The Expedition 73 crew on the International Space Station (ISS) began their week with the delayed arrival of an extra-large cargo delivery, which, in addition to bringing new science and supplies, also included care packages from home.
Orbital observation
Alongside the tons of supplies and science equipment that were delivered to the ISS by Northrop Grumman’s first Cygnus XL cargo craft this week were sweet treats for the Expedition 73 crew.
“Best part of cargo vehicles docking to the International Space Station is the care packages our loved ones send,” wrote NASA astronaut Jonny Kim on social media.”
Kim, who is seen in the photo below holding kimchi and Korean BBQ pork, was joined by his crew mates Mike Fincke (holding gummy bears and Mike & Ike candies), Zena Cardman and Kimiya Yui (with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey candies).
“Thanks to [everyone] at NASA who ensures these are packaged with love,” wrote Kim.
Science status
Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:
MVP Cell-07 and Multi-use Variable-g Platform — Jonny Kim of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) contributed to the study of bioprinted liver tissues, observing how their blood vessels responded to being in microgravity. “Results may advance the manufacture of high-quality vascularized tissues and organs improving long-term health for astronauts and quality of life for patients on Earth,” said NASA.
Microgravity Associated Bone Loss-B — NASA astronaut Zena Cardman prepared bone stem cell samples to be held in storage for their later return to Earth. The research is aimed at protecting astronauts’ skeletal systems and “possibly treat aging conditions and bone diseases on Earth.”
BioNutrients-3 — Mike Fincke of NASA continued a study begun last week that involved yeast, yogurt and fermented milk samples as a source of producing vitamins and nutrients for future long-duration space missions.
Plasma Kristall-4 — Oleg Platonov, a cosmonaut with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, prepared the hardware needed to observe complex plasmas and photographed glaciers and mountains throughout South America and Africa to record natural and human-made conditions on Earth.
Station keeping
The Expedition 73 crewmates also took part in activities to maintain the space station’s systems and prepare for future research.
Progress M-32 (93P) — Cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky devoted part of their week to unloading and transferring fluids to and from the newly arrived Russian Progress 93 resupply ship.
Cygnus XL “SS William C. ‘Willie’ McCool” — Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman of NASA captured Northrop Grumman’s first “extra-large” cargo vehicle using the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Ground controllers then took over control of the arm to install the resupply ship on the side of the Unity node.
Astronaut activity
Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman discussed life and work aboard the International Space Station during an interview with attendees of the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York.
“It’s a dream come true to be here,” said Cardman. “It takes years of preparation, a lot of teams of instructors and classmates teaching us and preparing us on the ground. It is such an honor to finally be up here, carrying out this mission, that we spent so long dreaming about.”
“It’s been an extra-special treat to be up here with a classmate. Jonny and I were hired at the same time,” Cardman added. “It is really amazing to have a friend up here with me.”
By the numbers
As of Friday (Sep. 19), there are 7 people aboard the International Space Station: Expedition 73 commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos; fellow cosmonauts Alexey Zubritsky and Oleg Platonov; Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke of NASA; and Kimiya Yui of JAXA, all flight engineers.
There are two docked crew spacecraft: SpaceX‘s Dragon “Endeavour” attached to the zenith port of the Harmony module and Roscosmos’ Soyuz MS-27 attached to the Earth-facing port of the Prichal node.
There are four docked cargo spacecraft: Roscosmos’ Progress MS-31 (92P) docked to the space-facing port of the Poisk module and Progress M-32 (93P) docked to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, SpaceX’s CRS-33 Dragon spacecraft docked to the forward port of Harmony Node 2 and Northrop Grumman’s NG-23 Cygnus XL, the “SS William C. ‘Willie’ McCool,” berthed to the Unity node.
As of Friday, the space station has been continuously crewed for 24 years, 10 months and 17 days.