NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 31 March 2012
ISS On-Orbit Status 03/31/12
All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below. Saturday.
ATV-3 Power Status: ATV-3 power has been successfully reintegrated with ISS power.
・ The lights are on in ATV but the outlets remain unpowered. The plan is to move forward with the reboost this afternoon.
・ Yesterday, power feed from the ISS SM (Service Module) to ATV-3 (Automated Transfer Vehicle 3) was lost when RECS (Russian Equipment Control System) power channel 1 in the DRS (Docking & Refueling System) Rack located in the ATV failed. RECS channel 2 was activated, and its integration into the ISS power grid was successfully attempted today at ~12:00pm EDT, taking about an hour.
・ The POTOK air purifier is disconnected from SM power since DRS/RECS failure analysis by ATV-CC (Control Center)/Toulouse has not yet excluded it as a possible cause. Until then, if POTOK is connected to SM power, ATV will be electrically isolated from SM power.
・ The crew has almost completed the high-priority cargo transfers started this morning at ~6:00am EDT. They will complete those operations today. Later, the status of cargo transfer will be discussed so that the IMS (Inventory Management System) can be updated by the ground. No further transfer operations will be conducted today, and some planned activities were deferred.
After breakfast, FE-1 Shkaplerov performed the routine inspection of the SM PSS Caution & Warning panel as part of regular Daily Morning Inspection.
Ivanishin conducted the routine daily servicing of 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.]
Later, Ivanishin inspected the cultures taken with the ECOSFERA equipment for Stage 1 of the microbial air sampling run for the MedOps SZM-MO-21 experiment on 3/29 from ATV cabin surfaces, logging the results. The Petri dishes with the cultures had been stowed in the KRIOGEM-03 thermostatic container at +37 deg for incubation. [The equipment, consisting of an air sampler set, a charger and power supply unit, provides samples to help determine microbial contamination of the ISS atmosphere, specifically the total bacterial and fungal microflora counts and microflora composition according to morphologic criteria of microorganism colonies. Because the Ecosphere battery can only support 10 air samples on one charge, the sample collection was being performed in two stages.]
FE-5 André Kuipers conducted 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.
André also closed the protective external shutters of the Lab, Node-3/Cupola & JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) window to prevent their contamination from thruster effluents during and after tonight’s ATV3 test reboost (5:54pm EDT).
With warmer times approaching in Kazakhstan, Shkaplerov & Kononenko relocated the standard Russian TZK-14 Thermal Protection Jackets (three each) from the Soyuz TMA-03M/29S and Soyuz TMA-22/28S spacecraft to ISS stowage. [These warm coats, always ready for an emergency return in cold climate, are required to protect the crew after a landing Kazakhstan (or Russia) in winter time.]
Pettit & Kuipers filled out their weekly FFQs (Food Frequency Questionnaires) on the MEC (Medical Equipment Computer), Don’s 12th, André’s 11th. [On the FFQs, USOS astronauts keep a personalized log of their nutritional intake over time on special MEC 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.]
FE-1 & FE-5 were scheduled for their weekly PFCs (Private Family Conferences), via S-band/audio and Ku-band/MS-NetMeeting application (which displays the uplinked ground video on an SSC laptop), Anton at ~8:00am, André at ~10:35am EDT.
At ~8:35am, the six 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.
At ~9:05am, Burbank conducted the weekly phone conference with the PLUTO (Plug-In Port Utilization Officer) flight control team at MCC-Houston.
The crew worked out with their regular 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-5), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (FE-1, FE-2, FE-4), ARED advanced resistive exerciser (FE-1, FE-2, FE-5, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-6), and VELO ergometer bike with load trainer (FE-4). [FE-6 is on the special experimental SPRINT protocol which diverts from the regular 2.5 hrs per day exercise regime and introduces special daily sessions, followed by a USND (Ultrasound) leg muscle self scan in COL.]
Tasks listed for Shkaplerov, Kononenko & Ivanishin on the Russian discretionary “time permitting” job for today were –
* 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, focusing on the volcanoes Popocatepetl, Huascaran, Cordon-Kaul & Hudson, and the glaciers of Patagonia;
* A 10-min. photography session for the DZZ-13 “Seiner” ocean observation program, obtaining HDV (Z1) camcorder footage of color bloom patterns in the waters of the South-Western Atlantic, then copying the images to the RSK-1 laptop,
* 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, and
* 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).
ISS/ATV Test Reboost: Tonight at 5:54pm EDT, a one-burn ISS test reboost with ATV3 “Edoardo Amaldi” OCS (Orbit Correction System) thrusters will be conducted for a duration of 6 min 51 sec (351 sec) and a delta-V of 1.0 m/s. Attitude control authority will be handed over to Russian MCS (Motion Control System) thrusters at ~4:25pm, followed by ISS transition to reboost mode at ~4:54pm. Attitude control authority returns to US CMG momentum management at ~6:40pm. Purpose of the reboost is to test the ATV OCS thrusters as well as set up phasing for 28S landing on 4/27.
Weekly Science Update (Expedition Thirty/Thirty-One — Week 26).
2D NANO Template (JAXA): The experiment is continuing in Dewar 4 of MELFI-1. The samples are proceeding by arranging peptides slowly on base plates. The samples will be returned on 28S.
3D SPACE: Complete.
ALTCRISS (Alteino Long Term monitoring of Cosmic Rays on the ISS): Complete.
ALTEA SHIELD (NASA/ASI): No report.
Amine Swingbed (NASA): No report.
AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer): AMS Payload and laptop operations are nominal. AMS would like to thank the outgoing Increment 29-30 FCT (Flight Control Team) reps for the outstanding support. AMS has data for 14.5 billion particle events.
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): On 3/26, in anticipation of BASS operations, soot accumulation was removed from the hardware in order to improve the flow through the duct, and the reconfiguration of the hardware from SLICE to BASS was completed. Finally, fan calibrations were performed with zero, one, and two fan flow constrictors in place. The fan calibrations demonstrated that the flow was indeed greatly improved. On 3/30, the three initial BASS samples were successfully ignited. These tests were intended to dial-in our camera settings, so bracketed digital still images were taken throughout. 1. The first sample was a flat SIBAL fabric sample (50% cotton/50% fiberglass). Ignition was achieved within one second after igniter was powered, and a very stable symmetric flame was obtained. The flow was at 10 cm/s, and the flame reached a steady state in about 15 seconds. The total burn time was 40 seconds. 2. The second test burned a 2-cm diameter PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) sphere. Ignition was achieved after about 20 seconds. A stable blue flame was formed, which spread into a yellow flame encompassing the entire sphere. Vapor jetting from the fuel was observed as small air bubbles in the PMMA reached the surface and burst. Several different flow velocities were set and images at each setting were achieved. After 2 minutes of burning, the flow was turned off and the flame extinguished rapidly. 3. The third and final sample burned was a 1-cm diameter PMMA sphere. Ignition was reached within 10 seconds. The initial blue flame rapidly transitioned into a yellow flame encompassing the entire sphere, even when the airflow was reduced from 10cm/s to 3 cm/s. After about a minute of burning, the nitrogen was turned on, and the flame responded but did not go out. In fact the flame appeared to get brighter. This is a dramatic demonstration of how an improperly-located gas suppression system can actually enhance the flame by entraining air. Furthermore and importantly, the flame persisted when the flow was off but the nitrogen was on. The nitrogen jet was able to entrain air all by itself. Future tests with the spheres will likely examine very low-speed flows (less than 5 cm/s) and the spheres will be moved closer to the nitrogen nozzle to enable extinguishment via nitrogen. Thanks to Don for a very successful first day of operation!
BCAT-6 (Binary Colloidal Alloy Test 6): 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.]
BIOLAB (ESA): Thanks, Don, for a very swift performance of the BIOLAB oxygen sensor demating activity! A good step forward in the recovery of the BIOLAB Facility.”
BIORHYTHMS (JAXA, Biological Rhythms): No report.
BISE (CSA, Bodies in the Space Environment): 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.
Commercial (Inc 23&24, JAXA): No report.
Commercial (Inc 25 & 26, 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 (Dose Distribution Inside ISS, ESA): 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): Planned.
EMCS (European Modular Cultivation System): “André, thanks for exchanging the water reservoirs in EMCS. Nice picture on your flickr on the subject!”
ENose (Electronic Nose): No report.
EPM (European Physiology Module): “André, thanks for the help in the CARDIOPRESS troubleshooting! Results and next steps are being further coordinated.”
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 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 Kibo Kids Tour (JAXA): Complete.
EPO Paper Craft (Origami, JAXA): No report.
EPO Poem (JAXA): No report.
EPO-5 SpaceBottle (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.
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): No runs have been performed this week, but a good meeting was held with the science team on the first results of GEOFLOW2. More to come on that in the near future. For now, it looks like we need 2 more runs to complete this GEOFLOW2 science campaign. [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.]
HAIR (JAXA): No report.
HDTV System (JAXA): No report.
Hicari (JAXA): “On 2/23 (Friday), ground team completed the Pre-Vacuum of GHF for communication trouble-shooting. During 14 days of operation, none of the communication errors occurred between the Payload Data Handling Unit and GHF-Control Equipment (CE). On 3/24, the Vacuum Evacuation Equipment (VEE) was activated and we could confirm healthy communication. On 3/28, Don completed insulation resistance measurement at Material Processing Unit. Thanks for your call down – the reading of insulation resistance MΩ values were all normal. We plan to proceed with another 14 days of pre-vacuum processing for the Hicari first experiment run which will be started on 3/30 (Friday). This time, we will set the Oscilloscope to confirm the transient signal behavior before and after activation of the VEE pump.”
Holter ECG (JAXA): No report.
HQPC (JAXA): Was delivered by 34P.
HREP (HICO/Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean & RAIDS/Remote Atmospheric & Ionospheric Detection System/JAXA): HICO has taken 5351 images to-date. The most recent HICO images include the coast of Venice, Italy; Cape Town, South Africa; parts of the Australian coastline and the Straits of Gibraltar. RAIDS is collecting 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): “”Dan and Don: Great job on the echo this week – always a pleasure to do some interactive science with you guys! Dan: Thanks so much for keeping us up-to-date on your progress with Ambulatory Monitoring. This feedback is very useful as schedules are reworked and it is nice to know that things are going according to plan!”
IMMUNO (Neuroendocrine & Immune Responses in Humans During & After Long Term Stay at ISS): No report.
INTEGRATED IMMUNE: No report.
InSPACE-2 (Investigating the Structure of Paramagnetic Aggregates from Colloidal Emulsions 2): No report.
IRIS (Image Reversal in Space, CSA): No report.
ISS Amateur/Ham Radio: No report.
ISSAC (ISS Agricultural Camera, NASA): “ISSAC imaging operations are nominal and captured 6 stretch targets (~1000 images or frames) focusing primarily on the Northern part of U.S. Last week, your activity to update ISSAC software version was unsuccessful and the root cause was that the “agcam.exe” file got corrupted during the uplink process. Currently an OCR to uplink the “agcam.exe” file (from ground to SSC) via OCA process is in progress and the crew activity to transfer the file from SSC to ISSAC laptop will be scheduled in the upcoming days/weeks. Some of the advantages of this new software version include: auto-downlinking of images soon after taking the targets, minimizing of the delay/lag time (from 30sec to 2sec) between two consecutive images and a few more additional features to eliminate some of the previous anomalies. There will be no daylight passes over North America between 4/1 – 4/18 and ISSAC will begin collecting images for its primary growing season (starting 4/19) focusing on upper mid-west states (ND, SD, MN, WY, ID, MT).”
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.]
KID/KUBIK6: No report.
KUBIK 3 (ESA): No report.
LMM/PACE-2 (Light Microscopy Module / Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment): No report.
LOCAD-PTS (Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System): 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): Continuing telemetry monitoring.
MDCA/Flex-2: No report.
MEIS (Marangoni Experiment for ISS) in JAXA FPEF (Fluid Physics Experiment Facility): No report.
Microbe-2 (JAXA): Sample returned by ULF6.
Micro-G Clay (JAXA EPO): Complete.
MISSE-8 (Materials ISS Experiment 8): All MISSE-8 experiments are nominal and the CIB has not reset this week. PASCAL is performing 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 running code for new radiation hardening by software.
MMA (JAXA/Microgravity Measurement Apparatus): No report.
MPAC/SEED (JAXA): 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.
NANOSKELETON (Production of High Performance Nanomaterials in Microgravity, JAXA): No report.
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: No report.
ODK (Onboard Diagnostic Kit, JAXA): No report.
PACE-2 (Preliminary Advanced Colloids Experiment 2, NASA): (please see under FIR and LMM/PACE-2.
PADIAC (Pathway Different Activators, ESA): No report.
PADLES (JAXA, Area PADLES 6/7; Passive Area Dosimeter for Lifescience Experiment in Space): The experiment is continuing on walls of the JPM and the JLP. The dosimeters will be returned on 28S.
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): Since 1/28, we are monitoring temperature until the day of the return of 28S.
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): “Dan, Don, and André! Thanks for participating in Reaction Self Test, your efforts with this study are really appreciated!”
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.
RYUTAI Rack (JAXA): On 3/19, André completed maintenance checkout for 1-G and micro-G Measurement Equipment Unit (MEU) for the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF). Now, we are ready to start CsPINs experiment in Week 29. Thank you very much.
SAIBO Rack (JAXA): No report.
SAMS/MAMS (Space & Microgravity Acceleration Measurement Systems): No report.
SAMPLE: Complete.
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, André, for remembering your Space Headaches questionnaire over the past weekend! The little delay has no impact for science, since the window is weekly +/-2 days.” [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): 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): The current Sun Visibility Window (#51) started on 3/19. Minor issues and glitches (debris conjunction event, sun sensor glitch, AIB failure…) have delayed some science operations, but no real science impact. SOLACES was heated for the ATV3 docking.
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): No report.
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: “Don, great job with your FD90 Sprint ultrasound! The PI has the data and is analyzing. Thank you for keeping the marks on your leg and re-measuring to ensure accurate data.”
SS-HDTV (Super Sensitivity High Definition Camera, JAXA): No report.
STP-H3 (Space Test Program – Houston 3): The MHTEX Capillary Pumped Loop evaporators are currently repriming in preparation for further tests and steady state operations. VADER continues to characterize the performance of the Aerogel blanket attached to the backside of the experiment. Canary took data during the rendezvous phase of ATV-3 on 3/25 and during the final approach and docking on 3/28. DISC has taken more imagery this week and is processing 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: “Thanks, André, for your 3rd session!”
TRIPLELUX-B (ESA): No report.
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.
VESSEL IMAGING (ESA): “Dan, the science team was very pleased with a really smooth scan session for VESSEL IMAGING on 3/26, they confirmed good images!” [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): Through 3/30 the ground has received 149,551 of ISS CEO frames for review and cataloguing. “We are pleased to report that we have received imagery with times corresponding to our CEO target request times as follows: Monaco, Monaco – 4 frames – target not acquired; Tirane, Albania – 4 frames – target not acquired; Nassau, Bahamas – 11 frames – target area acquired – failed to meet lens requirement; Panama City, Panama, target area acquired – failed to meet lens requirement; Vaduz, Lichtenstein – 29 frames in two sessions – TARGET ACQUIRED – REQUIREMENTS MET – to be removed from our list; Niamey, Niger – 2 frames – target not acquired; Calcutta, India – 5 frames – target not acquired; Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire – 85 frames in two sessions – under evaluation for content; Lisbon, Portugal – 67 frames in two sessions – under evaluation for content; San Marino, San Marino – 13 frames in three sessions – under evaluation for content; St. John’s, Antigua – 7 frames – under evaluation for content; Sian Kaan Bay Mangroves, Yucatan, MX – 17 frames – under evaluation for content; Jerusalem, Israel – 12 frames – under evaluation for content; and Amman, Jordan – 10 frames – under evaluation for content. Your excellent oblique view of a steam plume from the peak of Pagan Island, Northern Marianas was published on the NASA/FSFC Earth Observatory website this past weekend. Your rare view of this active volcano on the north end of the island nicely documents this event. Thank you for this nicely composed, head-up shot.
Airglow phenomena, especially the red variety, noted in recent CEO videos on the internet has sparked scientific interest and initiated contact by Dr. Thomas Immel (UC-Berkeley) and by Dr. Steven Miller (Colorado State University). Both have been directed to the original imagery files and metadata on the CEO website.”
CEO (Crew Earth Observation) targets uplinked for today were Dodoma, Tanzania (World Capitals Collection Site: ISS had an early morning pass over the capital city of Tanzania in fair weather. As it tracked SE over central Africa, the crew was to look right of track for this city. This capital city presents little contrast with its surroundings, but is located directly to the north of a grouping of small dark hills), Pretoria, South Africa (World Capitals Collection Site: ISS had a mid-morning pass over one of South Africa’s three capitals in fair weather. Pretoria is the executive and de facto capital with a population of around 525,000; the others are Cape Town [legislative capital] and Bloemfontein [judicial capital]. As ISS tracked SE over southern Africa, the crew was to look slightly right of track to spot this capital city, which is about 30 miles north of Johannesburg), Central Cuba (Ecology Site: Ongoing research at Florida International University is seeking imagery to document and analyze land cover change in central Cuba. Today ISS had a fair weather pass in early morning light over this target area. As it approached the north coast of Cuba from the NW, the crew was to aim slightly right of tracks to attempt a mapping strip of overlapping imagery just inland along the coast from the Zapata Peninsula to the Gulf of Ana Maria), and Ampato Glaciers, Peru (Glaciers: This rapidly melting set of small ice fields and glaciers, located in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru, is scattered over the summits of a cluster of lofty [19-21 thousand foot] volcanic peaks centered near the stratovolcano of Ampato. As ISS tracked SE over western South America, the crew was to shoot left of track for these melting glaciers).
ISS Orbit (as of this morning, 11:00am EDT [= epoch])
Mean altitude – 388.2 km
Apogee height – 398.6 km
Perigee height – 377.8 km
Period — 92.32 min.
Inclination (to Equator) — 51.64 deg
Eccentricity — 0.0015397
Solar Beta Angle — 27.6 deg (magnitude increasing)
Orbits per 24-hr. day — 15.60
Mean altitude loss in the last 24 hours — 102 m
Revolutions since FGB/Zarya launch (Nov. 98) — 76,592
Time in orbit (station) — 4880 days
Time in orbit (crews, cum.) — 4167 days
Significant Events Ahead (all dates Eastern Time and subject to change):
————–Six-crew operations—————-
04/19/12 — Progress M-14M/46P undock
04/20/12 — Progress M-15M/47P launch
04/22/12 — Progress M-15M/47P docking
04/27/12 — Soyuz TMA-22/28S undock/landing (End of Increment 30)
————–Three-crew operations————-
04/30/12 — SpaceX Dragon launch (12:22pm EDT; target date)
05/15/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S launch – G.Padalka (CDR-32)/J.Acaba/S.Revin
05/17/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S docking (MRM2)
————–Six-crew operations—————-
07/01/12 — Soyuz TMA-03M/29S undock/landing (End of Increment 31)
————–Three-crew operations————-
07/15/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S launch – S.Williams (CDR-33)/Y.Malenchenko/A.Hoshide
07/17/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S docking
07/20/12 — HTV3 launch (~10:18pm EDT)
07/31/12 — Progress M16M/48P launch
08/02/12 — Progress M16M/48P docking
————–Six-crew operations—————-
09/17/12 — Soyuz TMA-04M/30S undock/landing (End of Increment 32)
————–Three-crew operations————-
10/15/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S launch – K.Ford (CDR-34)/O.Novitskiy/E.Tarelkin
10/17/12 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/01/12 — Progress M-17M/49P launch
11/03/12 — Progress M-17M/49P docking
11/12/12 — Soyuz TMA-05M/31S undock/landing (End of Increment 33)
————–Three-crew operations————-
12/05/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S launch – C.Hadfield (CDR-35)/T.Mashburn/R.Romanenko
12/07/12 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
12/26/12 — Progress M-18M/50P launch
12/28/12 — Progress M-18M/50P docking
03/19/13 — Soyuz TMA-06M/32S undock/landing (End of Increment 34)
————–Three-crew operations————-
04/02/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S launch – P.Vinogradov (CDR-36)/C.Cassidy/A.Misurkin
04/04/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
05/16/13 — Soyuz TMA-07M/33S undock/landing (End of Increment 35)
————–Three-crew operations————-
05/29/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S launch – M.Suraev (CDR-37)/K.Nyberg/L.Parmitano
05/31/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-08M/34S undock/landing (End of Increment 36)
————–Three-crew operations————-
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S launch – M.Hopkins/TBD (CDR-38)/TBD
09/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-09M/35S undock/landing (End of Increment 37)
————–Three-crew operations————-
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-11M/37S launch – K.Wakata (CDR-39)/R.Mastracchio/TBD
11/xx/13 — Soyuz TMA-11M/37S docking
————–Six-crew operations————-
03/xx/14 — Soyuz TMA-10M/36S undock/landing (End of Increment 38)
————–Three-crew operations————-
