.::::. A VUELO DE UN QUINDE® - EL BLOG !!!!! .::::.: NASA - Massachusetts Students Speak With Space Station Astronauts

Experiments, Spacewalk Preps and Maintenance for Crew

06.07.13

Expedition 36 Flight Engineer Luca Parmitano speaks with Italian reporters during an in-flight news conference. Credit: NASA TV
The six-person Expedition 36 crew of the International Space Station worked with science experiments, prepared for an upcoming spacewalk and performed a variety of maintenance duties Friday as they wrapped up a busy work week aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Flight Engineers Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano participated in the Pro K experiment as nutritionists evaluate the effectiveness of dietary changes to lessen the bone loss experienced by astronauts in space.

› Read more about Pro K

Nyberg also collected samples from various physical surfaces on her body for the Microbiome experiment, stowing the samples in one of the station’s freezers for future expert analysis. The Microbiome experiment investigates the impact of space travel on both the human immune system and an individual’s microbiome (the collection of microbes that live in and on the human body at any given time).

› Read more about Microbiome

Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy conducted leak checks on the Kibo module’s Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack Combustion Chamber. He also performed some routine maintenance on the station’s Water Recovery System, removing and replacing the recycle tank.

Later, Parmitano had some time set aside to answer questions from Italian reporters during a European Space Agency in-flight news conference.

Commander Pavel Vinogradov performed a variety of maintenance duties in the Russian segment of the station and worked with an experiment studying plasma crystal formation in microgravity.

› Learn more about Plasma Crystal Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy

Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy conducts leak checks on the Kibo module’s Multi-Purpose Small Payload Rack Combustion Chamber.

Flight Engineers Alexander Misurkin and Fyodor Yurchikhin gathered tools and hardware to prepare for an upcoming Russian spacewalk on June 24. During the excursion, the spacewalkers will venture out of the Pirs docking compartment to replace a fluid flow control valve panel on the Zarya module, install clamps on the Zarya module for the future installation of power cables, remove and install several sets of experiments on the hull of the Zvezda service module and collect samples and acquire imagery of the condition of the thermal insulation on the outside of the Russian segment modules.

Nyberg, Parmitano, and Yurchikhin, who arrived aboard the station on May 28, also had some time set aside for orientation and training as they continue to familiarize themselves with their new orbiting home

› Read more about the Expedition 36 launch and docking

Following its successful launch on Wednesday, the European Space Agency’s “Albert Einstein” Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV-4) cargo ship continues its 10-day journey to the station, with the first of its engine firings to fine-tune its path scheduled on Monday. Docking to the aft port of the Zvezda service module is scheduled for June 15 at 9:46 a.m. EDT.

› Read more about the ATV-4 launch

› Read more about Expedition 36

WASHINGTON -- Expedition 36 crew members Chris Cassidy, Luca Parmitano, and Karen Nyberg will speak from the International Space Station to students at Douglas Public Schools in Massachusetts at 11:35 a.m. EDT, Monday, June 10.

Students will be able to ask the astronauts questions about life, work and research aboard the orbiting laboratory. Media representatives are invited to attend and cover the 20-minute space-to-ground event, which will be broadcast on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website.

To attend the event, journalists must contact Beverly Bachelder at 508-476-3332 or bbachelder@douglas.k12.ma.us. The Douglas Public School District is located at 21 Davis Street in Douglas, Mass.

NASA activities have been incorporated into classes at local schools in preparation for the conversation with the space station astronauts. Linking directly to the astronauts aboard the station provides students with an authentic experience of space exploration, space study, the scientific components of space travel, and possibilities of life in space.

This in-flight downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the United States to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning. It is an integral component of NASA's Teaching From Space program, which promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA's human spaceflight program.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

To follow Twitter updates from Expedition 36 astronauts, visit:

http://twitter.com/AstroKarenN

and

http://twitter.com/astro_luca

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com