The Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station participated in a variety of tasks this week, from space gardening and research to spacesuit preparation and descent training, demonstrating the collaborative spirit of space missions. Friday, September 22, was a busy day for the Expedition 69 crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) before they got off work for the weekend. Preparing for the upcoming crew departure and October spacewalk, health checks and space gardening are top of the ten-crew research schedule.
The picture shows the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft docked in the Lasvette docking module. The spacecraft carries NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and Russian space agency astronauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chubu to the International Space Station. On the far left is the Soyuz MS-23 crew spacecraft, which is docked with the Prichar docking module and will return NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian space agency astronauts Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petrin to Earth on September 27. Image source: NASA
NASA flight engineer Jasmin Moghbeli starts her day by performing orbital duct work and maintenance on the EXPRESS rack, which is used to store payloads for research experiments. After lunch, she continued maintenance work on the space station, removing and troubleshooting lights and inspecting the station's dome, or "window on the world." Later that day, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) flight engineer Satoshi Furukawa once again worked with Mogbeli for a new round of eye examinations.
Expedition 69 flight engineers (from left) Jasmine Mogbeli, Loral O'Hara and Frank Rubio (all NASA astronauts) pose for a photo inside the Unity module of the International Space Station. All three astronauts are part of NASA's 2017 astronaut class. Image source: NASA
Mogensen then began gardening in space, harvesting the last round of Arabidopsis plants as part of the Plant Habitat-03 survey. The experiment is designed to help researchers better understand how adaptations from one generation of plants are transferred to the next under the stress of a microgravity environment. Such studies provide a range of scientific data that can be used in future space missions.
Before his eye exam, Furukawa spent the morning in the "Hope" experimental module installing solid fuel for the multi-purpose payload rack. Research of this scale helps improve fuel efficiency and fire safety in orbit and on Earth.
NASA flight engineer Loral O'Hara spent the morning with Mogensen and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio changing batteries and installing restraint straps and helmet lights on the spacesuits in preparation for a round of U.S. spacewalks in October.
The picture shows the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft (foreground) docking with the Lasvette module. The spacecraft carries NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and Roscosmos astronauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub to the International Space Station. Behind is the Soyuz MS-23 crew spacecraft, which is docked with the Prichar docking module and will return NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian space agency astronauts Sergey Prokopiev and Dmitry Petrin to Earth on September 27. Source: NASA
After performing maintenance on the spacesuit, Rubio, along with Roscosmos commander Sergei Prokopyev and flight engineer Dmitry Petrin, received training on the descent of the Soyuz spacecraft, which they will return to Earth in just a few days. After spending more than a year in space, the three long-serving residents will detach from the space station's Prichar module at 3:55 a.m. ET on Wednesday, September 27, and they will land in Kazakhstan at 7:17 a.m. ET.
Three other Roscosmos crew members split up on their orbital mission today. Flight engineer Konstantin Borisov performs maintenance work on the Nauka module, while Oleg Kononenko dons a sensor-laden hat, practices piloting techniques, and explores how to control the spacecraft on future planetary missions as part of the ongoing Pilot-T investigation. Earlier this week, flight engineer Nikolai Chub turned off EarthKam, a digital camera mounted on the space station that allows students to remotely take photos of the Earth.