NASA Space Station Status Report 27 May, 2022 – Ultrasound Eye Exams and Other Research

The Expedition 67 crew continued its ongoing human research today with ultrasound eye exams and blood flow measurements in the brain. The orbital residents also explored robotics and space navigation techniques.
The four astronauts aboard the International Space Station took turns Friday morning scanning each other’s eyes using the Ultrasound 2 device. Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Samantha Cristoforetti, and Jessica Watkins gathered in the Columbus laboratory module for the eye scans with real time support from personnel on the ground. Results will help doctors understand how living in weightlessness impacts the eye, the retina, and vision.

Earlier, Hines completed a session that required him to wear electrodes and sensors that measured blood flow in his head and chest. The Cerebral Autoregulation investigation is exploring how the human brain regulates its blood flow in microgravity. Results may benefit astronauts who experience lightheadedness and a change in blood pressure after returning to Earth’s gravity.

Watkins turned on an Astrobee robotic free-flyer inside the Kibo laboratory module testing its autonomous maneuvers ahead of the Kibo Robot Programming Challenge 3 for students. Lindgren worked in the cupola setting up a camera to photograph Moon imagery for a study that may help future Artemis astronauts navigate their way to the lunar surface.

Cristoforetti transferred the AstroPi computer from the Harmony module to the Columbus module during the morning. She then spent the afternoon checking out a robotics control system before terminating lithium-ion battery charging operations on pistol grip tools.

Commander Oleg Artemyev joined Flight Engineer Denis Matveev and spent Friday replacing components on the Zvezda service module’s treadmill vibration isolation system. Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov worked on two different Russian experiments on Friday, one exploring the cardiovascular system’s adaptation to microgravity and the other researching advanced Earth photography techniques.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads:

Astrobee: The crew positioned the Astrobee Free Flyer (Bumble) in the JEM, and assisted the ground team in conducting multiple test runs of autonomous robotic maneuvering in support of a future student robotics competition. Astrobee is made up of three free-flying, cube-shaped robots which are designed to help scientists and engineers develop and test technologies for use in microgravity to assist astronauts with routine chores, and give ground controllers additional eyes and ears on the space station. The autonomous robots, powered by fans and vision-based navigation, perform crew monitoring, sampling, logistics management, and accommodate up to three investigations.

AstroPi: The Wireless Compose-2 was deactivated and the AstroPi Vis unit was transferred from Node 2 to Columbus module. The AstroPi Vis camera was pointed and focused at the AstroPi IR mini LCD display. The AstroPi European Challenge “Mission Zero” will run on the AstroPi IR for approximately 5 days. The student code output on the LED Matrix will be recorded with the AstroPi Vis. Two augmented Raspberry Pi computers (called AstroPis) were flown to the ISS and are both equipped with the mighty Sense Hardware Attached on Top (HAT) that measures the environment inside the ISS, detects how the station moves through space, and picks up the Earth’s magnetic field. Each AstroPi is also equipped with different types of cameras: one has an infrared camera, and the other has a standard visible spectrum camera.

Cerebral Autoregulation: Cerebral Autoregulation Data Measurements were performed using the Cardiolab Portable Doppler hardware. As the body’s most important organ, the brain needs a strong and reliable blood supply, so the brain is capable of self-regulating blood flow even when the heart and blood vessels cannot maintain an ideal blood pressure. The Cerebral Autoregulation investigation tests whether this self-regulation improves in the microgravity environment of space. Non-invasive tests measure blood flow in the brain before, during, and after a long-duration spaceflight, and provide new insights into how the brain safeguards its blood supply in a challenging environment.

Moon Imagery (Optical Navigation): Optical Navigation (OpNAV) assembly was setup and operated to acquire photographic data. If a spacecraft loses communication with the ground or with NASA’s Deep Space Network, its crew must navigate, just as ancient mariners did, using the moon and stars. The Moon Imagery investigation collects pictures of the moon from the ISS, which are then used to calibrate navigation software to guide the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle in case its transponder-based navigation capability is lost. Crew members photograph the moon’s phases during a 29-day cycle, providing images of varying brightness to calibrate Orion’s camera software.

Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL): The CO2 Incubator Controller S/N 5 was removed from SABL-1 and controller S/N 1 was installed. The SABL unit supports a wide variety of investigations in the life, physical, and material sciences with a focus on supporting research of biological systems and processes. It has over 23 liters of temperature-controlled volume with LED lighting for scientific hardware and investigations. It can be fitted to provide 5% CO2 (or any required concentration of CO2) for cell cultures or other types of investigations and has two USB 2.0 ports and two Ethernet LAN connections. It also has switchable 28VDC and 5VDC power supplies for investigation use.

eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS): Module 3 and 4 cartridges were removed and trashed due to microbial contamination. The facility was cleaned to remove suspected microbial growth. The XROOTS investigation uses hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow plants without soil or other growth media. Video and still images enable evaluation of multiple independent growth chambers for the entire plant life cycle from seed germination through maturity. Results could identify suitable methods to produce crops on a larger scale for future space missions.

Systems:

Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Cable Arm Rope (CAR) Install: Today, the crew installed the new Cable Arm Ropes in a proper configuration following the ARED Belt Pulley slip. These CARs were installed after the previous CARs had frayed. The crew will perform periodic checks of the cable pulley system to ensure the detents stay engaged.

Columbus Active Cooling System Water Pump Assembly (WPA) 2 Trouble Shooting: The crew installed and removed the WPA Fault Detection, Identification and Recovery (FDIR) tool to/from the Columbus WPA 2. The FDIR tool is a connector cap that is installed on the WPA data interface and simulates the reading of all the sensors hardwired to it. This troubleshooting will help the ground teams determine if there is an issue with the Delta Pressure Sensor Block (DPSB).

Water Recovery System (WRS) Contingency Water Container-Iodine Fill and Potable Bus Sample: The crew transferred water from the Potable Bus into a CWC-Iodine using the Potable Water Dispenser (PWD). The crew monitored the offload time as a secondary control to protect the CWC-Iodine from over pressurization. After filling two CWC-Is, the crew took samples of the Potable Water Bus.

Completed Task List Activities:

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

Progress Resupply Fuel Line Purge
Video Distribution Subsystem (VDS) Survey
Thermal Amine Carbon Dioxide – Adlink (CDA)02 Troubleshooting
Look Ahead Plan

Saturday, May 28 (GMT 148)
Payloads:

ISS HAM pass (NASA)
Systems:

Photo/TV 1B SAW Blanket Survey
Sunday, May 29 (GMT 149)
Payloads:

XROOTS Nutrient Mix. Fluid recovery and plant thinning (NASA)
Systems:

Off Duty
Monday, May 30 (GMT 150)
Payloads:

CAL MTL Jumper leak check (NASA)
EML gas vlv open and lens reconfig (Joint)
ICEBERG-1 sample removal (NASA)
Repository Urine setup (NASA)
Systems:

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

ARED Cable Rope Tension Check
Astrobee Prep
AstroPi positioning for Mission Zero
AstroPi Vis transfer from Node 2 to Columbus
Cerebral Autoregulation Data Measurement and Closeout
Cold Atom Lab MTL Jumper Leak Check
Columbus Active Cooling System Water Pump Assembly 2 Trouble Shooting
Countermeasures System (CMS) Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Cable Arm Rope (CAR) Install
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record
Environmental Health System (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis
[DEFERRED] European AstroPi Challenge PR video and photos
[DEFERRED] ExtraVehicular Activity Battery Operations Terminate
ExtraVehicular Activity Battery Operations Removal
ExtraVehicular Activity Wanted Contigency Water Container Sample Bag
Glacier Desiccant Swap
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS EveryWear (EVW) Nutrition Tracking
Health Maintenance System (HMS) On Board Training (OBT) Crew Medical Officer (CMO)
Health Maintenance System (HMS) Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) Test
[DEFERRED] HRF Rack 1 Supply Kit Inventory
HRF Stow Configure
Hypervisor Four (HV4) Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Swap
MELFI 2 Ice Brick Insert 8
Optical Nav Camera Operations
Optical Nav Camera Set Up and Preparation
PCS Laptop Relocate
Photo TV JEM-1 HDSDI Cable Remove and Replace
Polar Desiccant Swap
Polar Express Rack Transfer and Ethernet Address Change
Power ON Sigma for Surface Avatar
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in JEM
Space Automated Bioproduct Lab, CO2 Incubator Swap
Standard Measures Post-Sleep Questionnaire
Surface Avatar Robotic Control Terminal Checkout
Swap SSC (Station Support Computer) 20 and 22 Swap
Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations
USOS Window Shutter Close
Velocicalc Square Plenum Aid Verification and Stow
Wanted Poster for MSL Hardware
Water Recovery System CWC-Iodine Fill Initialization/Terminate
Water Recovery System CWC-Iodine Swap Part 1&2
Water Recovery System Potable Bus Sample & Teardown
XROOTS Microbial Clean
Zero Robotics Units Test Ops