The Canadarm2 robotic arm is pictured extending from the space station as it orbited above Ireland and the United Kingdom. Credit: NASA
The Expedition 66 crew is continuing its preparations for a pair of spacewalks at the International Space Station scheduled for later this month. The seven orbital residents also pursued ongoing life science while maintaining operations at the orbital lab.
Three NASA astronauts and an ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut participated in a fit check for a pair of U.S. spacesuits on Friday. Flight Engineers Raja Chari of NASA and Matthias Maurer of ESA started the work by readying spacesuits and tools inside the U.S. Quest airlock. In the afternoon, NASA Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Tom Marshburn assisted the two astronauts as they verified the correct sizing of the suits ahead of a pair of spacewalks planned for March 15 and 23.
Vande Hei and Marshburn started their day pairing up inside the Kibo laboratory module researching how microgravity affects eye structure and visual function. The experiment that takes place in Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox and examines changes in the vascular system of the retina and tissue remodeling.
NASA Flight Engineer Kayla Barron took a break from today’s spacewalk preparations and installed computer hardware on combustion research gear located in the Kibo module. She also helped Vande Hei and Marshburn stow science gear after they wrapped up a half-a-day of visual function research.
Commander Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos kept up this week’s maintenance in the station’s Russian segment as he replaced life support gear before checking on a space biology experiment. Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov focused on support work for a variety of electronics components and computer gear throughout the day.
