to validate its use on future Orion spacecraft carrying crews to the Moon. Next, Walker powered up the Bio-Analyzer for upcoming cellular and molecular analysis work aboard the orbiting lab.

Walker also joined Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins opening up the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, for cargo work. The duo stowed hardware and replaced a wireless sensors inside the commercial module.

Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov focused on Russian science experiments in the station’s Russian segment. Ryzhikov wore a portable electrocardiogram that will record his electrical heart signals for 24 hours. Kud-Sverchkov serviced biology gear that enables investigations of cell cultures exposed to microgravity.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads

Actiwatch Plus: A crewmember connected Actiwatch units to the Human Research Facility (HRF)-2 rack to allow ground teams to downlink data. The Actiwatch is a waterproof, nonintrusive, sleep-wake activity monitor worn on the wrist of a crewmember. The device contains a miniature uniaxial accelerometer that produces a signal as the subject moves. The data are stored in nonvolatile memory within the Actiwatch until they are downloaded for analysis.

Artemis Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor (HERA) on Space Station (A-HoSS): The Artemis HERA hardware was setup and activated. A-HoSS demonstrates software to refine data analysis and operational products for future exploration missions. It modifies the HERA, built to operate as the primary radiation detection system for Orion and certified for flight on Artemis 2, to operate on the space station. The investigation provides an opportunity to evaluate this hardware in the space radiation environment prior to the Artemis 2 flight.

Bio-Analyzer: The crew performed a powerup and checkout of the Bio-Analyzer unit. Bio-Analyzer is a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) onboard instrument that serves as a platform for scientific experiments on the ISS. The instrument performs on-orbit quantification of biological molecules and cellular composition in samples collected and prepared aboard the ISS.

Real-Time Protein Crystal Growth-2 (RTPCG-2): The crew loaded protein crystallography plates with protein solutions, mixed in the custom salt solutions, sealed each plate and transferred them into Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL)-3 for incubation. RTPCG-2 demonstrates new methods for producing high-quality protein crystals in microgravity. Previous work has shown that microgravity produces high-quality protein crystals that can be analyzed to identify possible targets for drugs to treat disease. RTPCG-2 produces high-quality protein crystals for up to eight proteins for detailed analysis back on Earth.

Ribosome Profiling: The crew refilled water into the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Humidifier Water Tank in support of the Ribosome Profiling experiment. Since life on Earth emerged about 4 billion years ago, living species have evolutionally adjusted to Earth’s gravity. However, how cells utilize gravity for their gene expression has remained largely unknown. The Genome-wide Survey of Translational Control in Microgravity (Ribosome Profiling) investigation aims to provide insight into how gravity impacts gene expression, with a special focus on translation regulation utilizing a state-of-art technique called “ribosome profiling”.

Spacesuit Evaporation Rejection Flight Experiment (SERFE): The crew collected a water sample from the SERFE hardware and performed a microbial analysis. SERFE demonstrates a new technology to remove heat from spacesuits and maintain appropriate temperatures for crew members and equipment during space walks. The technology uses evaporation of water for cooling. The investigation determines whether microgravity affects performance and evaluates the technology’s effect on contamination and corrosion of spacesuit material.

Systems

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The crew completed several activities in preparation for the ISS Upgrades III EVA. The crew performed Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) resize for EMU 3009, re-filled both EMU water tanks, and configured tools for the EVA. Additionally, the crew reviewed procedures for the ISS Upgrades III EVA and participated in a conference with the ground. The ISS Upgrades III EVA (United States On-orbit Segment EVA 72) is scheduled for Friday, March 5th.

Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Ingress: The crew cleared stowage in Node 3 aft in order to open the hatch and ingress BEAM. The crew then performed a Remove & Replace (R&R) of the Wireless Temperature System (WTS) Transceiver with a spare in effort to recover communication between all four sets of the WTS sensors and the BEAM laptop. Next, the crew performed hardware stowage operations and retrieved a spare Wireless Video System External Transceiver Assembly (WETA) which is planned to be used for an R&R during the ISS Upgrades III EVA. Once operations were complete, the crew egressed BEAM, re-installed the BEAM hatch, and closed the Node 3 aft hatch.

Completed Task List Activities:

CSA-CP Probe Inspection
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

ISS ZCAM Filming Operations (ABORTED)
Thermal Amine Vent
Look Ahead Plan

Wednesday, March 3 (GMT 062)
Payloads:

AstroPi SD card Swap (ESA)
DOSIS Dostel-1 install (ESA)
FACET Cell Install to SCOF and cable connect (JAXA)
Spaceborne Computer Install (NASA)
AC Touch (NASA)
BPA power cable routing (NASA)
LSG WV stow (NASA)
TangoLab T/S (NASA)
ISS HAM (NASA)
Systems:

EVA Ammonia & ECWS OBT
EVA Procedure Conference
EVA Tool Configuration
EVA Cuff Print
WHC Piping R&R
EDV Swap
IMV Flow Measure
Thursday, March 4 (GMT 063)
Payloads:

Hunch tape Lap Ops (NASA)
Mochii Power vac check (NASA)
HRF-1 sply Inventory (NASA)
SERFE Analysis and Cold stowage insert (NASA)
Food Acceptability (NASA)
EarthKam Node 2 lens change (NASA)
BPA Power cable install (NASA)
LSR H2O QD unpack and stow (ESA)
PBRE water inspect (NASA)
Systems:

EVA Procedure Review & Conference
EVA Tool Configuration & Audit
EVA Equipment Lock Preparations
PPSB Fuse Removals
Friday, March 5 (GMT 064)
Payloads:

HRF-1 Rack handle R&R (NASA)
Food Acceptability (NASA)
AC-Touch (NASA)
PBRE water check (NASA)
Systems:

ISS Upgrades III EVA
ECLS PEPS Inspection
JSL Node 3 Cable Route PLC
Crew-1 Wi-Fi Test PLC
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Verification of anti-virus scan results on Auxiliary Computer System (???) laptops
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
Terminate recharge of SM-AGAT-U55 power bank and stow GoPro cameras, SM-GLS-U02 and SM-AGAT-U55
Aremis-Hybrid Electronic Radiation Assessor on Space Station (A-HoSS) Space Station Computer (SSC) Setup
ISS HAM Antenna Cable Change 1 & Change 2
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
Preparing for Troubleshooting FGB Power Supply System and ???? devices
PBRE/MSG Water Release Inspection/Cleanup
Vacuum cleaning FGB Pressurized Adapter
Crew Dragon Tablet Sync
Bio-Analyzer Hardware Connection And Power On
Pistol Grip Tool (PGT) Battery Charge Termination
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Profile of Mood States (POMS) Questionnaire
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Water Recharge
Micro-16 SABL USB Drive Install
Ribosome Profiling Humidifier Refilling and Installation
Actiwatch Plus HRF Rack 2 Setup & Stow
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
SERFE Water Sampling for In-flight Flight Analysis and MCD Processing
24-hour ECG Recording (start)
ARED Platform Partial Fold for BEAM Ops
CASKAD Operations
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Hardware Stowage Ops
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Wireless Temp Sys (WTS) Transceiver Replacement
ISS N2 repress from Progress 445 (DC1) ???? section 1
Cleaning ??1, ??2 dust filters and ?1, ?2, fan screens in MRM2
High Definition EMU Camera Assembly Terminate
Antimicrobial Coatings Documentation Photos
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – JEM
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Resize
??1, ??2 dust filter replacement and ?1, ?2 fan screen cleaning in DC1
Real-time Protein Crystal Growth Screening Plate Load S/N B1, Row A
INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Real-time Protein Crystal Growth Screening Plate Load S/N B2, Row A
ARED Platform Unfold Back to Nominal Position
Terminate SM-GLS-U02 (2) power bank charging for GoPro