THE Expedition 72 the crew prepared a science experiment to place outside the International Space Station and studied cellular stress and tissue damage caused by space on Thursday. Preparations for the spacewalk are also underway to remove and move hardware to the orbital outpost next week.
Three NASA astronauts including the commander Suni Williams and flight engineers Don Pettit And Butch Wilmore I opened the hatch towards the Sas Bishop Nanoracks and prepared the removable module for loading the Aging of European materials (EMA) experience. Monday, the Canadarm2 robotic arm will detach Bishop with the EMA inside the Tranquility Module and maneuver it towards the Columbus laboratory module. Then the EMA will be robotically installed on the Bartolomeo research platform attached outside of Columbus.
EMA will expose a variety of materials to the space environment to learn how to improve the development of space hardware and applications for missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The external investigation will take place outside of Columbus for approximately one year.
NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hayes continued his research into cellular immunity by processing blood samples in the Harmony Module. He removed the samples from the Kubik Research Incubator after storing overnight and rotating them inside the Human Research CenterIt’s a centrifuge. The Hague then stored the blood samples in a scientific freezer then turned off and uninstalled Kubik. Doctors on the ground will analyze the samples to understand the effects of life in space on the human immune system.
The four NASA astronauts relaxed and took a half-day off Thursday at the end of their shift. The quartet will have a busy day on Friday as they prepare the Bishop airlock and the Euro Materials Aging experiment for their robotic move next week.
Roscosmos flight engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner continued preparations for a spacewalk scheduled to begin at 10:10 a.m. EST on Thursday, December 19 for transfers of scientific and robotic equipment. The cosmonauts wore their Orlan pressurized spacesuits and practiced maneuvers towards the Poisk Airlock where they will exit into the vacuum of space. Fellow cosmonaut and flight engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov then joined the duo and examined the procedures for depressurizing and repressurizing the airlock when spacewalkers exit and enter the station.
Ovchinin and Vagner also had time to perform a heart study by wearing electrodes and cuffs measuring their heart activity and blood pressure. Gorbunov focused on orbital plumbing tasks before spacewalk reviews. At the end of his service, he joined his cosmonaut teammates for a test to learn how international crews and mission controllers around the world can better communicate.