Crew Works Exercise Research and Lab Maintenance on Light Duty Day

Crew Works Exercise Research and Lab Maintenance on Light Duty Day The Expedition 75 crew had a light duty day on Friday studying microgravity’s effect on exercise and transferring cargo aboard the International Space Station. Earth observations, hardware inventory, and life support maintenance rounded out the schedule for the orbital septet at the end of the week. Blood draws began the day for flight engineers Jack Hathaway of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) in the Columbus laboratory module. Hathaway collected his blood samples and processed them in a centrifuge with assistance from Adenot before stowing them for preservation in a science freezer. Scientists will analyze the samples after they are returned to Earth for insights into electrical muscle stimulation to counteract space-caused muscle loss. Hathway later activated the Astrobee robotic free-flyers and photographed the cube-shaped, toaster-sized robot assistants as they demonstrated autonomous maneuvers inside the Kibo laboratory module. Adenot exercised on the new European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device (E4D) then filled out a questionnaire evaluating its usability for use on future long-duration missions. Station commander Jessica Meir and flight engineer Anil Menon, both from NASA, took turns transferring cargo in and out of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft berthed to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port. Meir then videotaped her work out on the advanced resistive device for the Standard Measures investigation that documents astronaut health and performance before, during, and after a spaceflight. Menon also joined Hathaway in the Quest airlock and continued to stow tools used during a spacewalk on Sept. 1. Roscosmos flight engineers Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina installed and activated Earth observation gear to automatically photograph islands and volcanoes across the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Next, Dubrov tested Bluetooth hardware and USB connections while Kikina inspected and cleaned cargo stowage areas inside the Zarya module. Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent most of his shift inside the Zvezda service module taking inventory of laptop computers and their power systems. Fedyaev finally wrapped up his day in the Nauka science module servicing orbital plumbing components. Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts. Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.