ISS Crew Works With US, Russian Experiments

The Expedition 10 crew worked with several International Space Station science experiments on Tuesday. Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov conducted the final run of this session with a Russian plasma/crystal experiment, which is studying how plasma-dust crystals and fluids behave in microgravity when excited by radio waves.

Commander Leroy Chiao performed the monthly photography of the Binary Colloid Alloy Test-3 (BCAT-3) experiment, which is studying microscopic particles suspended in fluid. BCAT-3 provides a unique opportunity to understand fundamental physics and develop important future technologies — all in a package the size of an ordinary textbook.

Chiao also set up equipment for the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity (ADUM) experiment. ADUM is being used to determine the ability of minimally trained Station crewmembers to perform advanced ultrasound examinations after using a computer-based training program. In addition to having benefits to long-duration space flight, ADUM could have widespread applications in emergency and rural care situations on Earth.

In other activities Tuesday, Chiao began the regeneration of carbon-dioxide absorbers in the U.S. spacesuits and recharged batteries for the Station’s defibrillator device.