NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 24 January 2018 – Two More Spacewalks Upcoming

One spacewalk down, two more to go before next weekend. A U.S. and a Japanese astronaut will go on the next spacewalk Jan. 29 followed by two cosmonauts on Feb. 2.
Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Norishige Kanai will put on their U.S. spacesuits early next week and exit the Quest airlock to wrap up maintenance on the Canadarm2. The duo will spend about six and a half hours wrapping up work from Tuesday’s spacewalk on swapping a degraded Latching End Effector from the Canadarm2. The spacewalkers will start their excursion Monday at 7:10 a.m. EST and NASA TV coverage will begin at 5:30 a.m.

Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Alexander Misurkin are also preparing for their next spacewalk set for next Friday when they open the Pirs docking compartment hatch at 10:34 a.m. The veteran station residents will don their Russian Orlan spacesuits for a near six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station’s Russian segment. The duo will retrieve science samples exposed to outer space and install a high gain antenna on the rear of the Zvezda service module. NASA TV coverage starts 9:45 a.m.

Both excursions come in the wake of Tuesday’s spacewalk with astronauts Vande Hei and Scott Tingle lasting seven hours and 24 minutes. The two astronauts replaced a Latching End Effector (LEE) on the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2.

In the midst of the busy spacewalk work, the Expedition 54 crew has been conducting science to understand how living in space affects the human body. Vande Hei is exploring how station lighting affects crew sleep while astronaut Scott Tingle looked at microgravity’s impacts on the brain. Flight Engineer Joe Acaba explored using a special strain of bacteria to support long-term life support systems on future spacecraft.

On-Orbit Status Report

Arthrospira-B (Batch Culture): Today concluded the incubation of three Arthrospira-B experiment containers (ECs), one that began two weeks ago, and two that began last week. The ECs were removed from the BioLab Incubator and disassembled inside of the BioLab Glovebox, prior to the samples being inserted into the Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). The Arthrospira B experiment is an important step in making improvements in the area of closed regenerative life support systems in space which will help in making future human exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit become a reality. The cyanobacterium Arthrospira sp. strain PCC8005 is a candidate for use in spacecraft biological life support systems, for CO2 and nitrate removal, and oxygen and biomass production. However, to ensure the reliability of such a biological life support system it is necessary to characterize the response of Arthrospira sp. PCC8005 to in situ spaceflight conditions.

NeuroMapping: Today a 52S crewmember set up the NeuroMapping hardware and performed his Flight Day150 tests in “strapped in” and “free floating” body configurations. The NeuroMapping investigation studies whether long-duration spaceflight causes changes to brain structure and function, motor control, or multi-tasking abilities. It also measures how long it would take for the brain and body to recover from possible changes. Previous research and anecdotal evidence from astronauts suggests movement control and cognition can be affected in microgravity. The NeuroMapping investigation performs structural and functional magnetic resonance brain imaging (MRI and fMRI) to assess any changes that occur after spending months on the ISS.

Lighting Effects: A 52S crewmember conducted a Visual Performance Test by stowing the hardware in their crew quarters, setting the light to the correct mode, turning all other light sources in the crew quarters off, and performing a Color Discrimination Test. After the test was completed, the crewmember setup the Actiwatch hardware to prepare for a two week long sleep study session, where the crewmember will track his sleep patterns and wakefulness. The sleep study session will begin tomorrow. The Lighting Effects investigation studies the impact of the change from fluorescent light bulbs to solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with adjustable intensity and color and aims to determine if the new lights can improve crew circadian rhythms, sleep, and cognitive performance.

Advanced Colloids Experiment-Temperature-6 (ACE-T-6) Module Configuration: The crew configured the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR) Light Microscopy Module (LMM) to initiate the ACE-T6 science runs by removing the LMM confocal test target from the inside of the LMM Auxiliary Fluids Container and installing the ACE module. The ACE-T-6 investigation studies the microscopic behavior of colloids in gels and creams, to provide new insight into fundamental interactions that can improve product shelf life. Colloids are suspensions of microscopic particles in a liquid, and they are found in products ranging from milk to fabric softener. Consumer products often use colloidal gels to distribute specialized ingredients, for instance droplets that soften fabrics, but the gels must serve two opposite purposes: they have to disperse the active ingredient so it can work, yet maintain an even distribution so the product does not spoil.

Meteor Hard Drive Exchange and Antivirus Update: The crew removed and replaced the hard drive and performed an antivirus update to the Meteor laptop located in the Window Observational Research Facility (WORF). The Meteor payload is a visible spectroscopy instrument with the primary purpose of observing meteors in Earth orbit. Meteor uses image analysis to provide information on the physical and chemical properties of the meteoroid dust, such as size, density, and chemical composition. Since the parent comets or asteroids for most of the meteor showers are identified, the study of the meteoroid dust on orbit provides information about the parent comets and asteroids.

Separator Plumbing Assembly (SPA) and Filter Remove and Replace (R&R): Today, the crew performed an R&R of the Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) SPA and Purge Filter. Data analysis indicated the SPA was not removing all free gas from the purge distillate, which in turn was sent downstream into the primary distillate line. This R&R was performed in order to eliminate free gas returned to the Distillation Assembly (DA) during the UPA drydown/reprocess.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Operations: The crew participated in a debrief of yesterday’s EVA with ground specialists and performed a post EVA Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) water recharge. In preparation for the next USOS EVA planned on January 29, the crew also performed Enhanced Caution and Warning System (ECWS) and SAFER training sessions and an EMU swap.

Today’s Planned Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Arthrospira Items unstow
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Post EVA Examination
ISS CREW/SSIPC CONFERENCE
Arthrospira EC Disassembly
Acoustic Monitor Battery Swap
Comm Config
Verification of ИП-1 Flow Sensor Position
Fluids Integrated Rack Rack Doors Open
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain
Testing УСИ BETA-08 Biomed Belts in Orlan-MK No.6 using Gamma-1M hardware.
ACE-T6 Module Configuration
ISS HAM Radio Power Up
ORLAN -MK No.6 systems, БСС (Spacesuit Separation Unit), comm, and medical parameters check via telemetry.
ORLAN -MKS No.4 systems, БСС (Spacesuit Separation Unit), comm, and medical parameters check via telemetry.
Lighting Effects Visual Performance Tests Light Setting – Subject
Comm reconfig into initial after Orlan Comm. Check
Glisser-M Video Hardware Battery Charge (start)
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill
Insertion of Arthrospira Reservoirs into MELFI at -80°C
Collecting PILLE sensor data post USOS EVA
Extravehicular Activity Mobility Unit (EMU) Enhanced Caution and Warning System (ECWS) On-Board Training
Arthrospira Items stow
Fluids Integrated Rack Rack Doors Close
DOUG Review
MERLIN 3 Desiccant Removal
ISS HAM Service Module Pass
Review EVA Translation Paths and Work Zones using DOUG Application.
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) On-Board Trainer (OBT)
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Separator Plumbing Assembly (SPA) Remove and Replace
СОЖ maintenance
SEPARATION. Equipment Audit for the “Separation” Experiment.
Regen Urine Processor Assembly Purge Filter Remove and Replace
Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) – Rack Closeout
Drying Biolab Incubator Cold Spot Sponge
MELFI Ice Brick Gather
Terminate Batteries Charge and Glisser-M Video System Setup (GoPro camera 2) for EVA.
SEPARATION. Photography of space behind MRM1 panels 203-207, 306, 406.
Countermeasures System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Cylinder Flywheel Evacuation
Replacement of СРВК-2М Gas-Liquid Mixture Filter. Inspection of Trap Insert
Meteor Hard Disk Drive and Antivirus Update
Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Fill Part 3
Scheduled monthly maintenance of Central Post Laptop. Laptop log-file downlink via OCA.
Extrvehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Water Recharge
NeuroMapping Experiment Neurocognitive Test Video – Subject
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Swap
Closeout of КЦП2 Activities.
CONTENT. Experiment Ops
IMS Update
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Debrief
Acoustic Monitor Setup for Static Measurements
iPad Air 2 Charge
Two-Phase Flow Experiment Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Video Compresson And Recording Unit (MSPR VRU) Power Cycle

Completed Task List Activities
N3 HD Encoder Cable R&R

Ground Activities
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
SSRMS LEE B Checkout
EMU Water Recharge Support
Standard commanding.

Three-Day Look Ahead:
Thursday, 01/25: EVA Preps (Tool Config, Proc Rev, battery charge), Biolab, Acoustic Mon Deploy, Plant Gravity, FEMTOSAT deployer demo, JOTI/MBSU install
Friday, 01/26: EVA Preps (Tool Config, DOUG Rev, Proc Rev, GoPro S/U, battery charge, ROBO Rev), EMCS Main, Plant Gravity, SLAMMD
Saturday, 01/27: Weekly Housekeeping, Crew Off Duty

QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:
Component – Status
Elektron – On
Vozdukh – Manual
[СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) – Off
[СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) – On
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab – Operate
Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 – Standby
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