NASA Space Station Status Report 22 March, 2022 – Go for Spacewalk Tomorrow

Mission managers have given the go for two astronauts to exit the International Space Station on Wednesday for a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk.
Meanwhile, three Expedition 66 crew members are getting ready for their return to Earth at the end of the month.

Flight Engineers Raja Chari of NASA and Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) began Tuesday morning with standard medical checkups the day before their spacewalk. The duo had an ear exam and measured heart and breathing rate, blood pressure, and temperature. Afterward, Chari and Maurer staged their U.S. spacesuits and readied their spacewalking tools inside the U.S. Quest airlock.

During the afternoon, the spacewalking pair were joined by NASA astronauts Kayla Barron and Tom Marshburn for a procedures review with engineers on the ground. Barron and Marshburn will also be on robotics duty commanding the Canadarm2 robotics arm to assist the spacewalkers during Wednesday’s excursion. Chari and Maurer set their spacesuits to battery power at 8:50 a.m. EDT signifying the start of their spacewalk. Their main objective is to install thermal system and electronics components on the outside of the space station. Live NASA TV coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. on NASA Television, the NASA app and the agency’s website.

The next major event at the orbital lab will be on March 30 when NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei returns to Earth with Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov. The trio will undock from the Rassvet module inside the Soyuz MS-19 crew ship and parachute to a landing in Kazakhstan about three-and-a-half hours later. The two cosmonauts practiced Soyuz descent procedures and loaded cargo and personal items inside the vehicle. Vande Hei, who will land with a NASA-record breaking 355 continuous days in space, focused mainly on science today studying space archeology and glass optics.

The station’s three newest crew members are in their first full week on the orbiting lab and continue their station familiarization activities. Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, on his third space station mission, and first time space-flyers Sergey Korsakov and Denis Matveev will spend the next few days getting used to life on orbit.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF): Six Plant Experiment Units were installed in the CBEF Micro-G Sample Tray. CBEF is a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) subrack facility; it is an incubator with an artificial gravity generator. CBEF is housed in the Saibo (living cell) Experiment Rack with the Clean Bench (CB).

Rodent Research Facility: A crewmember performed an audit of Rodent Research supplies and hardware and trashed some items. The Rodent Research Facility provides rodent housing on board the ISS. Animal research is essential for understanding the impacts of spaceflight on the systems of the human body, and for development of potential therapies that will ease harmful responses to space flight. The advisory panel for Animal and Human Biology appointed by the Committee for the Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space was unanimous in its recommendation that an animal habitat be incorporated as soon as possible into the ISS.

Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE): All six photo locations in the COL, JEM, NODE1, NODE2, NODE3 and LAB were removed. This completes the 60-day experiment run. ISS Archaeological Project – SQuARE focuses on different kinds of material culture – objects and built spaces together with their symbolic and social meanings. Results could help define the significance of material culture in a space habitat and ultimately help space agencies understand how different objects and spaces are used over time.

Universal Intelligent Glass Optics (UNIGLO): The spool and preform sample was installed and the ground initiated a run which was followed by a sample (spool and preform) exchange. UNIGLO tests the effects of microgravity on a glass optics module capable of processing various types of complex glasses. The module uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help adapt materials processing techniques to the microgravity environment and a sensor based on laser-Doppler interferometry to measure the effects of microgravity on processing complex glasses for a variety of applications in space and on Earth.

Systems:

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparation: Today, the USOS crew continued preparations for the upcoming Radiator Beam Valve Module (RBVM) Jumper Install EVA, which will re-install two refurbished RBVM Jumpers and the Port Aft Red-Green-Blue (RGB) T-Handles, and Remove and Replace (R&R) an External High Definition Camera (EHDC) on Camera Port 8 (CP8). Final preparations included installation of the EVA Pistol Grip Tool (PGT) Battery, an EVA Tool Configuration and Audit, and Equipment Lock (E-LK) Prep to prepare the EVA Mobility Unit (EMU) and Airlock for tomorrow’s EVA and suit donning. The crew also set up the Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) and reviewed procedures and conducted a conference with ground specialists. US EVA #80 is scheduled for Wednesday, March 23rd with Joint Airlock Egress occurring at ~8:10am CT.

Brine Processor Configuration Check: The Brine Processor Fill Slider Assembly configuration was reviewed by the crew to check for leakage and whether the slider is still mated to the bladder quick disconnect (QD). The slider was found to have been engaged and the crew disengaged the slider.

Completed Task List Activities:

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

LSR Check-Out Actvities in MCM Mode following Operative System Update
BCDU Preemptive Refresh
MSS Hover Maneuver
Dragon Prop ISO Close
Look Ahead Plan

Wednesday, March 23 (GMT 82)
Payloads:

Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Plant Experiment Unit 1G Installation (JAXA)
Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Plant Experiment Unit Micro-G Removal (JAXA)
Food Acceptability Survey (NASA)
NanoRacks Mainframe Alpha Module-102 Removal, Polar Insertion, Photography (NASA)
Rodent Research Inventory Audit Part 2 (NASA)
Standard Measures Saliva collection (NASA)
Systems:

RBVM Jumper Install EVA
IFM WHC UR and IF R&R
WRS Waste Tank/Condensate Sample
EDV Build
Urine Transfer System Backup EDV Swap
Crew Departure Prep
EVA Glove Photo Setup
Thursday, March 24 (GMT 83)
Payloads:

Actiwatch setup (NASA)
CBEF Payload Experiment Unit 1g Retrieval (JAXA)
Confocal Space Microscopy (Microscope) and Payload Laptop Terminal 5 (PLT5) Setup
Food Physiology Crew Diet Briefing (NASA)
ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Up (COL) (NASA)
J-SSOD-21 Deploys (JAXA)
Light Ions Detector (LIDAL) Move 2 (NASA)
Plant Habitat-05 photo (NASA)
SAIBO CO2 QD demate (JAXA)
Standard Measures Saliva, body and fecal collect (NASA)
Systems:

Return SSC 12
PAM Familiarization BPW Review
EVA Debrief
Relocate PBAs
RWS Teardown
EMU Water Recharge
EVA GoPro Downlink and Stow
Crew Arrival Prep
Crew Departure Prep
PAM Familiarization Conference
HECA Terminate
Friday, March 25 (GMT 84)
Payloads:

CAL MTL Jumper Lk check (NASA)
CBEF-Slide rail remove (JAXA)
EasyMotion Data d/l (ESA)
GRIP seated ops (ESA)
Standard Measures saliva, body and fecal collect, cognition test(NASA)
TOUCHS deinstall (ESA)
Systems:

Crew Departure Prep
EVA Airlock Deconfiguration
EVA Battery Ops
EVA Camera Disassembly
IFM CQ Starboard Cleaning
T2 Weekly Inspect
EVA Tool Stow
Crew Dragon Tablet Sync/Stow
IMS Conference
OBT ISS Emergency HW Familiarization
SSC 10 and 22 Swap
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Standard Measures Body Sampling Survey
Standard Measures Body Sampling Collection
Standard Measures Body Sampling Stow
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination – Subject
PGT Battery Install
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination – Crew Medical Officer (CMO)
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Pre-EVA Periodic Health Status Examination – Stow
Equipment Lock (E-LK) Preparation
Standard Measures Collection
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Insertion Operations
Brine Processor Configuration Check
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring
Robotics Procedure Print
SQuARES Photo Location Removal
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Audit
Intelligent Glass Optics Sample Exchange
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review
Move SSC (Station Support Computer) 12 to RWS area to support EVA viewing for crew awareness
Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) Plant Experiment Unit Micro-G Installation
EVA Procedure Review
Rodent Research Inventory Audit
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference
Onboard Training (OBT) Robotics On-board Trainer (ROBoT) Conference
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in Columbus
Extravehicular Activity (EVA) iPad Contingency Procedures preparation
Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Setup
iPad 67S Deploy
HRF Rack 1 PC 1 USB Software Load Installation
EVERYWEAR-LOGS-EXPORT
ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Down in Columbus
LSG Hardware Audit Part 2
IMS updates
ISS HAM Radio Power Down in Service Module
Countermeasures System (CMS) T2 Inspection
HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes