Space Stations

NASA Space Station Status Report 13 February, 2023 – BioFabrication Test Print

By SpaceRef Editor

Status Report

SpaceRef

February 14, 2023

Filed under Expedition 68, International Space Station, ISS, ISS On-orbit status, NASA

NASA Space Station Status Report 13 February, 2023 – BioFabrication Test Print — The waxing gibbous Moon above Earth’s horizon. (Feb.2, 2023)

NASA

Today – Payloads: BioFabrication Facility (BFF): Test Print Without Cells Installation 1 was performed inside the BFF. Using 3D biological printers to produce usable human organs has long been a dream of scientists and doctors around the globe. However, printing the tiny, complex structures found inside human organs, such as capillary structures, has proven difficult to accomplish in Earth’s gravity environment. To overcome this challenge, Techshot designed their BioFabrication Facility (BFF) to print organ-like tissues in microgravity, acting as a stepping stone in a long-term plan to manufacture whole human organs in space using refined biological 3D printing techniques.

Confocal Space Microscopy: The protection Cover from Confocal Space Microscopy was removed. The Confocal Space Microscope (Confocal Microscope) is a JAXA facility that provides fluorescence images of biological samples aboard the ISS. Confocal microscopy uses spatial filtering techniques to eliminate out-of-focus light or glare in specimens with thicknesses exceeding the immediate plane of focus. With the Confocal Microscope, data can be obtained on the fundamental nature of cellular and tissue structure and functions in real-time.

Sally Ride Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle Schools (EarthKAM): The payload components of the EarthKAM hardware was installed and activated in Node 2 for a week-long imaging session. Not everyone can go to space, but everyone can see Earth from an astronaut’s perspective with the EarthKAM program. Thousands of students can remotely control a digital camera mounted on the ISS, and use it to take photographs of coastlines, mountain ranges and other interesting features and phenomena. The EarthKAM team posts the students’ images on the Internet, where the public and participating classrooms can view Earth from a unique vantage point.

Four Bed CO2 (4BCO2) Scrubber: 4BCO2 Scrubber Upgrades were performed. 4BCO2 Scrubber demonstrates a technology for removing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere on a spacecraft. The technology is based on the current system in use on the ISS with mechanical upgrades in absorption beds, heater elements, and valves and use of an improved zeolite absorbent to reduce erosion and dust formation. A goal for next-generation systems is continuous operation for 20,000 hours without a failure, and this technology is a step toward that goal.

GRIP: GRIP science tasks (1 out of 3) in seated position was performed. The GRIP experiment studies long-duration spaceflight effects on the abilities of human subjects to regulate grip force and upper limbs trajectories when manipulating objects during different kind of movements such as oscillatory movements, rapid discrete movements and tapping gestures.

Plasma Kristall-4 (PK-4): PK-4 Portable USB hard drives (2) were connected for ground commanding to transfer data. However, the data transfer was not successful, and the crew was directed to disconnect and stow the HD. The ground team will be evaluating a forward troubleshooting plan to recover the data. PK-4 is a scientific collaboration between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), performing research in the field of Complex Plasmas: low temperature gaseous mixtures composed of ionized gas, neutral gas, and micron-sized particles. The micro-particles become highly charged in the plasma and interact strongly with each other, which can lead to a self-organized structure of the micro-particles: so-called plasma crystals. Experiments in the facility aim to study transport properties, thermodynamics, kinetics and statistical physics, and non-linear waves and instabilities in the plasmas.

Veg-05: The plants growing in the two Veggie facilities were inspected, watered as needed, and photographed. The Pick-and-Eat Salad-Crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System (Veg-05) investigation is the next step in efforts to address the need for a continuous fresh-food production system in space.

Systems:

83 Progress (83P) Docking: Following the completion of a 34-orbit rendezvous, 83P successfully docked to the Service Module (SM) aft port on Saturday afternoon at 2:45 PM CT. The crew then performed leak checks, opened hatches, and began unloading cargo. Carrying food, fuel, and supplies, 83P launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Thursday, February 9^th at 12:15 AM CT.

Robotics Operations: Yesterday, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) performed maneuvers to prepare for a detailed survey of the Crew-5 vehicle’s Thermal Protection System (TPS) that was performed today. TPS inspections are performed on returning vehicles prior to undock from the ISS to ensure the vehicle is in a good configuration for re-entry.

Completed Task List Activities: