The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft is seen approaching the Poisk module of the space station prior to docking at 7:58 p.m. EST as the space station was flying 260 miles above northern Mongolia. Credit: NASA TV
Three Expedition 69 crew members had a short day on Wednesday and went to sleep early ahead of the relocation of their Soyuz crew ship on Thursday morning. The rest of the International Space Station (ISS) crew had their hands full throughout the day conducting biology research and packing a cargo craft.
Two Roscosmos cosmonauts and a NASAEstablished in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion." NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>NASA astronaut will take a short ride around the space station inside the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship relocating it from the Poisk module to the Prichal docking module early Thursday. Commander Sergey Prokopyev will guide the MS-23 to its new docking port flanked by flight engineers Dmitri Petelin and Frank Rubio. The relocation opens up Poisk’s airlock for future Roscosmos spacewalks in Orlan spacesuits and frees its docking port for the upcoming ISS Progress 84 resupply mission.
(From left) NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin will take a short ride around the space station inside the Soyuz MS-23 crew ship. Credit: NASA
The Soyuz vehicle with the three crewmates will undock from Poisk’s space-facing port at 4:45 a.m. EDTEDT is an abbreviation for Eastern Daylight Time, the time zone for the eastern coast of the United States and Canada when observing daylight saving time (spring/summer). It is four hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, and the Kennedy Space Center are in the Eastern Time Zone (ET).” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>EDT on Thursday, maneuver behind and under the space station, then dock to Prichal’s Earth-facing port at 5:23 a.m. After leak and pressure checks are performed, the trio will reenter the orbiting lab, and go to bed early before continuing their space research mission on Friday.
A U.S. space freighter is being packed with cargo ahead of its departure and return to Earth later this month. Rubio and Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates) have begun loading the SpaceXCommonly known as SpaceX, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company that was founded by Elon Musk in 2002. Headquartered in Hawthorne, California, the company designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. SpaceX's ultimate goal is to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>SpaceX Dragon cargo craft with completed science experiments and used station hardware for retrieval and analysis by scientists and engineers on the ground. Dragon docked to the orbiting lab on March 16 packed with 6,200 pounds of research gear, crew supplies, and other cargo to replenish the station crew.
The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly-around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on November 8, 2021. Credit: NASA Johnson
NASA Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg spent their day on biology research to understand how the human body changes in space. Hundreds of investigations have taken place aboard the orbital outpost since Expedition One to gain increasing knowledge about how humans adapt to long-term weightlessness and learn more effective ways to counteract space-caused symptoms.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev participated in a pair of heart studies and a crew behavior experiment on Wednesday. The first-time space flyer first completed a 24-hour session that monitored his heart activity and blood pressure. Afterward, he attached sensors to himself for another study observing his blood circulation. In the afternoon, Fedyaev submitted his answers to a questionnaire to learn how international crews and mission controllers from around the world communicate. Fedyaev will also be up early on Thursday assisting and monitoring his crewmates during their Soyuz relocation maneuver.
Source: SciTechDaily
