NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 17 May, 2021 – Working on Japanese Science Gear

The seven-member Expedition 65 crew kicked off the workweek working on Japanese science gear, a U.S. immune system study, and spacewalk preparations.
Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Thomas Pesquet joined station Commander Akihiko Hoshide for science maintenance in the Kibo laboratory module on Monday morning. The trio teamed up and installed an experiment platform in Kibo’s airlock, where it will soon be placed outside in the harsh environment of space.

Vande Hei then moved on and serviced donor cell samples for the Celestial Immunity study taking place inside the Kibo lab’s Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG). The experiment looks at cells launched to space and compares them to cell samples harvested on Earth to document the differences in weightlessness. Results could impact the development of new vaccines and drugs to treat diseases on Earth and advance the commercialization of space.

Pesquet later took photographs of U.S. spacesuit gloves for inspection ahead of two spacewalks planned for June. During those spacewalks, new solar arrays will be installed on the station’s Port 6 truss structure to augment the station’s power system. The first two of six new solar arrays will be delivered on the next SpaceX cargo mission planned for launch on June 3 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Hoshide checked power cables on the Confocal Space Microscope that provides fluorescence imagery of biological samples. Then he took turns with NASA Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough, participating in a computerized cognitive assessment. Next, Kimbrough worked the rest of Monday in the Tranquility module’s Water Processing Assembly to repair a possible leak.

NASA Flight Engineer Megan McArthur opened up BEAM, or the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, and organized cargo during the morning. She then powered down and stowed the LSG after Vande Hei concluded Monday’s immunity research.

Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov spent the morning organizing Russian spacewalk tools. Afterward, the duo spent the rest of the day working on communications gear and ventilation systems.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

Antimicrobial Coatings (Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings): Per standard procedure, the crew touched both the coated and uncoated coupons for this long-term investigation. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests is an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could create new risks to crew health and spacecraft systems as well as creating the possibility of contaminating other planetary bodies. The samples remain in space for approximately six months and then return to Earth for analysis.

AstroPi: A crewmember recorded a short video showing Columbus and the student codes running on both AstroPi LED displays. Photos of astronaut together with both AstroPi units were taken. Two augmented Raspberry Pi computers (called AstroPis) flown to the International Space Station as part of British ESA Astronaut Tim Peake’s mission are available for use during French ESA Astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s Proxima mission. The computers are both equipped with the mighty Sense HAT (Hardware Attached on Top) that measures the environment inside the space station, detect how the station moves through space, and pick up the Earth’s magnetic field. Each AstroPi is also equipped with different kinds of cameras: one has an infrared camera, and the other has a standard visible spectrum camera.

Celestial Immunity: The crew retrieved Vented Bags containing the 24-Well Plate from SABL-3 and collected the final samples and trashed the 24-Well Plate. Dissecting the Influence of Gravity on Human Immune Function in Adults and the Elderly (Celestial Immunity) builds on earlier studies to evaluate how gravity affects functional immune response, from innate mechanisms of defense to adaptive responses. It uses peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from both elderly and younger adult donors to facilitate the study of possible age-associated effects. The investigation could uncover novel immune pathways useful for the development of new vaccines and drugs to prevent and treat existing and emerging human diseases.

Dreams: A crewmember performed the headband setup in preparation for recording. The headband was then donned prior to sleep for the recording period. Sleep plays a major role in human health and well-being. Insufficient sleep, or sleep disorders can increase the risk of developing medical conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, and can impair task performance. The Sleep Monitoring in Space with Dry-EEG Headband (Dreams) is a technology demonstration investigation that utilizes the Dry-EEG Headband: an effective, affordable, and comfortable solution to monitor astronaut sleep quality during long-duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

MPEP (Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform): Crewmembers installed the Passive Capture Mechanism and MPEP to the JEM AL Slide Table. Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform provides the structural backbone for deployers when being transferred to the outside via the Kibo airlock and grasped by the JRMS robotic arm.

Systems:

Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Ingress: Today, Crew ingressed into the BEAM module to retrieve the spare AAA Fan that is needed for this week’s WPA Gas Separator R&R Series as well as other items including the WPA Water Delivery ORU, ducting for the BPA filter install, and the ION Exchange ORU.

In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Node 3 Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) Pump Package Assembly (PPA) Gas Trap Plug Removal: Today, Crew removed the gas trap plug as a preparation step for the WPA R&R and maintenance series that will take place throughout this week.

In-flight Maintenance (IFM) Treadmill 2 and Water Recovery System 1 Rack Prep: Today, Crew removed some T2 components allowing for access to rotate the WRS-1 Rack (NOD3D5). This will allow crew to install the ARIS Pivot Fittings to the WRS Rack.

In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) Urine Transfer System (UTS) Removal: Crew also removed and temporarily stowed the Urine Transfer System (UTS) on the NOD3D5 (WRS-1) Rack as a preparation step for maintenance operations occurring this week.

Hatch Seal Inspection: Today, Crew cleaned and inspected the USOS Hatch Seals, Hatch Plate Sealing Surfaces, and Crank Handle Mechanism for foreign object debris (FOD) or other damage.

Extravehicular Activity Battery Removal, Swap-out, and Autocycle: Crew removed the PGT Li-Ion (LPGT) Batteries and LREBA from the Battery Stowage Compartment. The Crew then installed new LPGT Batteries. Finally, Crew initiated a charge on Charger 1 and 2, Channel 3, for the new LREBAs and autocycled on Charger 1 and 2, Channel 4, for the original PGT Li-Ion (LPGT) Batteries using the EVA Battery Operations Terminal.

Completed Task List Activities:

None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Atmosphere Control and Supply (ACS) Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Oxygen Repress
Ground deactivation of T2 Rack and Disabling T2 Rack Smoke Detector
Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer High Beta Power Operations and Commanding
Look Ahead Plan:

Tuesday, May 18 (GMT 138)
Payloads:

Vascular Aging Glucose setup and BioMonitor wearable setup (CSA)
DREAMS headband Doff and Charge and setup (ESA)
EPO AstroPi congratulations (ESA)
Phospho Aging Fecal ops (JAXA)
CIR IPSU replace (NASA)
Standard Measures Saliva and body collect, and Fecal collect (NASA)
Celestial Immune Sample retrieval (NASA)
Repository Urine collect (NASA)
NanoRacks BOLT locate (NASA)
Astrobee remote ops (NASA)
Systems:

In Flight Maintenance Water Processing Assembly (WPA) Recovery from Gas Separator Leakage
Crew Quarters Exhaust Airflow Sensor R&R (Xtp) – Deck Airflow Sensor Remove
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Swap
Wednesday, May 19 (GMT 139)
Payloads:

Vascular Aging Glucose readings and BioMonitor changeout (CSA)
DREAMS headband doff and stow and data xfer (ESA)
TIME Perception sessions (ESA)
Standard Measures saliva and Blood collect, and Fecal setup (NASA)
Repository Urine collect (NASA)
Celestial Immunity CELLS Thaw and treatment injection Sample E and F (NASA)
AC Touch (NASA)
MSL SCA Exchange B3#3 (NASA)
ISS HAM pass (NASA)
Systems:

In Flight Maintenance Water Processing Assembly (WPA) Recovery from Gas Separator Leakage
Joint Station LAN (JSL) 20 Port Switch Cable Modification Gather
Astrobee Stowage Clear
Thursday, May 20 (GMT 140)
Payloads:

Vascular Aging Blood Pressure 13hr Init BioMonitor stow (CSA)
Confocal microscope setup and checkout (JAXA)
COSMIC IPU connect (JAXA)
SABL 3 CO2 Control remove, SABL2 sample tray insert (NASA)
CGBA-4 activate (NASA)
Celestial Immunity Plate sample and Cell thaw (NASA)
Standard Measures Saliva and body collect, and Fecal collect (NASA)
ISS HAM pass (NASA)
MAND print removal, clean and stow (NASA)
Systems:

Siemens Switch-Deploy
WPA Repairs
Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Manual Fill Termination
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Atmosphere Control and Supply (ACS) Oxygen Manual Valve Open
Antimicrobial Coatings Touch
Astrobee Docking Station Power Cycle
Astrobee Prep
Astrobee Stowage Clear
European AstroPi Challenge PR video and photos
BEAM Cleanup and Egress
BEAM Hardware Retrieve
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Ingress
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Node 3 Aft Stow
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) Node 3 Aft Unstow
Bio-Monitor Application Configuration File Upload
Celestial Immunity MELFI Sample Insertion
Celestial Immunity Plate Third Sampling
Cloudnet Deploy Big Picture Words Review
ARED Platform Partial Fold
ARED Platform Unfold Back to Nominal Position
Confocal Space Microscopy Connector Check
Confocal Space Microscopy Cable Reconnect
Dreams Dry-EEG Headband charge
Dreams Dry-EEG Headband doffing after recording
Dreams Dry-EEG Headband Setup
Extravehicular Activity Battery Installation
EVA Battery Operations Terminal Charge and Autocycle Init
Extravehicular Activity Battery Removal
EVA Battery Operations Terminal Procedure Review
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Profile of Mood States (POMS) Questionnaire
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) Test
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations
HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes
HRF Generic Urine Collection Setup
Hatch Seal Inspection
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Node 3 Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) Pump Package Assembly (PPA) Gas Trap Plug Removal
In-flight Maintenance (IFM) Pivot Fitting Scavenge
In-flight Maintenance (IFM) Treadmill 2 and Water Recovery System 1 Rack Prep
In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) Urine Transfer System (UTS) Removal
In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) WRS Hardware Gather
In-Flight Maintenance (IFM) BPW Review
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side
MPEP and Passive Capture Mechanism Installation to JEM Airlock Slide Table
MPEP Stowage Gather
LSG Primary Crew Restraint Fold and Unfold
LSG Work Volume Deploy and Stow
Photo T/V (P/TV) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Exercise Video Setup
Photo/TV Camcorder Setup Verification
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) in Columbus
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config Columbus Setup
Payload Laptop Terminal 5 (PLT5) BIOS Setting
Standard Measures Cognition Testing
Standard Measures Fecal Collection Setup
Station Support Computer Network Attached Storage Vent Cleaning
T2 System Shutdown
XF305 Camcorder Setup