Expedition 74: Robotics, Physics, and Heart Health in Space

Expedition 74kicked off the week exploring robotics, physics, and heart health aboard theInternational Space Station. The orbital residents also continued packing a Japanese cargo craft while servicing and inspecting lab hardware. NASA Flight EngineerZena Cardmanswapped a memory card and verified the functionality of the docking interface that supports theAstrobeefree-flying robotic helpers. The cube-shaped, toaster-sized Astrobees—being tested for their ability to assist astronauts with routine tasks—are attached to the docking station for recharging, data transfers, and systems monitoring. The maintenance work sets up the Astrobees for a test run of an educational robotic challenge that allows students to create programs that control the robotic devices on the station. Cardman also set up hardware for an experiment that will demonstrate howIndium, a liquid metal, flows in space. The investigation takes place in anEXPRESS racklocated inside theDestiny laboratory module, heats the Indium samples to between 200 and 400 degrees Celsius, and observes the metal’s behavior. Results may lead to advanced space repair techniques such as soldering metal parts and improved satellite thrusters for longer service life. Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov began his shift exploring how microgravity and space radiation affect the thin layer of cells lining a crew member’s blood vessels, also called the endothelium. He wore electrodes on his chest and finger cuffs that measured his blood flow and blood pressure to help doctors protect crew health and advance cardiac research on Earth. At the end of his shift, Platonov installed a camera and programmed it to automatically photograph Earth landmarks from Asia to South America in a variety of wavelengths during the crew’s sleep shift.