Crew Concentrates on Progress Loading, Science Work

The Expedition 7 crew had another productive day aboard the International Space Station. Thursday’s activities included the transfer of trash and other unneeded items from the Station to the Progress 10 cargo ship.
Progress 10 will be commanded to undock from the aft end of the International Space Station’s Zvezda Service Module on Aug. 27 at 5:43 p.m. CDT (2243 GMT) to make room for the Progress 12 spacecraft, which is slated to launch at 8:47 p.m. CDT Aug. 28 (0147 GMT Aug. 29) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Progress 12 will dock with the Station on Aug. 30. Following undocking, Progress 10 will be commanded to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. Then on Sept. 4, the Progress 11 cargo ship will be commanded to undock from the Pirs Docking Compartment to set the stage for the arrival of the Expedition 8 crew aboard the Soyuz TMA-3 spacecraft in October.
NASA ISS Science Officer Ed Lu continued to work with the Pore Formation and Mobility Investigation. Through the materials science experiment, scientists hope to learn how bubbles trapped in a metal or crystal diminish the material’s strength.
Commander Yuri Malenchenko participated in a Russian medical experiment that is studying heart activity in microgravity. Lu also set up equipment for U.S. and Russian medical operations that will take place Friday on the ISS.