ISS Science Operations Weekly Status Report 21 Nov 2001
The Expedition Three crew during the past week completed three science
activities and prepared the International Space Station for the next
Expedition.
All three crewmembers completed their last Hoffman Reflex test session on
Friday, Nov. 16. Begun during Expedition Two, H-Reflex studies changes to
the human neurological system during long-duration space flights and whether
exercise could be made more effective. A mild electrical current is applied
to the crewmember’s knee to measure spinal cord excitability.
Also last Friday, the crew successfully transferred the Space Acceleration
Measurement System (SAMS) main computer from EXPRESS Rack 2 to EXPRESS Rack
4 as part of payload plans for Expedition Four. It was reactivated and is
collecting acceleration data again. In another activity aimed at preparing
for the UF-1 mission that marks the beginning of Expedition Four, the crew
on Saturday, Nov. 17, relocated the Biotechnology Refrigerator from EXPRESS
Rack 1 to EXPRESS Rack 4. The refrigerator is storing samples from the
Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support System experiment at a controlled
39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) until their return on UF-1.
All three crewmembers on Monday, Nov. 19, completed the final monthly
session of the Pulmonary Function in Flight experiment, which is designed to
study any changes in lung function during long duration space flight, as
well as any short-term changes that may be caused by spacewalking. This
activity was on the crew’s task list and completes the experiment for this
Expedition.
The crew also performed their final Renal Stone session this week. Aimed at
studying the possibility of reducing the likelihood of kidney stone
formation during space flight, this experiment requires crewmembers to take
potassium citrate pills or placebos daily along with keeping a diet log and
collecting urine samples for analysis later. This research is managed by
the Johnson Space Center.
The Active Rack Isolation System ISS Characterization Experiment (ARIS-ICE)
science team sent kudos to Commander Frank Culbertson this week for
successfully replacing a faulty actuator and pushrod last week.
Culbertson replaced the equipment on Thursday, Nov. 15 following a failure
on Tuesday, Nov. 13. ARIS testing was interrupted for two days before the
faulty parts were replaced. Rack testing resumed this week. Located in
EXPRESS Rack 2, ARIS is designed to damp out vibrations caused by crew
movement, operating equipment etc. that could affect delicate microgravity
experiments located in the rack. The experimental vibration dampener is
scheduled to become operational with experiments arriving on Expedition Four
later this month. Eight pushrods around the rack provide reactive force to
counter vibrations. ARIS-ICE testing is scheduled to continue through
Expedition Four. This experiment was developed by The Boeing Company and
managed by NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
The Experiment on Physics of Colloids in Space (EXPPCS) completed a 48-hour
test on Saturday, Nov. 17 and ran another 48-hour test on Sunday and Monday.
A 12-hour test was completed Wednesday and another was planned for Friday,
Nov. 23. This experiment examines three classes of colloids, systems of
particles used in many products and manufacturing processes on Earth.
Better understanding of colloid behavior may lead to improve colloid
engineering for the making of new materials. The experiment is managed by
Harvard University and NASA’s Glenn Research Center.
The crew’s optional task list this week includes the Crew Interactions
survey, Crew Earth Observations photography and DREAMTiME videography. The
crew continues its normal health and status checks on Station experiments.
The crew was scheduled for 11.25 hours of payload activity this week as they
prepare to complete their mission and make the Station ready to receive the
Expedition Four crew next week.
Geographic locations for the Crew Earth Observations photography this week
included air quality over Mozambique and Cape Town, South Africa, snowfall
over the southern Sierras in Central California, the Peruvian Andes and
Central Andean volcanoes, new crops along the Parana River in South America,
air quality in Southern France and Northern Italy, geologic features in
Ethiopia and Tanzania. The science team also asked the crew to videotape
the Leonids meteor showers that peaked early Sunday.
Automated payloads continuing to run aboard the Station, monitored and
controlled by scientists on the ground, include the Advanced Protein
Crystallization Facility, Dynamically Controlled Protein Crystallization
Facility, Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System, and the Materials
International Space Station Experiment. Experiments already completed for
Expedition Three include the Cellular Biotechnology Support System
experiment and Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students (EarthKAM)
photography program. The Bonner Ball Neutron Detector, which began
measuring the Station’s radiation environment during Expedition Two, also
finished collecting data this week and will be returned on the UF-1 flight.
Editor’s Note: The Payload Operations Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages all science research experiment
operations aboard the International Space Station. The center is also home
for coordination of the mission-planning work of a variety of international
sources, all science payload deliveries and retrieval, and payload training
and payload safety programs for the Station crew and all ground personnel.
