NASA International Space Station On-Orbit Status 30 December 2016

The Expedition 50 crew aboard the International Space Station spent the week working on an array of science, maintenance and spacewalking preparation to close out 2016.
Kimbrough and Flight Engineers Peggy Whitson and Thomas Pesquet are getting ready for a pair of spacewalks on Jan. 6 and 13. The spacewalks, in conjunction with remote robotics work, will complete the replacement of old nickel-hydrogen batteries with new lithium-ion batteries on the station’s truss structure. The crew performed a loop scrub on their spacesuits, reviewed spacewalking procedures and did a fit verification with their suits on Friday.

The crew participated in a variety of science experiments during the week including the Fluid Shifts study, which investigates the causes for lasting physical changes to astronauts’ eyes; performed the final harvest of the Outredgous Romaine Lettuce from the Veggie facility, which is further demonstrating the ability to grow fresh plants in space to supplement crew diets; and continued preparing the station’s Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) for the upcoming Cool Flames Investigation, which will provide new insight into the phenomenon where some types of fuels initially burn very hot, then appear to go out — but they continue burning at a much lower temperature, with no visible flames (cool flames).

Going into New Year’s weekend, the crew will enjoy their typical off-duty time on Saturday and Sunday. They also will have Monday, Jan. 2 off.

On-Orbit Status Report

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: The USOS Crew prepared the Equipment Lock, Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU), and ancillary hardware to support the upcoming Battery Upgrade EVA scheduled for Friday, January 6th. In addition, they conducted an EMU On-Orbit Fit Verification (OFV) in order to confirm the correct sizing on EMUs 3006 and 3008.

Fluid Shifts – Baseline Imaging: The second of three 49Soyuz subjects performed their Baseline Imaging measurements with assistance from both onboard operators and ground remote guiders. Ultrasound imaging was taken of arterial and venous measures of the head and neck, cardiac, ophthalmic and portal vein, and tissue thickness of lower and upper body. Additional measurements using the Cerebral and Cochlear Fluid Pressure (CCFP), Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAE), Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), ESA’s Cardiolab (CDL) Holter Arterial Blood Pressure Device, and Intraocular Pressure (IOP) using the tonometer were taken as well. Fluid Shifts is a joint NASA-Russian experiment that investigates the causes for severe and lasting physical changes to astronaut’s eyes. Because the headward fluid shift is a hypothesized contributor to these changes, reversing this fluid shift with a lower body negative pressure device is investigated as a possible intervention. Results from this study may help to develop preventative measures against lasting changes in vision and eye damage.

Fine Motor Skills: The crew performed their weekly Fine Motor Skills tests, performing a series of interactive tasks on a touchscreen tablet. The investigation studies how fine motor skills are effected by long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity. The goal of Fine Motor Skills is to answer how fine motor performance in microgravity trend/vary over the duration of a six-month and year-long space mission; how fine motor performance on orbit compare with that of a closely matched participant on Earth; and how performance trend/vary before and after gravitational transitions, including the periods of early flight adaptation, and very early/near immediate post-flight periods.

Aerosol Sampler: Today the crew closed the final collection surfaces on the Passive Aerosol Sampler (PAS). The PAS was designed with individual drawer-like collection surfaces covered with sticky carbon tape which are open to ISS air for 5 different exposure durations (2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 days). PAS are mounted on the edge of air vents where the drawers directly intercept the air pulled into the ISS ventilation system. These vents often have a build-up of dust that is removed in weekly vacuuming chores, so depending on the sampling location, the longer duration samples are expected to contain visible amounts of airborne debris.

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

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Reminder for On-Orbit Fitcheck Verification (OFV) Measurements
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Reminder for On-Orbit Fitcheck Verification (OFV)
Daily Planning Conference
ISS crew and ???? (RSA Flight Control Management Team) weekly conference (S-band)
Fluid Shifts Ultrasound 2 HRF Rack 1 Power On
Fine Motor Skills Experiment Test – Subject
Equipment Setup and Activation for MPEG2 TV coverage via Ku-band.
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
Fluid Shifts OCT Baseline Setup
Combustion Integrated Rack Hardware Return
Crew Preparation for PAO Event
Crew Medical Officer (CMO) On Board Training (OBT)
Public Affairs Office (PAO) New Year Event
Dose Tracker Data Entry Subject
Fluid Shifts CDL Holter Arterial BP Hardware Don – Subject
Deactivation of ???? Equipment and closing applications on CP SSC after TV conference
CARDIOVECTOR. Experiment Ops
Fluid Shifts Ultrasound Baseline Scan – Subject
??? Maintenance
Fluid Shifts Ultrasound Baseline Scan – Operator
UDOD. Experiment Ops with DYKNANIYE-1 and SPRUT-2 Sets.
USOS Window Shutter Close
iPad procedure test for working with r/g.
Fluid Shifts OCT Baseline Exam – Operator
Fluid Shifts DPOAE Baseline Test – Subject
Fluid Shifts OCT Baseline Stow
Photo TV GoPro Battery Charging
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Equipment Lock Preparation Part 1
Fluid Shifts Tonometry Baseline Setup
Fluid Shifts Tonometry Baseline Exam – Operator
Photographing ??-2 limit switch and file
Fluid Shifts Tonometry Baseline Exam – Subject
Fluid Shifts CDL Holter Arterial BP Hardware Doff Alternate – Subject
Fluid Shifts Tonometry Baseline Stow
Space Headaches – Weekly Questionnaire
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) On-orbit Fitcheck Verification
Inventory Management System (IMS) Tagup (S-band)
?????? ????-? (?308) (?10322900) ?? ????-? (?308) (?10326332) ? ????????? ??????-???????.
NAPOR-mini RSA. Cleaning Onboard Memory Storage ???-? vents
Preventive Maintenance of FS1 Laptop
??? monthly cleaning.
MRM2 comm config to support the P/L Ops
Kulonovskiy Kristall Experiment Run.
MRM2 Comm Reconfig for Nominal Ops
Initiate water transfer from CWC-I to ???
KULONOVSKIY KRISTALL. Copy Data
Terminate water transfer from CWC-I to ???
Aerosol Passive Samplers Hardware Stowage
IMS Update
VEG-03 Hardware Deactivation
Dose Tracker Data Entry Subject
INTERACTION-2. Experiment Ops
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
Habitability Human Factors Directed Observations – Subject
Habitability Walk-through Video – Subject

Completed Task List Items
Fluid Shifts Hardware Gather
PMA1 IMV Cone Screen Cleaning
Manufacturing Device Print Removal, Clean and Stow
SSLA Installation – Node 1 (Qty 3)
NOD1OP2-1
NOD1OP4
NOD1OS2-1

Ground Activities
All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.
S4 Battery Drain
Nitrogen Distribution System Leak Check

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Saturday, 12/31: Crew off duty, Housekeeping
Sunday, 01/01: Crew Off Duty
Monday, 1/02: Crew Off Duty

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