NASA Space Station Status Report 1 July, 2022 – Setting Up Acoustic Monitors
The seven Expedition 67 crew members are going into the weekend with a host of microgravity research and housekeeping activities.
The four astronauts and three cosmonauts will also relax on Monday observing the Fourth of July U.S. holiday aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines participated in a robotics test on Friday. The duo practiced simulated robotics maneuvers on a computer for the Behavioral Core Measures space psychology study. The investigation may provide insights into behavioral health and performance issues crews may face separated from family and friends while on missions farther away from Earth.
NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Watkins set up acoustic monitors in the Kibo laboratory module, the Tranquility module, and the Zvezda service module on Friday. Mission controllers want to ensure station noise levels remain acceptable.
ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti started Friday checking samples for the Soft Matter Dynamics fluid physics study potentially impacting the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries among others. Cristoforetti also serviced combustion research hardware and installed new software to maintain operations and support ongoing science inside an EXPRESS rack.
In the Russian segment of the orbiting lab, Commander Oleg Artemyev had a hearing test then moved on and set up hardware to measure activity in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Flight Engineer Denis Matveev studied ways future crew members might pilot spacecraft and robots on planetary missions. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov collected his blood and saliva samples for an experiment investigating how the immune system adapts to long-term spaceflight.
All seven space station crew members will spend Saturday on housekeeping activities such as disinfecting surfaces, vacuuming dust, and clearing vents for better airflow. Also on Saturday, the NanoRacks Bishop airlock will open up to the vacuum of space for the first time and jettison a trash container toward Earth’s atmosphere for a fiery, but safe disposal. The crew will then relax on Sunday and Monday enjoying a long Fourth of July weekend.
On-Orbit Status Report
Payloads:
Behavioral Core Measures (BCM): The crew performed a BCM research session consisting of a set of 12 runs/tests. The Standardized Behavioral Measures for Detecting Behavioral Health Risks during Exploration Missions (Behavioral Core Measures) experiment initially examined a suite of measurements to reliably assess the risk of adverse cognitive or behavioral conditions and psychiatric disorders during long-duration spaceflight, and evaluated the feasibility of those tests within the operational and time constraints of spaceflight for two crewmembers. Subsequent subjects perform a subset of the original activities to measure the performance capabilities of deconditioned crew members to complete either individual or crew telerobotic operations within the first 24 hours after landing. This information could help characterize what tasks a crewmember who has spent months in weightlessness can reasonably be expected to perform after landing on the surface of Mars.
Cold Atom Lab (CAL): A visual inspection was performed of the CAL Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) Jumper to check for leaks and report any observed leakage. The MTL Jumper has been susceptible to a small leak and periodic crew monitoring has been implemented while the ground assesses future remediation options. The CAL produces clouds of atoms that are chilled to about one ten billionth of a degree above absolute zero — much colder than the average temperature of deep space. At these low temperatures, atoms have almost no motion, allowing scientists to study fundamental behaviors and quantum characteristics that are difficult or impossible to probe at higher temperatures. In microgravity, researchers may be able to achieve even colder temperatures than what is possible on the ground and observe these cold atom clouds for longer periods of time.
Crew Earth Observation (CEO): The crew used the Window Observational Research Facility (WORF) or Cupola as appropriate to capture CEO targets. In CEO, crew members on the ISS photograph the Earth using digital handheld cameras from their unique point of view located 200 miles above the surface. Photographs record how the planet is changing over time, from human-caused changes like urban growth and reservoir construction, to natural dynamic events such as hurricanes, floods, and volcanic eruptions. A major emphasis of CEO is to monitor events needing immediate (disaster-level) response in support of the International Disaster Charter (IDC) (coordinated through the US Geological Survey). CEO imagery provides researchers on Earth with key data to understand the planet from the perspective of the ISS. Crew members have been photographing Earth from space since the early Mercury missions beginning in 1961. The images taken from the ISS ensure this record remains unbroken.
Fluid Science Laboratory/ Soft Matter Dynamics (FSL/SMD): Six Foam Coarsening samples were inspected for hardware degradation and/or signs of humidity impacts. In space, foams are more stable because there is no drainage in weightlessness. This allows scientists to study the slower phenomena of a bubble becoming bigger and bursting, which on Earth are masked by the drainage that destabilizes the foam.
Solid Combustion Experiment Module (SCEM): The crew exchanged the unit air gas bottle in the Multipurpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) and configured the valves in the system to support a leak check by the ground team. The SCEM is designed to investigate the oxygen concentration required to sustain a flame over solid fuels. It is also possible to obtain the limiting electric current caused by self-ignition of the insulated wires due to short-circuit. Combustion characteristics of solid materials in the microgravity environment where no buoyancy-induced convection occurs will be identified, as well as the effect of gravity on the combustion limit of solid materials, through studies by SCEM.
Systems:
Crew Maintenance Activities: The crew completed several maintenance activities, beginning with cleaning of the intake and exhaust ducts, fans, and airflow sensors in the Port Crew Quarters (CQ). Due to the large amounts of dust seen during previous CQ cleanings, the crew removed all relevant panels, temporarily stowed them, and then cleaned all areas at once. Stowage and crew preference items across the station were then organized per crew discretion. Clean-up of the cabling and electronic equipment in Nodes 1, 2, and 3 was completed to reduce clutter and snag hazards and increase habitability.
Solar Array Wing (SAW) Blanket Survey: After configuring two D5 cameras, the crew took still and video imagery of the 1B SAW Blankets and inboard Flat Collector Circuit (FCC) from the MRM2 Forward and Starboard windows in order to assess potential damage in the area. Ground teams will be analyzing the imagery in the coming weeks.
Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Quarterly Maintenance: Today, the ISS crew completed regularly scheduled maintenance which included inspection of the X-rotation dashpots, cycling of the main arm through full range of motion, and applying grease to the ARED rails and rollers. This quarterly maintenance allows the ARED exercise device to keep operating nominally as well as verifying if any wear and tear exists on the hardware.
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Short Extravehicular Mobility Unit (SEMU) Launch Enclosure (SLE) Return Preparation: In preparation for installation of EMU 3015 into the Launch Enclosure for SpX-25, the crew configured the EMU for return. The EMU Battery, Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA), and Metal Oxide (METOX) canister were removed, cables and harnesses rerouted, and the Secondary Oxygen Pack (SOP) and other ancillary hardware installed.
Completed Task List Activities:
ESA EPO message recording
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
JEMRMS SFA Preparation Maneuver for Joint Zeroing
TCS S1 TRRJ Reposition
ISS External Video Survey
Look Ahead Plan
Saturday, July 2 (GMT 183)
Payloads:
No Utilization Activities
Systems:
Resupply Air Tank Teardown
Sunday, July 3 (GMT 184)
Payloads:
XROOTS Wick Open and Fluid Recover
Systems:
PMD Equipment Config for NRAL Pressurization and N3 Port MPEV Open
Monday, July 4 (GMT 185)
Payloads:
CAL MTL Jumper Leak Check
Systems:
Crew Off-Duty Day
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Crew Quarters (CQ) Port Cleaning
Station Reorganization
Confocal Space Microscopy (Microscope) and Payload Laptop Terminal 5 (PLT5) Closeout
JAXA Payload Laptop Terminal 5 (PLT5) Relocation Part2
FSL Soft Matter Dynamics Sample Cell Units Inspection
Inventory Management System (IMS) conference
Node 1 and Node 2 Cable Management
Photo/TV 1B SAW Blanket Survey
Cold Atom Lab MTL Jumper Leak Check
Solid Combustion (SCEM) Gas Bottle Exchange
EXPRESS Rack ZBook Setup
Emergency Personal Breathing Apparatus (PBA) Stow
Swap SSC (Station Support Computer) 20 and 12 Swap
Countermeasures System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Quarterly Maintenance
EPO message recording
Node 3 Cable Management
Acoustic Monitor Setup for Static Measurements
Solid Combustion (SCEM) Valve 0 and 1 Open
Crew Earth Observation Operations
Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Short Extravehicular Mobility Unit (SEMU) Launch Enclosure (SLE) Return Preparation
Behavioral Core Measures ROBoT-r Research Testing 2
[deferred] Countermeasures System (CMS) Treadmill 2 System (T2) Monthly Inspection
CST-100 One-Time-Use Thumb Drive Reformat
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS EveryWear (EVW) Nutrition Tracking
MVP Hardware Locate
[deferred] ISS SAFETY VIDEO
On-orbit Hearing Assessment (OOHA) with Kuduwave Software Setup and Test
Resupply Air Tank Setup and Initiation
