Heart scanning, 3D printing and fire safety on the International Space Station were the main research topics Wednesday. Expedition 70 crews also spent the day performing various scientific maintenance and cargo transportation activities.
Astronauts Loral O'Hara and Satoshi Furukawa began the day by continuing further experimental work on the CIPHER suite of 14 human research studies. NASA's O'Hara led the heart part of the biological study, using an ultrasound 2 instrument to scan the chest of his JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Furukawa. Doctors on the ground looked at the downlinked data to gain insight into heart health in space.
O'Hara then uninstalled the robotic surgery demonstration hardware from the EXPRESS rack for return to Earth on a future mission. At the end of the day, she replaced samples and research components supporting space fire protection experiments in the combustion integration rack. Furukawa checked the operation of the free-flying camera robot and then reconfigured the Kibo laboratory module to accommodate new cargo from future resupply missions.
ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen spent most of the day setting up the Columbus Laboratory module's metal 3D printer. The device is testing the ability to print parts in space, reducing the need to rely on resupply missions or pack spare parts for future exploration missions. NASA flight engineer Jasmine Moghbeli spent Wednesday working inside the Tranquility module replacing in-orbit plumbing components.
Two cosmonauts, Konstantin Borisov and Nikolai Chubut, tested a special suit that could speed up the adaptation of crew members to Earth's gravity after spending more than a few months in space. Lower body negative pressure suits are designed to reduce the tendency for body fluids to accumulate in the upper body due to the lack of gravity. Chubb then continued unpacking the new Progress 87 supply ship while Borisov synchronized the station's cameras to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and serviced the oxygen generator.
Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko spent the morning inspecting structures inside the Zvezda service module. In the afternoon, five station residents checked the seat shock absorbers onboard the Soyuz MS-24 crew, and then conducted a system check on Progress 87 with the hatch closed.
For more information on station activities, follow the Space Station blog. @Space Station and @ISS_Research In addition to X, it is also available on the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
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