Microbiology, Spacesuits, and Cargo Mission Preps Keep Crew Busy
NASA Science ·
Microbiology and spacesuit maintenance kept the Expedition 75 crew busy aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The orbital residents are also preparing for upcoming cargo missions at the orbital outpost. The post Microbiology, Spacesuits, and Cargo Mission Preps Keep Crew Busy appeared first on NASA Science .
Microbiology and spacesuit maintenance kept the Expedition 75 crew busy aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The orbital residents are also preparing for upcoming cargo missions at the orbital outpost.
Flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA and Joshua Kutryk of CSA (Canadian Space Agency) partnered together inside the Kibo laboratory module and explored how bacteria adapts to microgravity . Insights may help researchers understand how microgravity influences bacterial antibiotic resistance and lead to countermeasures protecting the human immune system on and off the Earth.
Menon processed microbe samples inside Kibo’s sealed Life Science Glovebox to protect against the potentially antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Kutryk transferred a selection of those samples to the Harmony module where he extracted their DNA samples for purification. Afterward, he stowed the specimens in a science freezer for preservation before they are returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft next week for analysis.
Menon also joined NASA flight engineer Jessica Watkins continuing to transfer cargo in and out of Dragon ahead of its departure. Watson earlier cleaned up the Kibo lab to make space for new hardware and supplies that will be delivered in a few weeks aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft.
NASA flight engineer Luke Delaney began his shift on maintenance connecting portable computer gear inside the Columbus laboratory module . Afterward, Delaney practiced Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers on the Destiny laboratory module ’s robotics workstation. He wrapped up his shift collecting water samples for analysis on Earth to verify the safety and quality of the station’s drinking water.
Station commander Pyotr Dubrov and flight engineer Anna Kikina worked throughout the day inside the Poisk module servicing a trio of Orlan spacesuits from Roscosmos. The duo activated the suits, connected them to interface units inside Poisk, and cleaned the suits’ cooling and ventilation systems. The maintenance job ensures the spacesuits remain operable and able to keep cosmonauts safe and comfortable during spacewalks.
Roscosmos flight engineer Sergey Teteryatnikov began his shift swapping, inspecting, and cleaning orbital plumbing components inside the Rassvet module . Later, Teteryatnikov installed and programmed Earth observation hardware to photograph landmarks across Southeast Asia and Australia during an automated overnight session.
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.
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The post Microbiology, Spacesuits, and Cargo Mission Preps Keep Crew Busy appeared first on NASA Science .