Expedition 10 Finishes Week Filled With Experiments, Progress Preps

The Expedition 10 crewmembers spent the week aboard the International Space Station tackling a wide range of tasks. Their tasks included science investigations, robotic arm work and preparations for next week’s Progress cargo ship activities.

On the science front, Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov conducted the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity (ADUM) experiment on Thursday. This investigation seeks to better understand the crew’s ability to gather and transmit data to the ground. ADUM may also lead to benefits on Earth, allowing for much quicker injury diagnosis for patients at remote locations by doctors based at hospitals.

Earlier in the week, the crew had a training session with the Station’s robot arm, Canadarm2. The workout was designed to allow the crewmembers to maintain their skills.

Chiao and Sharipov continued to prepare for next week’s ship swap by loading Progress 15 with unneeded items. Progress 15 is scheduled to undock from the Space Station at 1:34 p.m. CST (1934 GMT) Dec. 22. Its departure clears the way for the arrival of Progress 16, scheduled to launch from Kazakhstan at 4:19 p.m. CST (2219 GMT) on Dec. 23. The new Progress and its cargo — food, fuel, clothing and Christmas gifts — are slated to dock to the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module at 6:04 p.m. CST Dec. 25 (0204 GMT Dec. 26).