Adapt to zero gravity and learn how to use the space toilet
Hurricane Adalia is pictured from the International Space Station as it circles over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. Image credit: NASA TV
The four newest crew members on board International Space Station (ISS) adapts to life in weightlessness with orbital maintenance duties ramping up. The other seven Mission 69 crewmates continued their space research and health activities before September saw the orbiter’s population split.
Three new astronauts and a male cosmonaut, who began their mission on the station Sunday, are preparing to quickly navigate the station’s wide range of systems and procedures. The quartet learn about communications equipment, computers, emergency devices, and more. They spent about half the day learning how to operate the life support systems, maneuver around the units, configure their crew quarters, and use the junk and hygiene pod, also known as the station bathroom.
The SpaceX Crew-7 mission and subsequent activities
Astronauts Yasmine Mokbili of NASA and Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA)European Space Agency) and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Roscosmos astronaut Konstantin Borisov, launched to the station on August 26 on the SpaceX Crew-7 mission. The group docked at the orbital laboratory and entered on August 27 to become the 69th Expedition of Aeronautical Engineers and begin a six-month space research mission.
Another station crew who has been in orbit since March 2 is scheduled to return to Earth no later than September 2. NASA Astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburgh will command and pilot the spacecraft, respectively SpaceX The Dragon Endeavor spacecraft re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and makes a parachute-assisted descent off the coast of Florida. The duo will be accompanied during the return trip by Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi Roscosmos Cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev.
Research and Operations
While the flight engineers returning home hand over responsibilities and swap roles with their newest crewmates, they also continue space research and maintain lab operations. Bowen exchanged samples inside the Fluid Sciences Laboratory for a physics study. Hoburgh provided stem cell samples for an investigation seeking advanced treatments for patients with ALS Blood diseases and cancers. Al Neyadi installed new hardware inside the microgravity science glovebox to validate new research capabilities in space. Test Vidyaev Lower body negative pressure suit This may help humans adjust faster to Earth’s gravity after living for several months or more in microgravity.
Longest serving crew endeavor
The station’s longest-serving crew will soon exceed a year in space. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio processed the samples for Biology study Follow-up treatments for space-induced heart defects and Earth-related heart diseases. Roscosmos Commander Sergey Prokopyev offloaded recently delivered cargo aboard the Roscosmos Progress 85 resupply vessel. He also examined the eyes of Flight Engineer Dmitry Petlin using standard medical imaging equipment found in the doctor’s office on the ground. The trio are expected to complete their mission at the station at the end of September.
