Month: October 2023

Spacewalk preparations topped the schedule for the Expedition 70 crew aboard the International Space Station on Friday. NASA managers previewed the spacewalks at the end of the week that will see astronauts exiting the orbital lab to collect microbe samples and service a variety of hardware.

Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara of NASA and space station Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) will exit the space station on Oct. 12 for a planned six-hour spacewalk. The duo will swab external station surfaces with specialized tools collecting samples of microorganisms for analysis. Scientists will process the samples to determine the types of microbes that may survive in the vacuum of space.

The duo was joined on Friday by astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) to continue preparing for their mission’s first spacewalk. The foursome called down to specialists on the ground and reviewed the upcoming spacewalk’s procedures. All four astronauts also studied the robotics activities necessary to support the microbe-sampling spacewalk. Moghbeli and Furukawa will maneuver the Canadarm2 robotic arm during the excursion, monitor the astronauts during their spacewalk, and help the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits.

NASA managers previewed the upcoming spacewalk activities on NASA TV on Friday. They also highlighted a second spacewalk scheduled for Oct. 20 when O’Hara will exit the space station with Moghbeli. The two NASA astronauts will spend about six-and-a-half hours in the vacuum of space removing faulty radio communications gear and installing new solar array hardware.

View the animation depicting the Oct. 12 spacewalk activities
View the animation depicting the Oct. 20 spacewalk activities

The space station’s three cosmonauts representing Roscosmos spent their day conducting space research and maintaining orbital lab systems. Veteran flight engineer Oleg Kononenko installed Earth observation hardware during the morning and spent the rest of the day configuring electronics and communications gear. Nikolai Chub cleaned ventilation systems in the Zvezda service module then studied how crew members may pilot future spacecraft. Konstantin Borisov photographed forests on Earth documenting natural and man-made changes and ended his day checking docking port components on Zvezda.

Spacesuit preparations took a break on Thursday as the Expedition 70 crew turned its attention it to human research including behavioral studies, eye exams, and a fitness evaluation. The International Space Station residents also focused on an array of science hardware maintenance and orbital plumbing tasks.

NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara spent her day participating in the CIPHER human research study to understand how living in space affects an astronaut’s mind and body. She practiced simulated robotics maneuvers on a computer to assess changes in her cognition and brain function. She also processed blood and urine samples for insights into her immune and heart health. The experiment is observing the combined effects of radiation, isolation, long distances, microgravity, and closed environments on crews.

Two flight engineers, Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), had a busy day of science hardware work, robotics training, and eye checks. Moghbeli started her schedule replacing components on the Cold Atom Lab and inspecting the quantum physics research facility. Furukawa began his shift configuring cameras and lights that will be installed outside the space station later. The pair then joined each other after lunch reviewing robotics procedures for an upcoming spacewalk. Finally, Furukawa examined Moghbeli’s eyes using standard medical imaging gear found in a doctor’s office on Earth.

NASA managers will discuss two spacewalks scheduled for Oct. 12 and 20 for science and maintenance at 1 p.m. EDT on Friday on NASA TV. For the first spacewalk, astronauts O’Hara and Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) will collect external microbe samples for analysis. The second spacewalk will see O’Hara and Moghbeli remove and replace communications and solar array hardware.

Mogensen, commander of Expedition 70, spent Thursday afternoon in the Tranquility module servicing life support components. Before that, he joined his crewmates Moghbeli and Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov for a medical emergency training session. The astronauts gathered together locating medical hardware, coordinating rescue roles, and practicing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, as part of the training session. The foursome launched to the orbital lab as members of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission on Aug. 26, 2023.

Earlier, cosmonaut Nikolai Chub assisted Borisov as he attached sensors to himself and pedaled on an exercise cycle for a physical fitness evaluation. Doctors evaluate the downlinked exercise data to understand a crew member’s aerobic and cardiovascular conditioning in weightlessness. Chub would spend the rest of the day on electronics and computer maintenance.

The orbiting lab’s most experienced crew member, cosmonaut and five-time station visitor Oleg Kononenko, started his day in the Zvezda service module replacing orbital plumbing parts. Afterward, Kononenko swapped gases for a space physics study and synchronized clocks on cameras to station computers.

The Expedition 70 crew continues preparing for a pair of spacewalks for science and maintenance outside the International Space Station. The orbital residents are also studying space piloting, observing Earth, and working on a treadmill today.

NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen are getting ready for their first spacewalk set to begin at 10 a.m. EST on Oct. 12. The duo will use specialized tools to collect microbe samples from specific areas outside of the station. Scientists want to analyze the types of microbes that may be able to survive the harsh environment of outer space.

NASA TV will broadcast both a spacewalk preview briefing and the upcoming spacewalks. The preview briefing, set for 1 p.m. EDT on Friday, will highlight next week’s spacewalk activities, as well as another spacewalk scheduled for Oct. 20 with O’Hara and fellow NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli. The Oct. 12 spacewalk broadcast begins at 8:30 a.m.

O’Hara and Mogensen tried on their spacesuits today with assistance from Moghbeli and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa. The duo tested the suits’ communication capabilities with ground controllers and practiced using some of the tools and procedures they will use during the microbe-sampling spacewalk. Moghbeli and Furukawa will assist the duo in and out of their spacesuits and monitor their spacewalking activities next week.

The three Roscosmos flight engineers split their day with a variety of space science and maintenance activities. Veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko attached sensors to himself measuring his responses as he practiced docking a spacecraft on computer. The study aims to keep station crew members familiar with piloting a spacecraft and train crews for future missions. First-time cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov pointed his camera towards Earth and photographed forests to monitor the effects of natural and human activities.

Kononenko then joined Nikolai Chub, also a first-time cosmonaut, and spent the afternoon working on regularly scheduled maintenance on a treadmill inside the Zvezda service module. Chub and Borisov also worked on a variety of electronics and life support maintenance throughout the orbital lab’s Roscosmos segment.

---

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the  and  accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

Spacewalk preparations and exercise gear maintenance were the primary tasks for the Expedition 70 crew aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. Hearing tests and a variety of science and hardware tasks rounded out the day’s plan for the orbital crewmates.

Three astronauts are stepping up preparations for a pair of spacewalks planned this month for science and maintenance. Both spacewalks, planned for Oct. 12 and 20, will be broadcast live on NASA TV, on the agency’s app, and website.

The first spacewalk will see ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen and NASA Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara swabbing external station surfaces for microbes. They will carefully collect microbe samples from specific areas on the station using specialized tools. The samples will later be analyzed to determine the types of microbes that may survive in the vacuum of space. This will be the first spacewalk for both astronauts.

The second spacewalk will be with O’Hara going out once again, but this time with NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli who is going on her first spacewalk. The duo will remove faulty radio communications gear and install new solar array hardware during the six-and-half-hour excursion.

Moghbeli tried on her spacesuit on Tuesday afternoon and tested its ability to communicate with mission controllers on the ground. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Mogensen both assisted Moghbeli in the Quest airlock as she ensured her spacesuit was in operable condition.

Furukawa began his day with O’Hara inside the Destiny laboratory module replacing the orbital lab’s exercise cycle. The duo spent the morning uninstalling the workout hardware, updating its components, installing the new cycle, then activating the new aerobic and cardiovascular gear.

At the end of the day, O’Hara took turns with Roscosmos Flight Engineers Nikolai Chub and Oleg Kononenko to conduct a hearing test. Chub earlier installed a variety of cameras to monitor Earth’s upper atmosphere as well as accurately predict the station’s location in space. Kononenko and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov would spend most of their day servicing a variety of Roscosmos hardware. The pair worked throughout the orbital lab working on electronics, communications, and life support gear.

---

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the  and  accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe