While awaiting the launch of the next shipment of
supplies to the International Space Station, the
six-person Expedition 38 crew participated in a
Tuesday.
Flight Engineer Mike Hopkins spent much of his
morning participating in the Body Measures
experiment, which collects anthropometric data to
help researchers understand the magnitude and
variability of the changes to body measurements
during spaceflight. Predicting these changes will
maximize crew performance, prevent injury and
reduce time spent altering or adjusting spacesuits
and workstations. The investigation also could
help scientists understand the effects of
prolonged bed rest, which produces physiological
changes similar to those experienced in
microgravity. Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata
assisted Hopkins throughout the experiment
session, setting up the calibration tape, collecting
data and taking photographs.
› Read more about Body Measures
Wakata also conducted an ultrasound scan on
Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio for the ongoing
Spinal Ultrasound investigation. Medical
researchers have observed that astronauts grow
up to three percent taller during their long
duration missions aboard the station and return
to their normal height when back on Earth. The
Spinal Ultrasound investigation seeks to
understand the mechanism and impact of this
change while advancing medical imaging
technology by testing a smaller and more
portable ultrasound device aboard the station.
› Read more about Spinal Ultrasound
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition
38 Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency relived old
memories with students and instructors from his
alma mater, Kyushu University in Japan and
officials from the Fukuoka Prefecture during an in-
flight event Feb. 4.
Wakata took a break from his work to talk with
students from Fukuoka Prefecture and Kyushu
University in his home country of Japan.
Hopkins and Wakata spent the afternoon loading
the Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus cargo craft with
trash for disposal when that vehicle departs the
station on Feb. 18 for a destructive re-entry over
the Pacific Ocean. Cygnus delivered over 2,700
pounds of cargo including crew provisions and
scientific gear when it arrived at the station Jan.
13.
Hopkins also read up on procedures and gathered
hardware for his upcoming session with the BP
Reg experiment. This is a Canadian medical study
that seeks to understand the causes of fainting
and dizziness seen in some astronauts when they
return to Earth following a long-duration mission.
Results from this experiment will not only help
researchers understand dizziness in astronauts,
but it also will have direct benefits for people on
Earth – particularly those predisposed to falls and
resulting injuries, as seen in the elderly.
› Read more about BP Reg
Mastracchio meanwhile changed out a recycle
tank in the station’s Water Recovery System,
which recycles condensation and urine into
drinkable water, thereby reducing the amount of
fresh water that must be sent to the crew aboard
resupply ships.
On the Russian side of the complex, Commander
Oleg Kotov conducted a biochemical analysis of
his blood for the Splanh experiment, which is
taking a look at the effects of long-duration
spaceflight on the digestive system. The
commander also performed the Seiner ocean-
observation study, documenting color bloom
patterns in the oceans’ waters for the fishing
industry.
Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy downloaded
data from an earthquake-monitoring experiment
known as Seismoprognoz. He and Kotov installed
the hardware for Seismoprognoz on the exterior of
the station during a spacewalk on Dec. 27.
The ISS Progress 54 cargo craft awaits its launch
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Image Credit: Russian Federal Space Agency
The third Russian cosmonaut aboard the station,
Mikhail Tyurin, set up a camera to record the
operation of the Kaplya-2 experiment, which is
studying the fluid motion and heat transfer of
monodisperse drop flows in space. Tyurin also
collected dosimeter readings for the Matryoshka
experiment. Named after the traditional Russian
nesting dolls, Matryoshka analyzes the radiation
environment onboard the station.
Meanwhile at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan, preparations continue for the launch
of the ISS Progress 54 cargo craft Wednesday at
11:23 a.m. EST (10:23 p.m. Baikonur time) for an
accelerated 6-hour, 4-orbit journey to the station.
When the new Progress docks with the station’s
Pirs docking compartment at 5:25 p.m., it will
deliver 1,764 pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of
oxygen, 926 pounds of water and 2,897 pounds of
spare parts, experiment hardware and other
supplies to the orbiting complex.
NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at
11 a.m., followed by docking coverage at 4:45
p.m.
› Watch NASA TV
The ISS Progress 52 cargo craft, which undocked
from Pirs on Monday to make way for Progress
54, will conduct several days of tests to study
thermal effects of space on its attitude control
system before it is ultimately de-orbited Feb. 11
for a fiery demise over the Pacific.
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