Heart Health, Stem Cells, and Physics Keep Crew Busy on Tuesday

Life science and physics topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday as the Expedition 73 crew studied heart health, stem cells, fluid physics, and spacecraft fire safety. The orbital residents also completed work on a spacesuit and inspected ventilation and electrical systems while continuing other scientific operations.

NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim kicked off his shift wearing a sensor-packed vest and headband that measured his cardiovascular data as he worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device then jogged on the COLBERT treadmill. Doctors will use the medical data to track Kim’s health in space, assess the value of portable health monitoring devices, and treat space-caused health conditions. Later, Kim processed stem cell samples for a study investigating how microgravity affects their conversion to cardiac or brain cells. Results may lead to personalized treatments for astronauts on future missions and advanced therapies for Earth-based conditions such as heart and neurological diseases.

Physics is a critical research subject aboard the orbital outpost since materials behave differently in weightlessness. Flight Engineers Mike Fincke of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) split their shift working on a pair of different physics studies, one looking at particles attach themselves to fluids and another observing how flames spread in space. Fincke set up research hardware inside a fluorescence microscope to observe particle-laden droplets potentially informing commercial in-space manufacturing techniques. Yui swapped sample hardware inside the Solid Combustion Experiment Module that enables safe observations of materials burning in weightlessness to improve fire safety on spacecraft.

NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman completed several days of spacesuit work and verified the successful installation of ventilation and cooling gear, conducted leak checks, and inspected suit hardware. Next, Cardman checked out the operations of the new Ultrasound 3 device, recently delivered aboard the Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft, used for crew heart and vein scans, as well as internal imaging of bones, organs, and issues.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, station Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, began their day with mental and physical assessments to understand how they are adjusting to the stresses of long-duration spaceflight. Next, the duo took turns wearing virtual reality googles and sensors while responding to visual signals to observe how their vision and sense of balance adjusts to microgravity.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov wrapped up an overnight Earth photography session uninstalling and stowing hardware that photographed landmarks on the ground in a wide variety of wavelengths. Platonov then spent the rest of his day servicing orbital plumbing and ventilation systems throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here.