NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 21 January 2016

The Expedition 46 crew of two U.S. astronauts, one British astronaut and three Russian cosmonauts practiced their emergency response skills today in conjunction with the Mission Control Centers in Houston and Moscow.
The station residents also continued more human research to improve crew health while moving along with preparations for a Feb. 3 spacewalk.

The crew members spent an hour today conducting an emergency drill to practice communication, familiarize themselves with safety gear and procedures and memorize evacuation routes. After the drill the crew called down to ground teams to review their actions and results.

Meanwhile, international space science is ongoing as scientists and doctors explore the long term effects of living in space on a crew member’s body which could also benefit life on Earth. Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineers Tim Kopra and Tim Peake were conducting more eye checks for the Ocular Health vision study. Kelly also took a blood sample for stowage in a science freezer. Kopra and Peake were back at work exploring how an astronaut’s lungs adapt to microgravity for the Airway Monitoring experiment.

Two cosmonauts, Sergey Volkov and Yuri Malenchenko, are getting tools ready for the next spacewalk scheduled at the beginning of February. The spacewalkers will work outside in space to install hardware and science experiments on Russian modules.

On-Orbit Status Report

Ocular Health: Kopra and Peake performed their Flight Day 30 Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) to measure retinal thickness, and this afternoon conducted fundoscopy measurements to obtain images of the retinal surface. By systematically gathering physiological data to characterize the risk of microgravity-induced visual impairment/intracranial pressure in ISS crewmembers, the Ocular Health experiment will give a better understanding of visual, vascular and central nervous system changes over the course of spaceflight and post-flight recovery.

Airway Monitoring: Peake and Kopra used the Airway Monitoring equipment this morning to perform Nitric Oxide (NO) measurements at ambient pressure. Peake performed a calibration and then three Fractional Expired Nitric Oxide (FENO) measurements. Kopra was able to successfully perform two of his three FENO measurements due to a kinked cable, recalibrated the system and collected three Diffuse Capacity in Lungs Nitric Oxide (DLNO) measurements. Peake completed his DLNO measurements and then powered down and stowed the Airway Monitoring equipment. Ground teams are analyzing the downlinked data of the FENO (low NO) protocol (determines how much NO is exhaled with respiration) and the DLNO (high NO) protocol (determines how much NO is diffused into the blood). The primary goals of the Airway Monitoring experiment is to determine how gravity and microgravity influence the turnover of Nitric Oxide (NO) in the lungs. During future manned missions to the Moon and to Mars, airway inflammation due to toxic dust inhalation is a risk factor. Since dust may cause airway inflammation and since such inflammation can be monitored by exhaled NO (Nitric Oxide) analysis the present study is highly relevant for astronaut health in future space programs. The next Airway Monitoring session will be scheduled at the end of February, and will utilize the reduced pressure of the Joint Airlock.

Russian Segment (RS) Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: Kopra gathered and transferred US tools to the Russian Segment in preparation for RS EVA #42 currently planned for February 3.

ISS Emergency Response On-Board Training (OBT): This training session was performed by both the ground and crew to practice ISS Emergency response based on information provided by a simulator. During the exercise the crew practiced required actions for two cases: a fire in Mini Research Module-2 (MRM-2) and an ammonia leak in the US segment. Following the training the crew and ground teams conducted a conference to discuss questions and comments.

Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Communications Unit (CUCU) Loop Back Test – Today, ground teams successfully checked out the path carrying UHF Radio Frequency (RF) signals to/from CUCU and Space to Space Station Radio (SSSR) to the UHF Antennas. The loop back test radiated from both the US Lab UHF and P1 UHF antennas to the CUCU. The test was performed to obtain baseline data prior to installation of the External Wireless Communications (EWC) internal cabling, and will be repeated post EWC cable installation. The cable installation is expected to be completed in Increment 47

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

Laptop RS1(2) Reboot
SLEEP – Questionnaire
RSS1,2 Reboot
SM ??? (Caution & Warning Panel) Test
TWIN – Urine Sample Collection
HRF Blood Sample Collection and Cold Stowage
PILOT-T. Experiment Ops
Health Management System (HMS) – Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
AIRMON – Experiment Ops
CUCU – Activation
COSMOCARD. Setup. Starting 24-hr ECG Recording
Preparing for Replacement of Storage Battery Module 800? No.8
??? Maintenance
JRNL – Journal Entry
HABIT – Experiment Ops
Training for Emergency Response On-board ISS
Internal Review of Training for Emergency Response On-board ISS
IMS Delta File Prep
Initiate EMU LLB Battery Autocycle
ISS crew and MCC-M OBT Debrief
Gather EVA Equipment and Tools
OTKLIK. Hardware Monitoring
CUCU Deactivation
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Vision Test
Fundoscope – Eye Exam
Ocular Health Experiment
Transferring US EVA Tools from the USOS to RS in preparation for RS EVA 42
Health Maintenance System (HMS) – Nutritional Assessment (ESA)

Completed Task List Items
None

Ground Activities
All activities were performed unless otherwise noted.
CUCU Loopback Test

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Friday, 01/22: RRM Taskboard 4 Removal from JEMAL, ELF, Ocular Health, HMS Ultrasounds, Airway Monitoring Stow
Saturday, 01/23: Crew Off Duty, Weekly Housekeeping
Sunday, 01/24: Crew Off Duty

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:

Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[???] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[???] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Override
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 – Full Up
Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 – Off