Expedition 38 crew members Michael Hopkins of NASA, and Oleg Kotov and Sergey
Ryazanskiy of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) touched down
southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at about 11:24 p.m. EDT
(9:24 a.m., March 11, in Dzhezkazgan).
Flight controllers in the Russian mission control
center in Korolev, Russia monitor the International Space Station Expedition 38
crew’s recovery after landing in Kazakhstan Monday at about 11:24 p.m.
EDT.
Image Credit: NASA Television
During Expedition 38, the crew members participated in a variety of research,
including protein crystal growth studies and biological studies of plant
seedling growth to technology demonstrations that are helping to improve our
understanding of how liquid moves in microgravity. They conducted student
experiments that observed celestial events in space. One of several key research
focus areas during Expedition 38 was human health management for long duration
space travel, as NASA and Roscosmos prepare for two crew members to spend one
year aboard the space station in 2015.
During their time aboard the orbiting laboratory, the three men were there to
welcome three visiting cargo spacecraft. Two Russian Progress crafts docked to
the station, bringing tons of supplies. In January, Orbital Sciences Corp.'s
Cygnus spacecraft loaded with cargo and experiments flew to the space station as
part of the Orbital-1 cargo resupply mission. This was the company's first of at
least eight cargo delivery flights through 2016 to the station under NASA's
Commercial Resupply Services contract.
Kotov, Ryazanskiy and Hopkins were on hand as Mastracchio, Mikhail Tyurin of
Roscosmos and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency arrived on
Nov. 7, 2013, bearing the Olympic torch used to light the Olympic flame at Fisht
Stadium in Sochi, Russia, which marked the start of the 2014 Winter Games in
February.
Hopkins and fellow Expedition 38 NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio ventured
outside the confines of the space station during two spacewalks in December to
replace a suspect ammonia pump that is part of the station's equipment cooling
system. On the Russian side, Kotov and Ryazanskiy conducted three spacewalks.
The first trip outside was to install and replace experiments and hardware
attached to the exterior of the Russian segment and display the Olympic torch.
The other two walks were to install a pair of cameras on the hull of the
station's Zvezda Service Module that are part of a Canadian commercial endeavor
with Roscosmos designed to downlink Earth-observation imagery to Internet-based
subscribers.
Hopkins, who is a life-long enthusiast of exercise and weight training,
participated last month with four fitness professionals and athletes in a
Google+ Hangout from space where the astronaut discussed the importance of
exercise in a weightless environment. He demonstrated one of the many pieces of
fitness equipment aboard the station that crew use during their daily 2-hour
workouts.
The space station is more than a scientific research platform. It also serves
as a test bed for technology demonstrations. During the past several months, the
Expedition 38 crew members used the Synchronized Position Hold, Engage,
Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) for a number of investigations.
These included demonstrating and testing techniques related to micro
electromagnetic formation flight and wireless inductive power transfer;
examining how liquids move around inside containers in microgravity, which
affects computer simulations of liquid rocket fuel behavior and increases the
safety and efficiency of future rockets; and demonstrating and testing enhanced
technologies and techniques related to visual inspection and navigation. The
crew members helped launch several miniature satellites, referred to as
CubeSats, from the Japanese Experiment module. CubeSats are testing technologies
ranging from Earth observation to smartphone technology to satellite attitude
control in affordable small satellites that are within reach of most
universities and even high- and middle- school students.
Ryazanskiy, Kotov and Hopkins also we aboard the orbital outpost when the
Obama Administration announced in January NASA planned to extend the operational
life of the International Space Station until at least 2024.
Hopkins and Ryazanskiy each now have 166 days in space after completing their
first missions in space. Kotov now has spent 526 days in space on three
flights.
Expedition 39 now is operating aboard the station. Koichi Wakata of the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency, is in command of the orbiting laboratory. He is
the first Japanese astronaut to hold this position. Wakata and his crewmates,
Flight Engineers Mastracchio and Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, will tend to the
station as a three-person crew until the arrival in two weeks of three new
crewmates: NASA astronaut Steve Swanson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander
Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev. Swanson, Skvortsov and Artemyev are scheduled to
launch from Kazakhstan March 25.
For more information on the International Space Station and its crews,
visit:
For video and other media resources, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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