NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 7 April, 2021 – More Biomedical Studies

The Expedition 64 crew is getting ready to welcome three new crew members who are due to launch on Friday to the International Space Station.
Meanwhile, a variety of space research activities are underway aboard the orbiting lab today.

One NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are in final preparations for their liftoff on a Soyuz rocket set for Friday at 3:42 a.m. EDT. Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Pyotr Dubrov will flank Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy for the short trip to the station inside the new Soyuz MS-18 crew ship.

Docking of the new Expedition 65 trio to the Rassvet module is planned for 7:07 a.m. The crew will open the hatch after leak and pressure checks and enter the station about 9 a.m. A welcoming ceremony with the expanded 10-person crew along with participants on the ground will occur shortly afterward. NASA TV will broadcast the launch and docking activities beginning at 2:45 a.m.

NASA Flight Engineers Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker are busy readying the station to temporarily accommodate the new crew members. The trio is setting up extra sleep stations for this month’s crew swaps when there will be as many as 11 people occupying the space station.

Biomedical studies, or human research, is always ongoing aboard the station. Saliva and blood sample collections were the first tasks of the day for Hopkins, Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov. Glover scanned his own neck, leg and cardiac veins with an ultrasound device then checked his blood pressure for the Vascular Aging study.

NASA Flight Engineer Kate Rubins installed the new TangoLab-2 biology research hardware, delivered in February aboard the Cygnus space freighter, inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module. Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi readied a materials space exposure study for placement outside the Kibo laboratory module.

On-Orbit Status Report

Payloads

AC Touch: Per standard procedure, the crew touched both the coated and uncoated coupons for this long-term investigation. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could create new risks to crew health and spacecraft systems as well as creating the possibility of contaminating other planetary bodies. The samples remain in space approximately six months then return to Earth for analysis.

JEM Airlock Slide Table Reconfiguration: In preparation for the MISSE-14-NASA installation later this week, the crew removed the passive capture mechanism from the slide table and installed the JEM ORU Transfer Interface (JOTI) hardware. Materials International Space Station Experiment-14-NASA (MISSE-14-NASA) continues a series of tests by NASA Glenn Research Center on how the harsh environment of space affects the performance and durability of various materials. Each mission tests new materials and material configurations, and similar materials fly on multiple MISSE missions. MISSE-14-NASA exposes de-orbit, phase change and radiation shielding materials as well as 10 types of crop seeds to the space environment.

TangoLab: The crew removed the TangoLab-2 facility, installed a new TangoLab facility into the EXPRESS rack, and connected the power and data cables. Payload cards 013 and 018 were then installed into the new TangoLab facility. Space Tango’s TangoLab locker is a reconfigurable general research facility designed for microgravity research and development (R&D) and pilot manufacturing aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Vascular Aging: The crew participated in ultrasound scans of the neck, thigh, portal vein and heart. They also logged a series of blood pressure measurements in support of the experiment. Emerging data point towards linkages among cardiovascular health risk, carotid artery aging, bone metabolism and blood biomarkers, insulin resistance, and radiation. Data indicate that aging-like changes are accelerated in many International Space Station (ISS) crew members, particularly with respect to their arteries. As part of the Space Environment Causes Acceleration of Vascular Aging: Roles of Hypogravity, Nutrition, and Radiation (Vascular Aging) investigation, ultrasounds of the arteries, blood samples, oral glucose tolerance, and wearable sensors from ISS crew members are analyzed.

Systems

Extra–Vehicular Activity (EVA) Battery Operations Terminal (EBOT) Charging: Following successful installation of the new EBOT hardware yesterday, the system was checked out this morning. All checks were nominal and batteries have been inserted and are charging.

Crew Alternate Sleep Accommodation (CASA): The crew began the first part of CASA installation at the Columbus 104 ZSR rack. Completion of installation is scheduled for next week. CASA is a crew accommodation to allow for long duration stay for a fifth crew member, as well as stowage when a 5th crewmember is not present.

Japanese Experiment Logistics Module – Pressurized Section (JLP) Hygiene Modifications: In order to use the JLP as a hygiene location, the crew installed hygiene covers on all stowage, ZSR fronts, and open rack bays including loose CTBs. They also installed a partition between Bay 1 and Bay 2 to help contain as much moisture as possible in Bay 1.

Completed Task List Activities:

EPM laptop troubleshooting
Today’s Ground Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Payloads ops support
CASA ops support
JEMAL ops
Look Ahead Plan

Thursday, April 8 (GMT 098)
Payloads:

Biolab item search, FLUIDICS run 1, Food Acceptability, JAXA Video Take 8, ManD feedstock resolution, Micro-16, MISSE-14 MSC install to JERMAL slide table, MSRR/KERMIT photo, PLDR deact, RTPCG-2, Standard Measures, Vascular Aging Glucose setup
Systems:

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Hard Upper Torso (HUT) On-Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) Remove and Replace (R&R)
COLUMBUS Deck 1 and 2 clean-up
Calibrate and deploy Personal CO2 Monitors
Friday, April 9 (GMT 099)
Payloads:

AC touch, Actiwatch plus, Astrobee/Gecko, AstroPi, CIR manifold bottle exchange, ELF sample holder exchange, Fluidics, Food Acceptability, Food Physiology, Nanoracks Rotational Dynamics ball deflate, PLDR card exchange, POLAR and MERLIN desiccant swaps, RTPCG-2, Standard Measures, Vascular Aging
Systems:

64S launch/dock
ISS Safety Briefing
FRIDGE 2 reconfig
Saturday, April 10 (GMT 100)
Payloads:

No utilization activities
Systems

Crew adaptation
Crew handover
Sunday, April 11 (GMT 101)
Payloads:

Astrobee off
Systems

Crew off duty
Today’s Planned Activities:
All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes
HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations
Vascular Aging Ultrasound Echo Unit Setup
ISS HAM Kenwood Radio Power Up
Vascular Aging Resting Ultrasound Scan
Structures and Mechanisms (S&M) JEM ORU Xfer I/F (JOTI) Gather
XF305 Camcorder Setup
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side
?omm. check from Baikonur (S/G1)
Prep. TV report
JEM airlock slide table passive Capture Mechanism Removal
Soyuz descent training
JEM ORU Xfer I/F Install for MISSE Transfer Tray
Vascular Aging CDL Holter Arterial BP Measurement
JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side
Crew Alternate Sleep Accomodation (CASA) Gather
Station Support Computer (SSC) 15 and BEAM Station Support Computer (SSC) Swap
Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)
Veggie Monitoring Surface Sample Analysis Historical Documentation Photography
Japanese Experiment Logistics Module Hygiene Cover Build and Install
Crew Alternate Sleep Accomodation (CASA) Installation
Quick-disconnect screw clamps (???) installation
Vascular Aging Ultrasound Echo Unit Stow
Adjusting ??????? protective suit
Crew Alternate Sleep Accomodation (CASA) Installation Assistance
PAO Preparation
CEVIS Restraining Belt Remove and Replace
Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config JEM Setup
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) – JEM
PMA2/PMA3 Crew Suitcase Swap
Crew Alternate Sleep Accomodation (CASA) Installation
Japanese Experiment Logistics Module Hygiene Cover Build and Install
Recharging Samsung tablet in 62S
Prep. TV report
Public Affairs Office (PAO)
Japanese Experiment Logistics Module Hygiene Bay Divider Build and Install
Crew Choice Event Set Up
CCE Preparation
Crew Choice Event
Reminder Standard Measures 4-Day Saliva Collection
Recharging Samsung tablet in 63S – end
Reminder to Clear IMV Inlet