The visiting Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4) crew returned to Earth this week from the International Space Station, leaving the seven Expedition 73 astronauts and cosmonauts to continue research and maintenance activities aboard the orbiting lab.
Orbital observation
The “most magical place on Earth” as seen from a “star” above.
Expedition 73 flight engineer Anne McClain, a NASA astronaut, captured this photo of Orlando, Florida — home to the Walt Disney World and Universal Studios theme parks — during a nighttime flyover by the International Space Station.
“Orlando has a surprising amount of orange sodium vapor lighting dotted around it,” wrote NASA astronaut Don Pettit, responding to McClain’s photo.
Science status
Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:
CIPHER — NASA astronauts Jonny Kim, Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain took part in studies that were part of the “Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research on Varying Mission Durations.” Kim and McClain used an ultrasound machine to measure blood flow, while Ayers and McClain used virtual reality googles to test how microgravity affects the sense of balance.
Muscle Stimulation — Ayers and Kim worked together on a study of whether sending electrical impulses into astronauts’ legs can supplement exercise to combat muscular atrophy. Ayers wore the electrodes, while Kim operated the equipment.
Real-time scans — McClain also donned electrodes for two ultrasound scans that were monitored by doctors on the ground. The data collected is supporting an ongoing study of the cardiovascular risks of long-duration spaceflight.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Kirill Peskov also ran on a treadmill to determine how much physical activity is required to stay ready to perform spacewalks and be subjected to increased gravity loads on their return to Earth.
Station keeping
The Expedition 73 crew also devoted time to maintaining the space station’s systems, including:
Boost — A Russian resupply craft, Progress MS-30 (91P) docked to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, fired its engines for about 12 minutes on Wednesday (July 16) to give the space station an orbital boost, setting up for the arrival of the…
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