Busy Day of Research, Lab Upkeep, and Cargo Ops on Station
The Expedition 72 crew focused on space biology, physics research, and cargo operations throughout the International Space Station on Thursday. The orbital residents also performed maintenance and documentation activities ensuring the microgravity research laboratory remains in tip-top shape.
NASA Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Don Pettit took turns during their shifts examining and videotaping the layout of racks inside the modules that comprise the U.S. segment of the space station. The astronauts downloaded the video so engineers on the ground could inspect the safety and configuration of cables routed between the numerous racks. Hague then wrapped up his day packing cargo and trash inside the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft that arrived at the station on Aug. 6, 2024. Pettit worked in the Kibo laboratory module reorganizing cargo and stowing a small satellite orbital deployer.
Commander Suni Williams of NASA started her shift uninstalling carbon dioxide removal gear and checking cable connections inside the Tranquility module’s Life Support Rack that manages air and water quality. Next, she assisted with the Cygnus cargo packing then worked on orbital plumbing inside the waste and hygiene compartment, the orbiting lab’s bathroom located in Tranquility.
NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore spent the first half of his shift on computer maintenance preparing a laptop computer for an electronics test then loading new software on a tablet computer. He then spent the rest of his day checking food inventories and reviewing crew menus aboard the space station.
The three cosmonauts compromising the seven-member station crew were able to fit microgravity research into their schedules on Thursday while maintaining the Roscosmos segment of the space station.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov wrapped up a run of the Plasma Kristall-4 physics study that observes how strongly interacting, charged particles turn into plasma crystals. Gorbunov then took turns with fellow cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin taking a test to learn how to improve communications between international crews and mission controllers from around the world. Ovchinin also participated in a cardiac study with Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner wearing sensors to measure how weightlessness affects the heart’s electrical activity which pumps blood throughout the body. The trio from Roscosmos also kept up its housekeeping activities servicing ventilation systems and maintaining life support hardware.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
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