Spacewalk Rescheduling Amidst Heart Studies and Robotic Ventures on Space Station

(From left) Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency); and Flight Engineers Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli, both from NASA; and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), pose for a portrait aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module. The quartet is showing off crew active dosimeters that monitor the amount of radiation astronauts are exposed to in the microgravity environment. Credit: NASA

Four Expedition 70 astronauts had a light-duty day on Tuesday, October 17, fitting in biology research and robotics during the afternoon. The International Space Station’s three cosmonauts continued focusing on an upcoming spacewalk while also working on their own slate of research and robotics.

CIPHER Study and Cygnus Resupply Operations

NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli partnered together for a couple of hours on cardiac research for the CIPHER study. Moghbeli operated the Ultrasound 2 device with support from ground doctors and scanned O’Hara’s chest to assess cardiovascular risks in microgravity. CIPHER is comprised of 14 studies exploring a range of psychological and physiological conditions astronauts may experience during long-term space missions. The duo also took turns unpacking cargo and loading trash inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus resupply ship.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara sets up an exercise cycle for a workout session inside the Destiny laboratory module aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Read more about how the broad suite of experiments, known as CIPHER, or Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research, is helping researchers understand how living and working in space affects the human body.

Earthshine Experiment and Robotic Innovations

Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) set up a digital camera in the cupola for the Earthshine experiment and photographed the Moon to image sunshine reflected from the Earth. Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa checked the performance of a spherical robot camera that can operate remotely or autonomously inside the Kibo laboratory module.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen is pictured trying on his spacesuit and testing its components aboard the International Space Station’s Quest airlock in preparation for an upcoming spacewalk. Credit: NASA

O’Hara and Mogensen had been planning to conduct a spacewalk this month to collect samples and examine the possibility of microbes living on the outside of the orbital laboratory. However, mission managers have decided to defer that spacewalk to no earlier than December as they review data from a backup radiator leak that has since ceased.

Upcoming Spacewalks and Roscosmos Maintenance

In the meantime, two other spacewalks are still on the schedule for October. Two cosmonauts from Roscosmos are gearing up for a spacewalk planned for October 25. The duo is scheduled to exit the Poisk airlock at 2:30 p.m. EDT and spend about six hours and 45 minutes on external Roscosmos maintenance tasks. Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub worked throughout Tuesday testing their Orlan spacesuits’ life support and communications components.

Kononenko also configured Poisk to support next week’s spacewalk activities. Chub began and ended his day studying how weightlessness affects the heart and exploring how international crews and mission controllers can communicate more effectively.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov assisted Chub with the heart study during the morning. Borisov would then spend the rest of the day testing operations with the European robotic arm attached to the outside of the Nauka science module.

NASA’s Upcoming Activities

The next NASA spacewalk will see Moghbeli and O’Hara set their spacesuits to battery power at 8:05 a.m. on October 30 signifying the start of their first excursion together. The duo will spend about six-and-a-half hours removing electronics gear and replacing solar array hardware on the outside of the station.

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 10:01 p.m. EST Sunday, November 5, for the launch of the company’s 29th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The date shift takes into account the required time for teams to complete pad readiness after the agency’s Psyche launch on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, which lifted off on October 13 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.