NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 1 March 2016

Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA, and Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov of Roscosmos landed their Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft in Kazakhstan at 11:26 p.m. EST. Russian recovery teams will help the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle and adjust to gravity after their stay in space.
Kelly and Kornienko launched to the space station on March 27, 2015, for their one-year mission. The pair’s return on March 1 marks the end of 340 days aboard the space station and almost 143 million miles during their time in space, roughly the same average distance between Earth and Mars.

With Kelly, Kornienko and Volkov landing in Kazakhstan, Kelly has logged 520 days in space on two flights, the first of which was on space shuttle mission STS-103 in 1998. Kornienko has spent 516 days in space on two flights, the first of which was on Expedition 23/24 in 2010. Volkov arrived at the station on September 4 and has spent 548 days in space on three flights, the first of which was in 2008.

Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra of NASA, Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos, and Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) remain aboard the station to continue research and maintenance. The remainder of the Expedition 47 crew, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skriprochka and Alexey Ovchinin, is scheduled to launch from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on March 18.

The one-year mission will provide new insights into how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, isolation, radiation and stress of long-duration spaceflight. The science will continue for months and years as the data are collected and analyzed, an important step in the first phase of NASA’s efforts to prepare humanity for the journey to Mars. Such Earth-reliant exploration will lead to more complex operations in orbit around the moon where NASA will demonstrate, advance, and validate the capabilities and technologies we will need to send humans to Mars.

On-Orbit Status Report

44 Soyuz (44S) Undock and Landing: The 44S Crew (Kelly, Volkov, and Kornienko) undocked from the ISS Mini-Research Module (MRM)-2 docking port at 7:02pm CST. The Soyuz deorbit burn occurred at 9:32pm CST resulting in a nominal landing in the Kazakhstan southern zone at 10:26pm CST. The ISS will be in 3-crew operations until 46S docking on March 19th.

Payload On-Orbit Still Shots for Utilization and Maintenance (POSSUM) Photographs: Peake obtained still digital photos of all payload racks to document any configuration changes and to support crew training.

Habitability Walkthrough Video: Kopra recorded a video of his walk-through of an area or activity and provide insights related to human factors and habitability. The Habitability investigation results will be used to assess the relationship between crew members and their environment to better prepare for future long-duration spaceflights. Observations recorded during 6 month and 1 year missions assist spacecraft designers to determine how much habitable volume is required, and whether a mission’s duration impacts how much space crew members need.

Twins Study: In support of the Twins Study, Peake obtained an ambient blood sample from Kelly for stowage on 44S. This investigation integrates ten different studies led by multiple investigators. The studies take advantage of a unique opportunity to look at the effects of space travel on identical twins, with one of the twins experiencing space travel for a year while the other remains earth-bound. The study also looks at changes in the human body that are important in the fields of genetics, psychology, physiology, microbiology, and immunology.

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Video: Peake recorded a video and explained the CSA T-Bone experiment. The video is for the general public to view on the web and social media to promote science on board the ISS.

Story Time: Kelly photographed Peake as he read from the children’s book The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home. Story Time is an advocacy Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) and literacy project. It consists of reading seven books and performing related science demonstrations at a later date. Story Time provides an opportunity to deliver ISS research content to communities that have not previously been engaged in the space program.

Today’s Planned Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

HRF – Samples Collection and Stowage Prep
TWIN – Saliva Samples Collection
HRF – Samples Insertion into MELFI
TWIN – Saliva Samples Collection
TWIN – Centrifuge Setup and Blood Samples Collection
TWIN – Assistance during Blood Samples Collection
Checkout of Station Support [???] Laptops Antivirus Scanning Results
HRF – Blood Samples Collection
HRF – Assistance during Blood Samples Collection
Return Cargo Transfer into Soyuz 718
HRF – Blood Samples Preparation, Packing, and Handover to RS for Transfer into Soyuz 718
Closure of SM Window Shutters #6, 8, 9, 12, 13, and 14
MRM1-FGB Interface Screw Clamps Tightening Work Prep
CMS – ARED Quarterly Maintenance
TWIN – Samples Stowage and Hardware Restow after the Experiment
HRF – Samples Stowage and Hardware Restow after the Experiment
ARED – Fly Wheel Cylinder Removal
Columbus HAM Radio Session
KORREKTSIYA. Blood Samples Stow into ECCO Mini-container and Transfer to Soyuz 718
ECCO – Blood Samples Retrieval from MELFI and Handover to RS for Transfer into Soyuz 718
POSSUM Payload Photography
HRF – Post-Experiment Blood Samples Stowage and Hardware Restow
Transfer and Packing of Return Cargo into Soyuz 718. Photography of Return Cargo
GoPro HERO3 Cameras Setup inside the Descent Module of Soyuz 718
Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth
CIR – Rack Alignment Guide Installation
WRS – Water Samples Analysis
Dose Tracker Data Entry – Subject
Soyuz 718 Transfer Completion Report
Soyuz 718 [?? ??] Hatch Cover Surface Photography
HABIT – HDD Cleaning
OCA Downlink of Soyuz 718 [?? ??] Hatch Cover Surface Inspection Photographs after the Return Cargo Transfer is Complete
Soyuz 718 Undock Comm Config
Soyuz 718 RSA2-S/G2 Comm Check
USOS Window Shutter Closure
SALMARK – Health Assessment Questionnaire
Soyuz 718 Activation
SM and Columbus Ham Radio Deactivation
SALMARK – Health Assessment Questionnaire
On MCC Go Removal of QD Screw Clamps on MRM2 side and Post-Removal Clamps Inspection. Video Recording of the Interface
Soyuz-MRM2 Transfer Hatches Closure.
‘MRM2 Transfer Hatch Closure’ TV Report
Soyuz-MRM2 Transfer Hatches Closure
TOCA – Data Recording
On MCC Go Leak Check After Soyuz 718-MRM2 Hatch Closure
Dose Tracker Data Entry – Subject
Downlink of ‘??? uninstallation’ from MRM2 in mpeg2 via Ku-band
HABIT – Experiment Ops
Story Time Historical Photo
[????] Deactivation and Closure of Apps on Central Post SSC
HABIT – Video Recording during the Experiment Ops
SPRINT – Post-Experiment Closeout Ops
Soyuz 718 ODF operations, undock and landing
On MCC Go Post-deactivation ELEKTRON purge
On MCC Go Switch DC-Soyuz PEV (???) in MRM2 to CLOSED
WRS Maintenance
IMS Delta File Prep
CEVIS Isolator Inspection
ISTOCHNIK-M. Preparation for Taking Measurements
ISTOCHNIK-M. Turning on Telemetry Recording from Soyuz 718
Return to Nominal Comm Config

Completed Task List Items
UPA Hardware Gather

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
44S Undock Operations

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Wednesday, 03/02: Crew Off Duty
Thursday, 03/03: Robonaut CPCI Fault Troubleshooting
Friday, 03/04: BASS H/W Stow, Food Consolidation

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – On
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – Off
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Override
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Operate
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab – Idle
Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 – Operate
Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) – Process
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Standby
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab – Off
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Full Up