The Axis-3 mission (Ax-3) launched four private astronauts to the space station today. On Thursday, members of Expedition 70 on the International Space Station continued their research on space botany and fluids in anticipation of the arrival of Ax-3.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Ax-3 mission to the space station. Image source: SpaceX

The third private astronaut mission to the International Space Station lifted off from NASA's Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:49 pm ET today (January 18). The Ax-3 crew members, including Commander Michael López-Alegría, Italian pilot Walter Villadei, Turkish mission expert Alper Gezeravcı and European Space Agency (ESA) Swedish astronaut Marcus Wandt, took off on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. They plan to arrive at the space station at 5:15 a.m. on Saturday, January 20, and the four will conduct scientific research in a microgravity environment for about two weeks before returning to Earth.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 flight engineer Loral O'Hara replaces hardware in the plant habitat facility in preparation for future experiments studying the genetic response and immune system function of tomatoes in microgravity. Image source: NASA

Following yesterday's first harvest on the orbiting laboratory, NASA flight engineer Loral O'Hara harvested a second and third round of wild-type tomatoes from Plant Habitat-06. This investigation aimed to study the physiological and genetic responses of tomatoes to defense activation and immune function during space flight. O'Hara also spent part of the day inspecting hardware for the incoming Ax-3.

Fluid studies that began yesterday continued into Thursday, with NASA flight engineer Jasmine Mogberg and JAXA's Satoshi Furukawa conducting root zone, flow resistance, phase distribution and stability tests in Plant Water Management 5. In the evening, the pair performed ultrasounds on their necks, collarbones, shoulders and behind their knees.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 flight engineer Jasmin Moghbeli works inside the Harmony module and calibrates ultrasonic inspection equipment, which uses high-frequency sound waves to analyze materials on the International Space Station. Image source: NASA

European Space Agency (ESA) Commander Andreas Mogensen has taken over work on Plant Management 5 to test the performance of the separators and water traps before emptying and stacking the facility.

In the afternoon, two cosmonauts, flight engineers Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, worked together to remove and replace the heat exchanger unit in the air conditioning system. Kononenko then conducted a cargo inspection in the Prichar cabin. Flight engineer Konstantin Borisov conducted Pilot-T training in the morning, an ongoing experiment to practice driving skills, and later conducted a storage check in the science module.

Compiled source: ScitechDaily