The International Space Station continues hosting an array of advanced science experiments and spacewalk preparations. The seven Expedition 67 residents also ensured the ongoing operation of research gear and electronics equipment while auditing station office supplies.
The lack of an up and down reference in microgravity may affect the human nervous system potentially impacting how crew members interact with spacecraft instrumentation. NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines continued working on the GRIP experiment in the Columbus laboratory module on Thursday to study how weightlessness influences an astronaut’s ability to grip and manipulate objects. Watkins and Hines took turns conducting the investigation while lying flat on their backs as scientists monitored from the ground. The pair had performed research operations from a seated position earlier in the week.
Watkins then spent the rest of the day working on electronics gear and connections inside the Harmony module. Hines swapped air supply hoses ensuring the proper airflow inside the Quest airlock.
NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren began his morning in the Kibo laboratory module servicing a specialized microscope that uses spatial filtering techniques to observe cellular and tissue structures. Afterward, Lindgren moved on to a space manufacturing study observing a run of the Intelligent Glass Optics study that incorporates artificial intelligence into its methodology.
Two veteran station crew members, ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti and Roscosmos Commander Oleg Artemyev, resumed their preparations today for an upcoming spacewalk. The duo from Italy and Russia will exit the station Poisk airlock at 10 a.m. on June 21 and spend approximately seven hours continuing to outfit the European robotic arm attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.
Cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev inventoried station supplies, including printing paper, ink cartridges, and batteries, throughout the station’s Russian segment. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov configured nanosatellites that will be deployed during the June 21 spacewalk.
Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
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