While awaiting the launch of the next shipment of supplies to the
International Space Station, the six-person Expedition 38 crew
participated in a wide range of experiments studying the effects of
long-duration spaceflight on the human body Tuesday.
Flight Engineer Mike Hopkins spent much of his morning participating
in the Body Measures experiment, which collects anthropometric data to
help researchers understand the magnitude and variability of the changes
to body measurements during spaceflight. Predicting these changes will
maximize crew performance, prevent injury and reduce time spent altering
or adjusting spacesuits and workstations. The investigation also could
help scientists understand the effects of prolonged bed rest, which
produces physiological changes similar to those experienced in
microgravity. Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata assisted Hopkins throughout
the experiment session, setting up the calibration tape, collecting data
and taking photographs.
Wakata also conducted an ultrasound scan on Flight Engineer Rick
Mastracchio for the ongoing Spinal Ultrasound investigation. Medical
researchers have observed that astronauts grow up to three percent
taller during their long duration missions aboard the station and return
to their normal height when back on Earth. The Spinal Ultrasound
investigation seeks to understand the mechanism and impact of this
change while advancing medical imaging technology by testing a smaller
and more portable ultrasound device aboard the station.
Wakata took a break from his work to talk with students from Fukuoka
Prefecture and Kyushu University in his home country of Japan.
Hopkins and Wakata spent the afternoon loading the Orbital Sciences’
Cygnus cargo craft with trash for disposal when that vehicle departs the
station on Feb. 18 for a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean.
Cygnus delivered over 2,700 pounds of cargo including crew provisions
and scientific gear when it arrived at the station Jan. 13.
Hopkins also read up on procedures and gathered hardware for his
upcoming session with the BP Reg experiment. This is a Canadian medical
study that seeks to understand the causes of fainting and dizziness seen
in some astronauts when they return to Earth following a long-duration
mission. Results from this experiment will not only help researchers
understand dizziness in astronauts, but it also will have direct
benefits for people on Earth – particularly those predisposed to falls
and resulting injuries, as seen in the elderly.
Mastracchio meanwhile changed out a recycle tank in the station’s
Water Recovery System, which recycles condensation and urine into
drinkable water, thereby reducing the amount of fresh water that must be
sent to the crew aboard resupply ships.
On the Russian side of the complex, Commander Oleg Kotov conducted a
biochemical analysis of his blood for the Splanh experiment, which is
taking a look at the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the
digestive system. The commander also performed the Seiner
ocean-observation study, documenting color bloom patterns in the oceans’
waters for the fishing industry.
Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy downloaded data from an
earthquake-monitoring experiment known as Seismoprognoz. He and Kotov
installed the hardware for Seismoprognoz on the exterior of the station
during a spacewalk on Dec. 27.
The third Russian cosmonaut aboard the station, Mikhail Tyurin, set up a
camera to record the operation of the Kaplya-2 experiment, which is
studying the fluid motion and heat transfer of monodisperse drop flows
in space. Tyurin also collected dosimeter readings for the Matryoshka
experiment. Named after the traditional Russian nesting dolls,
Matryoshka analyzes the radiation environment onboard the station.
Meanwhile at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, preparations
continue for the launch of the ISS Progress 54 cargo craft Wednesday at
11:23 a.m. EST (10:23 p.m. Baikonur time) for an accelerated 6-hour,
4-orbit journey to the station. When the new Progress docks with the
station’s Pirs docking compartment at 5:25 p.m., it will deliver 1,764
pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen, 926 pounds of water and
2,897 pounds of spare parts, experiment hardware and other supplies to
the orbiting complex.
No comments:
Post a Comment