NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 1 December 2012

All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday – Crew off duty.

CDR Ford started the day with another post-sleep session of the Reaction Self-Test (Psychomotor Vigilance Self-Test on the ISS) protocol, his 9th. [RST is done twice daily (after wakeup & before bedtime) for 3 days prior to the sleep shift, the day(s) of the sleep shift and 5 days following a sleep shift. The experiment consists of a 5-minute reaction time task that allows crewmembers to monitor the daily effects of fatigue on performance while on ISS. The experiment provides objective feedback on neurobehavioral changes in attention, psychomotor speed, state stability, and impulsivity while on ISS missions, particularly as they relate to changes in circadian rhythms, sleep restrictions, and extended work shifts.]

After wakeup, FE-1 Novitskiy performed the routine inspection of the SM (Service Module) PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection and also .

FE-1 also completed the daily reboot of the Russian RS1 & RS2 laptops.

Additionally, Oleg conducted the periodic checkup of the circuit breakers & fuses in the DC1 Docking Compartment. [The monthly checkup in DC1, MRM1 & MRM2 looks at AZS circuit breakers on the BVP Amp Switch Panel (they should all be On) and the LEDs (light-emitting diodes) of 14 fuses in fuse panels BPP-30 & BPP-36. MRM2 & MRM1 were derived from the DC1 concept and are very similar to it.]

FE-2 Tarelkin rebooted the Russian RSS1 & RSS2 laptops.

Kevin Ford performed the regular (~weekly) inspection & maintenance, as required, of the CGBA-4 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 4) and CGBA-5 payloads in their ERs (EXPRESS Racks) at Lab O2 & O1, focusing on cleaning the muffler air intakes.

Working as a team, Ford, Novitskiy & Tarelkin conducted the regular weekly three-hour task of thorough cleaning of their home, including all USOS (US Orbit Segment) modules like Lab, Nodes, COL (Columbus Orbital Laboratory) and Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module). [“Uborka”, usually done on Saturdays, includes removal of food waste products, cleaning of compartments with vacuum cleaner, damp cleaning of the SM dining table, other frequently touched surfaces and surfaces where trash is collected, as well as the sleep stations with a standard cleaning solution; also, fan screens and grilles are cleaned to avoid temperature rises. Special cleaning is also done every 90 days on the HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bacteria filters in the Lab.]

As part of Uborka house cleaning, FE-1 & FE-2 conducted regular weekly maintenance inspection & cleaning of fan screens in the FGB (TsV2) plus Group E fan grilles in the SM (VPkhO, FS5, FS6, VP), the grilles of the BMP Harmful Contaminants Removal System,and the SKV air conditioner in the SM.

Evgeny completed the daily routine task of servicing the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM. [Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers, replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers and filling EDV-SV, KOV (for Elektron), EDV-ZV & EDV on RP flow regulator.]

Tarelkin also performed the periodic cleaning of Russian Potok-150 (150 micron) pre-filters of the SM’s & FGB’s SOGS air revitalization subsystem.

Kevin filled out his standard FFQ (Food Frequency Questionnaire) on the MDLT (Medical Laptop Terminal). It was the 4th time for the CDR. [On the FFQs, USOS astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MDLT software. Recorded are the amounts consumed during the past week of such food items as beverages, cereals, grains, eggs, breads, snacks, sweets, fruit, beans, soup, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, chicken, sauces & spreads, and vitamins. The FFQ is performed once a week to estimate nutrient intake from the previous week and to give recommendations to ground specialists that help maintain optimal crew health. Weekly estimation has been verified to be reliable enough that nutrients do not need to be tracked daily.]

Later, Ford spent some time on troubleshooting an SMPA (Scope Meter Power Adapter)/Charger and Makita batteries. [After marking SMPA/Charger 1007 “Suspect” and stowing it, Kevin moved SMPA/Charger 1008 from the Kibo JPM to the Lab, connected it and monitored it during charging of battery #1053, checking indicator lights. If no lights, battery charging was to be continued overnight.]

The CDR again had a time slot/placeholder reserved for making entries in his electronic Journals on the personal SSC (Station Support Computer). [Required are three journaling sessions per week.]

At ~6:30am EST, Evgeny Tarelkin had his weekly PFC (Private Family Conference) via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop).

At ~8:10am, the three crewmembers held the regular WPC (Weekly Planning Conference) with the ground, discussing next week’s “Look-Ahead Plan” (prepared jointly by MCC-H and TsUP-Moscow timeline planners), via S-band/audio, reviewing upcoming activities and any concerns about future on-orbit events.

The three crewmembers worked out on the TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (FE-1, FE-2), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (CDR, FE-1), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (CDR), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-2).

Tasks listed for Evgeny & Oleg on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were –
. More preparation & downlinking of reportages (written text, photos, videos) for the Roskosmos website to promote Russia’s manned space program (max. file size 500 Mb),
* A 10-min. photography session for the DZZ-13 “Seiner” ocean observation program, obtaining SKPF-U (Photo Image Coordinate Reference System) HDV (Z1) camcorder footage of color bloom patterns in the waters of South-Eastern Atlantic (SEA), South-East Pacific (SEP) and South-Western Atlantic (SWA), then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop,
. A ~30-min. run of the GFI-8 “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program with the NIKON D3X digital camera with Sigma AF 300-800mm telelens and PI emission platform using the SKPF-U to record target sites on the Earth surface, and
. A ~30-min. session for Russia’s EKON Environmental Safety Agency, making observations and taking KPT-3 aerial photography of environmental conditions on Earth using the NIKON D3X camera with the RSK-1 laptop.

Weekly Science Update (Expedition Thirty-Four – Week 2)

2D NANO Template (JAXA): Mission completed.

3D SPACE: Complete.

ACE-1 (Advanced Colloids Experiment 1, NASA):

ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.

ALTEA SHIELD Shielding (NASA/ASI): No report. [Background: Cosmic radiation consists of very small, atomic-sized particles that are flying around in space at tremendous speeds. Their energy is so high that these particles, like tiny bullets, can permeate through the complete structure of the ISS. Exposure of astronauts to cosmic radiation is risky from a medical point of view. The best way to protect our astronauts against cosmic radiation is to build the complete ISS from lead! This would solve the problem but the enormous mass can impossibly be launched into space. Therefore different materials, much lighter than lead, are being tested to be used as shielding materials. Two of those will be investigated in the ALTEA-SHIELD experiment. The effectiveness of the shielding materials will be measured on board by a set of special radiation detectors. Some detectors will be covered with tiles made of shielding materials, some others will not. We are looking forward to find out what difference it will make!”]

Amine Swingbed (NASA): No report.

AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer): No report.

APEX (Advanced Plant Experiments on Orbit) -Cambium: No report.

APEX-TAGES (Transgenic Arabidopsis Gene Expression System): No report.

Asian Seed 2010 (JAXA): Returned on ULF6.

BASS (Burning and Suppression of Solids, NASA): (The BASS hardware has been stowed until we resume tests beginning sometime in December 2012 or January 2013.)
BCAT-6 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 6, CSA): No report. [Colloids are particles as small as a few tens of nanometers (a thousandth of a thousandth of a millimeter) that are suspended in a medium, usually a liquid or a gas. The name “colloid” comes from the Greek word for “glue”, and expresses very important properties of colloids: when small and light enough, particles can be influenced in their behavior by forces of electromagnetic origin, and make them stick together, or repel each other depending on the configuration. Colloids are widely studied in science because the forces between particles can be controlled and tuned and because particles, while being small enough to be influenced by such forces, are big and slow enough to be seen with a relatively simple and inexpensive laboratory instrument like a microscope. This is why colloids are often studied as model for molecular systems (like standard gases or liquids) where molecules, the individual constituents, are much smaller than colloids and cannot be seen with light. As mentioned, forces between colloids can be tuned giving rise to a rich variety of phenomena. One of them is aggregation, which is when particles stick together and tend to form structures. Among the many ways to induce particle aggregation, one allows to do so by controlling the temperature of the solution in which the particles are immersed, thanks to very weak forces called “critical Casimir forces” that have been predicted more than 30 years ago but just partially verified in experiments. The objective of SODI COLLOID is to measure such forces and produce a controlled aggregation of tiny plastic particles. This would allow to shed light on critical Casimir forces and to make a step towards the fabrication of new nanostructured materials with remarkable optical properties for industrial applications.]

BCAT-C1 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test C1, CSA): No report.

BLB (Biolab, ESA): “Great work, Kevin, when completing the BIOLAB Handling Mechanism (HM) gripper T/S activities on 11/23! Thank you for bringing the Seal Interface lever back to its locked position, so that it no longer interferes with the X-Axis translation. Further BIOLAB HM positioning tests via ground commanding on 11/27 confirmed the recovery activities were successful.”

BIORHYTHMS 48 (Biological Rhythms, JAXA): No report.

BISE (Bodies in the Space Environment, CSA): No report.

BISPHOSPHONATES: No report.

BXF-Facility (Boiling eXperiment Facility, NASA): No report.

BXF-MABE (Microheater Array Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report.

BXF-NPBX (Pool Boiling Experiment, NASA): No report.

CARD (Long Term Microgravity Model for Investigating Mechanisms of Heart Disease, ESA): No report.

CARDIOCOG-2: Complete.

CB (JAXA Clean Bench): No report.

CBEF-2 (JAXA Cell Biology Experiment Facility)/SPACE SEED: No report.

CCISS (Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Control on Return from ISS): No report.

CERISE (JAXA): No report.

CCF (Capillary Channel Flow, NASA): No report.

CFE-2 (Capillary Flow Experiment 2, NASA): No report.

CFS-A (Colored Fungi in Space-A, ESA): No report.

CSI-5/CGBA-5 (CGBA Science Insert #5/Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 5): No report.

CGBA-2 (Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus 2): Complete.

CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack), MDCA/Flex: No report.

CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS (ESA): No report.

Commercial (Inc 23&24, JAXA): No report.

Commercial (Inc 25 & 26, JAXA): No report.

Commercial (Inc 32, JAXA): No report.

CSAC (Chip-Scale Atomic Clock, SPHERES): No report.

CSLM-2 (Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures 2): No report.

CsPins (JAXA): No report.

CubeLab: No report.

CW/CR (Cell Wall/Resist Wall) in EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): Complete.

DECLIC-ALI (Device for the Study of Critical Liquids & Crystallization-ALICE-like, CNES/NASA): No report.

DomeGene (JAXA): Complete.

DOSIS-3D (3D Dose Distribution Inside ISS, ESA): “Dear Kevin, thanks a lot for checking the location of the one Passive Detector again after your activity to replace the Portable Breathing Apparatus in Columbus. Assessment of the photos confirmed that the passive detector is now in its foreseen location. That’s good news! From the feedback from the DOSIS-3D science team on the last monthly data downlink, it is confirmed that there is a gap in the radiation measurement data from both DOSTEL detectors (5 days for DOSTEL-1 and 15 days for DOSTEL-2) because the DOSIS Data and Power Unit (DDPU) did not transfer data files from the memory card. Science loss is estimated to be around 3% for DOSTEL-1 and around 9% for DOSTEL-2. Both DOSTELs have resumed nominal measurement operation after power cycle on 10/18.”

DTN (Delay Tolerant Network, NASA): No report.

EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students): No report.

EDR (European Drawer Rack, ESA): No report.

EKE (Endurance Capacity by Gas Exchange and Heart Rate Kinetics During Physical Training, ESA): No report.

ELITE-S2 (Elaboratore Immagini Televisive – Space 2): No report.

EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): No report.

ENERGY (ESA): No report. [Background: In the ENERGY experiment, astronauts are invited to participate in a study that aimed to evaluate how much food is needed for astronauts during long-term space missions. To do so, the science team will measure every component or variable of the astronaut’s energy expenditure reflecting his energy needs. Those variables will be measured twice: up to 4 months before flight and after at least 3 months in space but 3 weeks before landing. The changes in the astronaut’s energy balance and expenditure will be measured, which will help in deriving an equation for energy requirements in weightlessness. This will contribute to planning adequate, but not excessive cargo supplies for food.]

ENose (Electronic Nose): No report.

EPM (European Physiology Module): No report.

EPO (Education Payload Operations, NASA) Demos: No report.

EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Eye in the Sky; Sleep 2): No report.

EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Sesame Street): No report.

EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Kids in Micro-G): No report.

EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Earth/Moon/Mars Demo): No report.

EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (Space Sports): No report.

EPO (Educational Payload Operations, NASA) (ISS Orbit): No report.

EPO (Educational Payload Operations, ESA): No report.

EPO CONVECTIONS (ESA): “No report.

EPO MISSION X (ESA): No report.

EPO Spaceship Earth (ESA): No report.

EPO LES-2 (ESA): No report.

EPO GREENHOUSE (ESA): No report.

EPO 3-min Video (JAXA): No report.

EPO J-Astro Report (JAXA): No report.

EPO Dewey’s Forest (JAXA): Closed out on 3/15.

EPO Space Clothes (JAXA): Complete.

EPO Hiten (Dance, JAXA): No report.

EPO Lego Bricks (NASA, JAXA): No report.

EPO Moon Score (JAXA): No report.

EPO OpticSphere & ISSOrbit-Demo (NASA): No report.

EPO Kibo Kids Tour (JAXA): Complete.

EPO Paper Craft (Origami, JAXA): No report.

EPO Poem (JAXA): No report.

EPO-5 SpaceBottle (MIB/Message in a Bottle, JAXA): No report.

EPO-6 Spiral Top 2 (JAXA): No report.

EPO-7 Doctor Demo (JAXA): No report.

EPO-7 Green Tea Preparation (JAXA): No report.

EPO-7 Ink Ball (JAXA): No report.

EPO-7 Video (JAXA):

EPO-7 Try Zero-G (JAXA): No report.

EPO-8 Space Sakura (JAXA): No report.

EPO-8 Space Musical Instruments (JAXA): No report.

EPO-9 (JAXA): No report.

EPO-10/11 (JAXA): No report.

EPO-10/Try Zero-G (JAXA): No report. No report.

ERB-2 (Erasmus Recording Binocular, ESA): [ERB-2 aims are to develop narrated video material for various PR & educational products & events, including a 3D interior station view.] No report.

ETD (Eye Tracking Device): Completed.

FACET-2 (JAXA): No report.

FERULATE (JAXA): No report.

FIR/LMM/CVB (Fluids Integrated Rack / Light Microscopy Module / Constrained Vapor Bubble): No report.

Fish Scales (JAXA): Completed on FD7/ULF-4 and returned on STS-132.

FOAM STABILITY EPO (ESA): No report.

FOCUS: No report.

FSL (Fluid Science Laboratory, ESA): No report.

FWED (Flywheel Exercise Device, ESA): No report.

GENARA-A (Gravity Regulated Genes in Arabidopsis A/ESA): No report.

GEOFLOW-2 (ESA): Experiment completed! [Background: Everybody is familiar with liquids. In an average day we get to use, handle or drink water or other liquids. And everybody knows how fluids (that is liquids and gases) behave: when subjected to a net force, may be pressure, a temperature difference or gravity, they can move freely. Scientists have been studying how fluids move for centuries, and managed to write mathematical formulas that can describe and predict such movements. Unfortunately, these equations are extremely complex and only approximate solutions are known. As a result, our quantitative understanding of fluid movement is just partial. This is especially true for natural phenomena where the forces can be enormous and unpredictable, like in oceans or in the atmosphere, or the interior of the earth, where rocks are exposed to pressures and temperatures so incredibly high that they slowly move and adapt their shape. That is, over hundreds of years rocks flow just like a very viscous liquid. Scientists try to study such flows but cannot observe them directly due to the fact that they take place deep beneath the surface of our planet. The only way is to have computers simulating those movements starting from the equations, but how to check whether computers are correct? This is what Geoflow II is trying to answer on board the International Space Station. Geoflow II is a miniature planet that has some of its essential ingredients: a fluid can freely move inside a spherical container that rotates, has temperature differences and has a simulated gravity directed towards the centre just like in a real planet. By taking pictures of the fluid movements, scientists are able to understand the essential characteristics of the flows and determine whether computer simulations are correct or whether they need to be refined and improved towards a better understanding of the elusive movements that take place inside our planet.]

GLACIER (General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator, NASA): No report.

HAIR (JAXA): Samples collected from Inc. 27/28, 29/30 and 31/32 were returned by SpX-1.

HDTV System (JAXA): No report.

Hicari (JAXA): No report.

Holter ECG (JAXA): No report.

HQPC (JAXA): No report.

HREP (HICO/Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean & RAIDS/Remote Atmospheric & Ionospheric Detection System/JAXA): HICO has taken 6894 images to-date. The most recent HICO images include the coast of Australia, a region in Colorado that has had wild fires and part of the coast of South Africa. RAIDS is continuing to collect secondary Science data including nighttime atmospheric disk photometry, spectra, and temperatures. Extreme Ultra Violet airglow spectroscopy and optical contamination studies will also be performed.

HRF-1 (Human Research Facility 1, NASA): No report.

HydroTropi (Hydrotropism & Auxin-Inducible Gene Expression in Roots Grown under Microgravity Conditions/JAXA): No report.

ICE CRYSTAL (JAXA): Complete.

ICV (Integrated Cardiovascular): No report.

IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS; RS): No report.

INTEGRATED IMMUNE: No report.

InSPACE-3 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 3): “Kevin – Thank you for the INSPACE-3 runs this week, one on 11/27, two on 11/29, and a fourth session on 11/30. The focus sweeps were exactly what we needed to clearly see the particle distribution and allow us to capture a few more seconds of video to see a larger portion of aggregate structures as they form. We had concerns about whether we were getting uniform mixing of the particles in the vial at the start of a run, but you have developed quite a good technique with the BCAT magnet. These runs appeared to have well-dispersed particles. Thank you for the over-the-shoulder camera view and for the detailed description of the mixing you provided at the start of the second run on 11/29. This gives us further insight into how well the particles are dispersed between runs. As you could see, these particles tend to aggregate even in the absence of a magnetic field. Finally, we really appreciated the “extra” camera view you gave us by putting the over-the-shoulder camera focused on the MSG video monitor so we could see the Camera 2 view that we were not seeing from the single science video downlink. You gave us something we didn’t expect and really augmented our ability to observe the science.”

IRIS (Image Reversal in Space, CSA): No report.

ISS Amateur/Ham Radio: No report.

ISSAC (ISS Agricultural Camera, NASA): No report.

IV Gen (Intravenous Fluids Generation): No report.

JOURNALS (Behavioral Issues Associated with Isolation and Confinement, NASA): No report. [Studies conducted on Earth have shown that analyzing the content of journals and diaries is an effective method for identifying the issues that are most important to a person. The method is based on the reasonable assumption that the frequency that an issue or category of issues is mentioned in a journal reflects the importance of that issue or category to the writer. The tone of each entry (positive, negative, or neutral) and phase of the expedition also are variables of interest. Study results will lead to recommendations for the design of equipment, facilities, procedures, and training to help sustain behavioral adjustment and performance during long-duration space expeditions to the ISS, asteroids, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Results from this study could help to improve the behavioral performance of people living and working under a variety of conditions here on Earth.]

KUBIK 3/6, KID (ESA): No report.

LMM/PACE-2 (Light Microscopy Module / Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment): No report.

LEGO Bricks: No report.

LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): No report.

MAMS (Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System, NASA): No report.

Marangoni Exp. (JAXA): No report.

Marangoni DSD – Dynamic Surf (JAXA): Payload name was change from Marangoni DSD to Dynamic Surf.

Marangoni UVP (JAXA): No report.

MARES (Muscle Atrophy Research & Exercise System, ESA/NASA): No report.

Matryoshka-2 (RSA): No report.

MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, JAXA): External payload. Continuing telemetry monitoring. VSC raw image data downloaded on 11/26 and 11/28.

MCE (Multi-Mission Consolidated Equipment, JAXA): Ground team has been continuing the operation for IMAP, SIMPLE, HDTV, REX-J, and GLIMS.

MDCA/Flex-2: On 11/15, we successfully performed five MDCA/FLEX-2 Convective Flow test points using 100% decane fuel at a 1.0-atm chamber environment of 25% oxygen and 75% helium. Typically with Convective Flow test points, we translate the burning fuel droplet to observe how the air movement affects the burn. However, due to the very short burns in this high-helium environment, there was not sufficient time to translate the fiber. Helium has a high thermal conductivity and low specific heat, which leads to flames that are rapidly quenched. On 11/19, we performed five successful MDCA/FLEX-2 Quiescent test points using 100% decane fuel at a 1.0-atm chamber environment of 30% oxygen and 70% helium. This 5% increase in oxygen in the environment did lead to slightly longer burn times than the previous environment of only 25% oxygen.

MEIS (Marangoni Experiment for ISS) in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): No report.

MELFI (Minus Eighty Laboratory Freezer for ISS, NASA): No report.

METERON (ESA): No report.

Microbe-3 (JAXA): “Kevin, Particle Counter data was successfully downlinked on GMT 326”

Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete.

Micro-6 (NASA): No report.

Miscible Fluids in Microgravity (MFMG): No report.

MISSE-8 (Materials ISS Experiment 8): MISSE-8 is nominal. PASCAL performed nominal commanding that produced IV curves of the solar cells. IV curves are plots of the current versus voltage for solar cells and tell a lot about how these are performing. The SpaceCube experiment is continuing to run code for new radiation hardening by software.

MMA (JAXA/Microgravity Measurement Apparatus): No report.

MOST (Medaka Osteoclast, JAXA): “Kevin, thank you very much for water maintenance on 11/23 and 11/28. Thanks to your desiccant relocation, camera 1 is now working properly. Water quality is good and all Medakas look fine.”

MPAC/SEED (JAXA): No report.

MSG (Microgravity Science Glovebox, NASA): No report.

MSG-SAME (Microgravity Science Glovebox -Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment): No report.

MSPR (Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack, JAXA): No report.

MSL (Materials Science Laboratory, ESA): No report.

MTR-2 (Russian radiation measurements): Passive dosimeters measurements in DC-1 “Pirs”.

MULTIGEN-1: Completed.

MYCO 3 (JAXA): On 9/22, Mike and Satoshi completed sample collection.

MyoLab (JAXA): Completed on 4/20.

NanoRacks (NASA): No report.

NANOSKELETON (Production of High Performance Nanomaterials in Microgravity, JAXA): No report.

NANO STEP (JAXA): The ground team has been continuing run#3 and now is in phase 2.

NEURORAD (JAXA): No report.

NEUROSPAT (ESA/Study of Spatial Cognition, Novelty Processing and Sensorimotor Integration): No report. [During microgravity stay, the human body goes through multitude of physiological changes in order to accommodate to the new environment. As the brain is a master organ where major crucial processes take place, it is fundamental to understand how it manages adaptation for living in Space. One of the main purposes of Neurospat (NES) experiment is to focus on how microgravity environment influences cerebral activity of astronauts aboard ISS. For this, the global electrical activity of the brain of the astronaut is measured thanks to electroencephalogram (EEG) technique, while he or she is executing specific tasks through a computer as if it was a kind of videogame. In practice, the astronaut is wearing a specially equipped cap with passive, gel filled electrodes that are in contact with his/her scalp while he or she is performing the specific tasks that we have designed. These are visual-orientation perception and visuo-motor tracking tasks that may be encountered on a daily basis. The tasks allow the study of 5 cognitive processes: Perception, Attention, Memorization, Decision and Action. Besides there are also task-irrelevant images that are showed to the astronaut in order to assess how well he or she processes novel visual stimuli. The electrodes all over the scalp are linked to sensitive amplifiers that allow us to measure small variations of electrical potential between different regions of the scalp. These signals are in turn used to estimate activity in the cerebral cortex related to the task being performed. Also, they serve to identify the mental processes associated with these tasks and to localize in the brain the sources of the underlying neural activity. After analysis of the data we can better understand whether the novel environment of microgravity accompanied by a multitude of stressors may place an increased load on the cognitive capacity of the human brain and whether the sensory signals and motor responses of astronauts are processed and interpreted differently because a new reference frame.]

NightPod (ESA): No report.

NOA-1/-2 (Nitric Oxide Analyzer, ESA): Complete.

NUTRITION w/REPOSITORY/ProK: “Kevin – You’ve successfully completed 2 of 5 sessions for Nutrition/Repository. Thank you for reporting the barcode information for your urine and blood samples because we need it for sample return and processing. You will receive a response to the questions and concerns you documented in crew notes prior to your next session at ~FD60. Have a great weekend!”

ODK-2 (Onboard Diagnostic Kit 2, JAXA): No report.

PADIAC (Pathway Different Activators, ESA): No report.

PADLES (JAXA, Area PADLES 6/7; Passive Area Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): No report.

PASSAGES (JAXA): No report. [PASSAGES is an experiment about the strategies involved in the perception of the world around us. Seeing correctly the world is necessary to success our gestures, our actions, such as catching a ball, stepping an obstacle on the ground or passing through an opened door. In this experiment, we want to know if the strategies involved on Earth continue to be used when the astronaut is in a weightlessness environment for a long period. To investigate this question, the participant sees 3D scenes on the screen of a laptop such as a video game. The scene is a room with an opening which can vary in width. The task of the participant is to decide if yes or no he or she could pass through the aperture without rotating or scrunching the shoulders. The science team uses typical methods from psychophysics and manipulates several factors to highlight the strategies used by the participant. Then, the science team will compare the performances obtained on ground with those obtained onboard.]

PCDF-PU (Protein Crystallization Diagnostic Facility – Process Unit): No report.

PCG (JAXA, Protein Crystal Growth): Mission completed last week.

PCRF (Protein Crystallization Research Facility) Reconfiguration (JAXA): See PCG.

PLSG (Plant Signaling, NASA/ESA): No report.

PMDIS (Perceptual Motor Deficits in Space): Complete.

POLCA/GRAVIGEN (ESA): Complete.

Portable PFS: No report.

Pro K: No report.

RadGene & LOH (JAXA): Complete.

RadSilk (JAXA): No report.

Reaction Self Test (RST/Psychomotor Vigilance Self Test on the ISS): “Kevin, thank you for continuing your participation in Reaction Self Test, your efforts are greatly appreciated!”

REBR-2 (Re-Entry Breakup Recorder 2, JAXA): No report.

REM (Radiation Environment Monitor, NASA): No report.

Resist Tubule (RTS, JAXA): Samples returned by SpX-1.

Reversible Figures (ESA): No report. [Background: The objective of this study is to understand the relationship between gravity and depth perception. Another objective is to identify the problems associated with depth and distance perception in astronauts with the goal of developing countermeasures to reduce any associated performance alteration. This experiment investigates cases in which what astronauts might think to see, fails to achieve a correct representation of the environment, namely, optical illusions. Ten ambiguous figures, with or without depth cues, are presented to an astronaut in virtual reality goggles. These figures are ambiguous because they can be seen at first sight in two different ways. The figure does not change, but after some time the brain reverses (flip-flops) its interpretation. The astronaut is asked to look closely at each figure and to indicate with a mouse trackball which view he/she sees first, and when the view flip-flops. The interval between the views will be compared between 1g and 0g conditions. In 0g, the astronaut will do the test while free-floating to eliminate all orientation cues. This experiment will be performed three times pre-flight, then up to six times in-flight, and again three times post-flight. The science team will then compare the results of these tests across these gravitational environments. It is expected that the frequency of flip-flops of figures with depth cues will be different in between 0g and 1g, and that an adaptation to long-term exposure to weightlessness, as well as a re-adaptation to Earth gravity, will take place.]

ROALD-2 (Role of Apoptosis in Lymphocyte Depression 2, ESA): No report. [Background: The ROALD-2 experiment studies how the function of T-cells from the immune system are affected by microgravity and spaceflight. T-cells play an important role in controlling the immune systems response to infection. It has previously been shown that the immune response of astronauts can be reduced following spaceflight and it has also been shown that the activation of T-cells in culture is reduced in microgravity. A series of experiments on T-cells and other immune system cells have been previously performed by different scientific teams on Space Shuttle and the ISS over the last 30 years. The data from these individual experiments provides information which together can be used to understand the mechanisms by which gravity or the absence of gravity can affect T-cell function.]

Robonaut (NASA): No report.

RRM (Robotic Refuelling Mission, NASA): In standby mode, awaiting the next task/run, refueling. [The RRM investigation demonstrates and tests the tools, technologies and techniques needed to robotically service and refuel satellites in space, especially satellites not originally designed to be serviced. RRM is expected to reduce risks and lay the foundation for future robotic servicing missions in microgravity.]

RYUTAI Rack (JAXA): No report.

SAIBO Rack (JAXA): No report.

SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): No report.

SAMPLE: Complete.

SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation Testbed, NASA): No report. [Background: The SCaN Testbed provides an orbiting laboratory on space station for the development of SDR (Software Defined Radio) technology. These systems will allow researchers to conduct a suite of experiments over the next several years, enabling the advancement of a new generation of space communications. The testbed is the first space hardware to provide an experimental laboratory to demonstrate many new capabilities, including new communications, networking and navigation techniques that utilize SDR technology. The SCaN Testbed includes three such radio devices, each with different capabilities. These devices will be used by researchers to advance this technology over the Testbed’s five year planned life in orbit. Two SDRs were developed under cooperative agreements with General Dynamics and Harris Corp., and the third was developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif. JPL also provided the five-antenna system on the exterior of the testbed, used to communicate with NASA’s orbiting communications relay satellites and NASA ground stations across the United States.]

SCOF (Solution Crystallization Observation Facility, JAXA): No report.

SEDA-AP (Space Environment Data Acquisition Equipment-Attached Payload, JAXA): Continuing telemetry monitoring.

SHD (Space Headaches, ESA): “Thanks, Kevin, for filling your fourth weekly questionnaire on 11/23!” [Background: The neurologists from Leiden University want to study the question whether the astronauts, while in space, suffer from the headaches. With the help of simple questionnaires the astronauts will register the headache episodes and the eventual accompanying symptoms. The results will hopefully help to characterize the frequency and characteristics of space headache and to develop countermeasure to prevent/minimize headache occurrence during the space flight.]

SHERE II (Shear History Extensional Rheology Experiment II): No report.

SLAMMD (Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device): No report.

SLEEP (Sleep-Wake Actigraphy & Light Exposure during Spaceflight): No report.

SLICE (Structure & Liftoff In Combustion Experiment): No report. [See under BASS.]

SMILES (JAXA): External payload. Continuing telemetry monitoring.

SODI/IVIDIL (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Influence of Vibration on Diffusion in Liquids, ESA): No report.

SODI/COLLOID (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Colloid): No report.

SODI-DSC (Selectable Optical Diagnostics Instrument/Diffusion & Soret Coefficient, ESA): No report. [Background: Fluids and gases are never at rest. This statement is in apparent contradiction with our experience: when we pour water in a glass and wait until all flows have disappeared and the temperature of the liquid is in equilibrium with that of the room, we see that water appears to be completely at rest. However, if we were able to see the individual molecules of water with a very powerful microscope, we would discover that they are incessantly moving and collide with each other following frantic, random paths even if the liquid appears to be quiescent at naked eye. Scientists are interested in observing and measuring such movements because they reveal important, practical information: how fast does heat propagates in a fluid? How fast do liquid mixtures mix? Such phenomena occur in absence of a macroscopic flow, that is when the fluid appears to be at rest, and are called heat and mass diffusion respectively. While the theoretical prediction of heat and mass diffusion is still quite challenging, its measurement is a standard laboratory practice, but may become extremely difficult or impossible when dealing with mixtures of many liquids, due to the fact that such measurement needs to be carried out when the fluid is quiescent, a condition sometimes impossible to achieve on ground. This is precisely the objective of the SODI DSC experiment carried out on board the International Space Station: the measurement of diffusion in mixtures of liquids. By using very sensitive optical techniques, it will be possible to measure mass diffusion, compare with current theories, and improve our present understanding of how molecules move in liquid mixtures. The results will be used by the large team of scientists involved in the project to try to understand which of the many existing theories for mass diffusion is correctly predicting the experimental behavior.]

SOLAR (Solar Monitoring Observatory, ESA): Sun Visibility Window (SVW) #59 started on 11/19. It is the first of two SVWs (#59 and #60) which are going to be bridged via a change in the ISS attitude. This will be the first time that the attitude of the Space Station will be changed for science reasons. The bias of the ISS attitude is planned for the period from 12/1 to 12/11 and it will allow SOLAR measurements exceptionally during a full Sun rotation (~27d). Successful SOLSPEC calibration measurements and SOLSPEC and SOLACES science measurements were done on 11/22-11/28. On 11/23 due to a re-occurring instrument anomaly (Analogy Interface Board failure), the sun tracking via SOLACES command schedule was interrupted in its 2nd orbit but was recovered and successfully restarted. On 11/28 an interruption in ancillary data was observed for SOLAR but was successfully recovered and had no science impact. Up to 11/28 about 31% of the SOLACES scripts and about 27% of the SOLSPEC scripts planned for this extended / bridged SVW were successfully performed. So far all is going nominally for this very special period for SOLAR.

SOLO (Sodium Loading in Microgravity): No report.

Space-DRUMS (Space Dynamically Responding Ultrasonic Matrix System): No report.

Space Food (JAXA): No report.

SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellite): “Kevin, you successfully completed and met the success criteria for SPHERES Test Session 34, in support of the Zero Robotics investigation. The results from this session will be used to make changes for the ZR Finals Competition, planned for January 2013. Your thorough beacon setup and eagerness to go over the allotted time, allowed for a highly successful session!”

SPHINX (SPaceflight of Huvec: an Integrated eXperiment, ESA): No report.

SPICE (Smoke Point In Co-flow Experiment): No report.

SPINAL (Spinal Elongation): No report.

SPRINT: “Great job Aki with your final Sprint VO2 max session this week! The PI has the data and is reviewing it. The team looks forward to seeing you on the ground!”

SSD (Small Satellite Deployer, JAXA): No report.

SS-HDTV (Super Sensitivity High Definition Camera, JAXA): Mission completed.

STP-H3 (Space Test Program – Houston 3): All STP-H3 experiments are functional and are in a nominal configuration. MHTEX has started a new series of tests. VADER continues to characterize the performance of the Aerogel blanket attached to the backside of the experiment. Canary is analyzing the results from previous data takes. DISC took new images this week and continues to process images that were taken in previous weeks.

SWAB (Characterization of Microorganisms & Allergens in Spacecraft): No report.

TASTE IN SPACE (ESA): No report.

THERMOLAB (ESA): No report.

TRAC (Test of Reaction & Adaptation Capabilities): Planned.

TREADMILL KINEMATICS: “Sunita, thanks for being a great Treadmill Kinematics subject!”

TRIPLELUX-B (ESA): No report.

TRITEL (Three-Axis Telescope, ESA): Nominal data acquisition with the TRITEL active detector.

ULTRASOUND: Planned.

UMS (Urine Monitoring System (NASA): No report.

VASCULAR (CSA): No report.

VCAM (Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Module, NASA): No report.

VESSEL ID System (ESA): Nominal data acquisition with the NorAIS receiver. [Background: As the ISS circles Earth, it has been tracking individual ships crossing the seas beneath. An investigation hosted by ESA in COL module has been testing the viability of monitoring global maritime traffic from the station’s orbit hundreds of kilometers above since June 2010. The ship-detection system being tested is based on the AIS (Automatic Identification System), the marine equivalent of the air traffic control system. Astronauts were instrumental in enabling the COLAIS experiment, which is an in-orbit demonstration project of ESA’s General Support Technology Program. COL was not originally outfitted with VHF antennas to capture the AIS signals; they were installed on the outside of the module during a spacewalk in November 2009, with the remaining piece of hardware, the ERNOBox control computer, installed inside COL along with the NORAIS receiver in May 2010.- The two operational phases with the first receiver from Norway, or NORAIS, which is operated by FFI/Norway, have been extremely successful, with data telemetry received by the N-USOC, in Trondheim, Norway, via ESA’s COL-CC in Germany. Data has been received by NORAIS in almost continuous operation, and all modes of operation have worked extremely well. On a good day, approximately 400,000 ship position reports are received from more than 22,000 different ship identification numbers (Maritime Mobile Service Identity, or MMSI). — The NORAIS Receiver has a sample mode that can collect the raw signal, digitize it and send it to ground for analysis of signal quality, which is proving very helpful in making additional improvements/ refinements to the system. This is used both to investigate the signal environment and to evaluate the performance of new receiver technologies on the ground. Several hundred data sets have been collected and processed with new candidate algorithms for next generation receivers.– From the assessment of these data sets, an updated version of the decoder algorithm has been worked. The development benefits from the investigations of the sampled data and ongoing work in other ESA projects. The firmware was uploaded to the NORAIS Receiver through the station’s communications network. This upgrade #1 (“NORAIS Receiver FPGA firmware v18”), was activated on 1/20/2012.– The on-orbit data of the NORAIS Receiver v18 have been analyzed since and show very good results. The teams are confident in the operation and performance of v18 and have now preliminary results of the comparison of the performance of the upgraded NORAIS Receiver (v18) relative to the version operated prior to the upgrade (v16).– Changes of the signal environment on ISS can influence the number of correctly decoded messages, which makes it important to compare the results of this upgrade to a period running the old algorithm with a similar background level.– The daily averages are calculated for 11 days for both receiver versions. For the upgrade, the period considered for comparison is 1/21-1/31/2012, which are the first 11 days of operation. When selecting the period for the reference data it was important to find a period with the same background signal level as the 11 days with the upgraded NORAIS Receiver. The period from 11/27 – 12/7/2011 was. Even though the two 11 day periods are 45 days apart, the ship traffic should not be very different around the world, except for some regions in the north that may be hampered by sea ice. — The performance has been studied as the average number of decoded messages per day for the current upgrade v18 of the firmware and the original NORAIS Receiver software. The improvement is the ratio of these numbers (so average numbers of messages per day before the upgrade divided by number of messages after the upgrade). The number of messages from ships in various geographic areas shows a variation in the ratio of messages from 1.2 to 2.0, whereas the ratio of MMSI’s ranges from 1.1 to 1.9. The improvement in the Mediterranean is almost a factor of 2.0 in number of messages, and more than 1.6 in number of distinct ships per day. The improvement in other high-traffic zones, at the Gulf of Mexico and East Asia, is even higher.]

VESSEL IMAGING (ESA): No report. [Background: It is known that the ability of blood vessels to vasoconstrict – the ability of the muscular vessel wall to narrow the diameter of the blood vessel – is impaired during and after a human has been in space. “Vessel Imaging” is using the Ultrasound scanner on board the ISS to take images of the five different blood vessels in the lower abdomen and in the legs to study what changes occur to cause the blood vessels to be less able to vasoconstrict. For each vessel, a 5 second scan is performed to observe the blood vessel during several heart beats, followed by a scan where the ultrasound scan-head is tilted to allow a “cut through the blood vessel wall”. The same scans are also performed before flight, and these pre-flight images are used as the baseline to which the in-flight data is compared with. The images are analyzed to detect any changes in the blood vessel wall properties, such as wall thickness, elasticity or structure, changes in the size of the blood vessel or blood flow (volume) while the crewmember is in orbit.]

VIABLE (eValuatIon And monitoring of microBiofiLms insidE the ISS Payload Touch, NASA): No report.

VO2max (NASA): No report.

VLE (Video Lessons ESA): No report.

WAICO #1/#2 (Waving and Coiling of Arabidopsis Roots at Different g-levels; ESA): No report.

YEAST B (ESA): No report.

YOUTUBE SpaceLab: No report.

CEO (Crew Earth Observation): No report.

CEO (Crew Earth Observation) targets uplinked for today were Kerguelen Islands, Indian Ocean (looking immediately left of nadir for a possible opportunity to shoot the glacier on the peak of the main island. The orbit track map showed several opportunities. Cook Glacier, on the high west side of the island, is the focus of interest. With an area of 400 km2 the glacier is quoted as “France’s largest glacier,” since the islands are a French possession. The high parts of the island where the glacier is found are 35 million-year-old volcanic rocks generated by a hotspot beneath the Antarctic Plate), St. Helena Island, Atlantic Ocean (HMS BEAGLE SITE Looking left for this small 15 km-long island. Darwin arrived in July 1836, remaining 5 days. Darwin occupied a cottage near Longwood House where Napoleon was incarcerated from 1816 to 1821), Galapagos Islands, EC (H.M.S. BEAGLE SITE: Nadir pass with scattered clouds. General views were requested to provide context for recent 400 mm images. Vegetation change with the waxing and waning of El Nino episodes is one of the items of interest. Darwin conducted an extensive survey of these islands in September 1835, and commented that “The natural history of this archipelago is very remarkable: it seems to be a little world within itself; the greater number of its inhabitants, both vegetable and animal, being found nowhere else.”), Typhoon Bopha, Western Pacific Ocean (ISS crew passed over the cloud bands of this storm: looking right of track for the eye. Typhoon Bopha was to be a Category 2 storm by the time of this pass, and the storm is expected to reach Category 3 intensity in the next two days, as it takes aim at the Philippines), and Honiara, Solomon Islands (looking left for this small capital city of 62,000 people. Honiara lies on the north shore of Guadalcanal Island, surrounded by battlefields of WWII).

ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 8:42am EST [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 411.2 km
Apogee height – 421.9 km
Perigee height – 400.5 km
Period — 92.79 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.65 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0015797
Solar Beta Angle — 22.1 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.52
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 52 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 80,401
Time in orbit (station) — 5125 days
Time in orbit (crews, cum.) — 4412 days.

Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————– Inc-34: Three-crew operations ————-
12/13/12 — ISS Reboost, including PDAM (Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver) test,
12/19/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/21/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking
————– Inc-34: Six-crew operations ————-
02/11/13 — Progress M-16M/48P undocking
02/12/13 — Progress M-18M/50P launch
02/14/13 — Progress M-18M/50P docking
03/15/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————– Inc-35: Three-crew operations ————-
03/28/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
03/30/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking
04/15/13 – Progress N-17M/49P undock
04/18/13 — ATV4 launch
04/23/13 — Progress M-18M/50P undock
04/24/13 – Progress M-19M/51P launch
04/26/13 – Progress M-19M/51P docking
05/01/13 — ATV4 docking
————– Inc-35: Six-crew operations ————-
05/14/13 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————– Inc-36: Three-crew operations ————-
05/28/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/30/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S docking
————– Inc-36: Six-crew operations ————-
07/23/13 – Progress M-19M/51P undock
07/24/13 – Progress M-20M/52P launch
07/26/13 — Progress M-20M/52P docking
09/11/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————– Inc-37: Three-crew operations ————-
09/25/13 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/O.Kotov(CDR-38)/S.Ryanzansky
09/27/13 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S docking
————– Inc-37: Six-crew operations ————-
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————– Inc-38: Three-crew operations ————-
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-11M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/M.Tyurin
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-11M/37S docking
12/18/13 — Progress M-20M/52P undock
————– Inc-38: Six-crew operations ————-
03/xx/14 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————– Inc-39: Three-crew operations ————-