NASA Space Station Status Report 5 April, 2022 – Human Research and Space Physics Today
Human research and space physics comprised the majority of the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday.
The Expedition 67 crew members also worked on U.S. and Russian cargo ships while preparing for two spacewalks.
Vein and artery scans topped the day for Commander Tom Marshburn of NASA as he attached sensors to himself and operated an ultrasound scan to observe how microgravity is affecting his blood vessels and heart. Flight Engineer Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) turned on the Bio-Monitor and connected it to a vest he wore that measured and recorded his vital signs while he was going about his daily activities aboard the station.
Maurer also joined NASA Flight Engineer Kayla Barron and took turns swapping out research furnaces inside the Materials Science Laboratory rack located in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module. Barron then took a robotics test as part of a monthly psychological assessment to understand how living in space affects a crew member’s behavior and performance.
NASA Flight Engineer Raja Chari and Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev worked on cargo transfers in their respective cargo ships. Chari organized cargo inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo ship after a morning of replacing components inside an oxygen generator. Artemyev updated the Russian inventory management system and collected items for disposal inside the ISS Progress 79 resupply ship.
Veteran cosmonaut Artemyev is also getting for the fourth spacewalk of his career currently targeted for April 18. He and first-time space-flyer Denis Matveev are collecting their spacewalk tools and configuring the Poisk module where they will exit in their Orlan spacesuits in less than two weeks. The duo is reviewing the procedures necessary to prepare the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module for Europe’s first station robotic arm. Cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov spent the day servicing air conditioning gear in the orbiting lab’s Russian segment.
On-Orbit Status Report
Payloads:
AstroRad Vest: A crewmember donned the AstroRad vest, wore it for approximately 90 minutes, then doffed it and completed a survey on the device. The AstroRad vest is a personal protective equipment (PPE) device which functions as a radiation shield for astronauts. AstroRad shields astronauts from space-borne ionizing radiation in an efficient way, provides operational simplification, and allows for the use of recycled material on-board the vehicle. The concept behind the AstroRad evolved from a commercially available device, which is an effective wearable shield for first responders to radiation incidents on Earth.
Behavioral Core Measures (BCM): A Robotic On-Board Trainer-research (ROBoT-r) session consisting of a set of 12 runs/tests was performed. 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.
Exploration Environmental Control & Life Support System (Exploration ECLSS)-Toilet: The crew performed initial deep cleaning activities for the Toilet system and began an overnight soak on affected areas. The Toilet System is an Exploration Tech Demo that has evolved into a permanent USOS system and has the same basic design as the Orion Universal Waste Management System (UWMS). The Toilet System will be the primary WMS for the USOS for up to 90-crew-days and interfaces with the Urine Transfer System (UTS) to allow concurrent Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC)/Toilet operations.
Materials Science Research Rack/Materials Science Laboratory (MSRR/MSL): The crew gained access to the MSL furnace area, removed the Solidification and Quench Furnace (SQF) insert, and installed the Low Gradient Furnace (LGF) insert. The SQF insert will be used to support the Growth of Ternary Compound Semiconductors (GTCS) experiment. GTCS grows semiconductor crystals based on zinc selenide (ZnSe) compounds in microgravity. ZnSe-based crystals have potential applications for high-power lasers operating in infrared wavelengths. The investigation compares structural quality of crystals grown on Earth and in microgravity to establish how gravity-driven fluid flows contribute to formation of various types of crystalline defects.
Universal Intelligent Glass Optics (UNIGLO): Two crystallization probe exchanges were performed, and the probes were processed after each 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.
Vascular Aging (VA): In support of the multi-day VA experiment session, ultrasound scans were performed, and blood pressure was measured. Emerging data points towards linkages among cardiovascular health risk, carotid artery aging, bone metabolism and blood biomarkers, insulin resistance, and radiation. Data indicates that aging-like changes are accelerated in many ISS crew members, particularly with respect to their arteries.
Systems:
Oxygen Generation System (OGS) Water Sample and Hydrogen (H2) Sensor Remove and Replace (R&R): Today, the crew obtained a water sample from the OGS Recirculation Loop for return-to-ground analysis. After drawing the water sample from the loop, the crew performed an R&R of the OGS H2 sensor. The H2 sensor R&R is routine maintenance activity and is necessary due to nominal degradation of the H2 sensor materials over time. Following the R&R, ground specialists fully reactivated the Oxygen Generator Assembly (OGA) to an operational configuration.
On-Board Training (OBT) Dragon Rendezvous Review and Conference: Today, the crew reviewed the Dragon vehicle approach overview and approach monitoring tools in preparation for the upcoming Axiom-1 Private Astronaut Mission (PAM). Afterwards, the crew participated in a conference with the Axiom-1 ground team and instructors. Axiom-1 is planned to launch in April with the objective of transporting four Private Astronauts, including one previously flown NASA astronaut, on a SpaceX Crew Dragon to stay on-board the ISS. This crew will be the first all-private crew to visit the space station.
Completed Task List Activities:
None
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
Atmosphere Revitalization System (ARS) Node 3 Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Half-Cycling
OGS H2 Sensor R&R Support
ARS Lab Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Full Calibration Commanding
Look Ahead Plan
Wednesday, April 6 (GMT 96)
Payloads:
APM Data Transfer
Astrobee/RFID Recon Run 4 Ops
AstroRad Video
BCM ROBoT Test
CIR/SOFIE Insert Configuration 2
EarthKAM Camera Lens Change
ISS Ham Pass
JEM Mission Data Recorder HD Exchange
MELFI Icebrick Inserts
NanoRacks Plate Reader-2 Troubleshooting (T/S)
NutrISS
Rodent Hab Stow
UNIGLO Probe Exchange
Vascular Aging BP13h Change-out and Doff
Systems:
Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) Cylinder Flywheel Evacuation with Slider Track Vacuum
RS Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Gather Part 1
Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) Brine Filter R&R
Regenerative ECLSS Recycle Tank Drain
EVA Battery Ops Terminate
UTS Offload EDV Swap
Thursday, April 7 (GMT 97)
Payloads:
Astrobee Off
AstroRad Vest
ER5 Laptop Configuration
Food Physiology
ISS Ham Pass
MSG MLC Battery Replace
SERFE
Standard Measures
Toilet T/S
UNIGLO
Vascular Aging
Systems:
EVA Umbilical Interface Assembly (UIA) Biocide Filter R&R
EVA Contingency Water Container – Iodinated (CWC-I) Sample
Environmental Health Systems (EHS) Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Waste Water Bag (WWB) Changeout
EHS TOCA Water Analysis
EHS Air Quality Monitor-6 (AQM-6) 6-months Maintenance
RS EVA Tool Gather Part 2 and Transfer from USOS to RS
EVA Battery Operations Initiation
Stall Seat Track Stud Ring Fitcheck
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Reader T/S
Friday, April 8 (GMT 98)
Payloads:
Acoustic Tweezer
CAL MTL Jumper Check
EarthKAM Shutdown/Stow
UNIGLO Hardware Remove from MSG/Stow
SERFE
Vascular Aging Hardware Stow
Systems:
WHC Manual Fill
Crew Alternate Sleeping Accommodation (CASA) Cleaning
Station Support Computer (SSC) 20 and 22 Swap
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.
OGS Water Sample
Vascular Aging Ultrasound Echo Unit Setup
Acoustic Monitor Setup for Crew Worn Measurements
MSL Hardware Gather
Material Science Laboratory Furnace Insert SQF to LGF Exchange
NOD2O2 Cleanout
Intelligent Glass Optics Procedure Review
MELFI 1 Icebrick Insert 2
OGS H2 Sensor R&R
Vascular Aging Resting Ultrasound Scan
Intelligent Glass Optics Probe Exchange
Vascular Aging CDL Holter Arterial Blood Pressure Measurement
AstroRad Vest Don
MELFI 2 Icebrick Insert 3
MERLIN 5 Icebrick Insert
AstroRad Vest Doff
AstroRad Vest Survey 1
MELFI 3 Icebrick Insert 2
Vascular Aging Bio-Monitor 48-Hour Measurement Big Picture Words Review
Payload On-Orbit Still Shots for Utilization and Maintenance (POSSUM) Payload Photo
Toilet Deep Cleaning Part 1
Bio-Monitor Hardware Setup
Vascular Aging Ultrasound Echo Unit Stow
Stowing Items Post-OGA Sample
Transfer Cygnus Cargo Operations
Behavioral Core Measures ROBoT-r Research Testing
Bio-Monitor Wearables Setup
Bio-Monitor Breathing Volume Calibration
On-Orbit Hearing Assessment (OOHA) with Kuduwave Software Setup and Test
OBT Dragon Rendezvous Review
Acoustic Monitor Battery Swap
OBT MLM Terminal Computer (MLMTC) Restart Monitoring for Axiom-1 Rendezvous
OBT Conference after Rendezvous CBT review
EHS Day/Night Glasses Swap
Photo/TV Card Gather
