(The full Expedition 40 crew – Photo Credit: Oleg Artemyev/Roscosmos)
With the 3 newest arrivals safely on board the station, the now-complete Expedition 40 crew have a busy couple of months ahead of them. A wide range of science experiments, cargo arrivals and spacewalks (EVAs) are scheduled in the near future. Here is a brief overview of what the astronauts and cosmonauts will be accomplishing during their stay.
Science experiments and research
The crew will continue to perform existing experiments on board the ISS while beginning new investigations that have been delivered by the same Soyuz craft that transported the crew to the space station.
(Swanson with the on board Veggie experiment that will be continuing through Exp40 – Photo Credit: NASA)
The ‘In-flight Demonstration of Portable Load Monitoring Devices-Phase I: XSENS ForceShoe’ is an experiment otherwise known as Force Shoes. This investigation will evaluate a new type of shoe for astronauts to wear during exercise.
The ForceShoe system has been sent up to the ISS as a potential method to measure the force felt by astronauts in their joints, ankle and hips while using the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) during crew exercise sessions.
(Force Shoes – Photo Credit: NASA)
The shoes use commercial, off-the-shelf hardware to measure the forces and torques felt by the astronauts feet. Up to four astronauts will collect a series of load measurements from the exercise equipment.
Researchers will use the measurements collected by the XSENS ForceShoe system to help doctors on Earth assess the forces experienced by astronauts during their extensive and lengthy workouts. This can lead to increasingly specialised exercise programs which will place minimal stress on the astronauts bodies.
This data will also have applications on Earth, the shoes can be applied to populations who are restricted from exercise by injury, age, lifestyle or confined work and living spaces.
Another experiment delivered by the Soyuz was a new set of questionnaires for the Space Headaches investigation. These surveys are filled out to obtain in-flight data about the occurrence and characteristics of headaches experienced by the crew in microgravity.
(Reid practicing experiments in training before launching to ISS – Photo Credit: NASA)
Space Headache researchers on the ground will analyse the data to assess each crew member’s headaches. Documenting and analysing them will provide valuable information that will be the basis for the development of countermeasures to prevent future crews from experiencing them.
The crew will also experiment with medication. This will help determine what medication could be effective in treating similar intracranial pressure change related symptoms experienced on Earth.
Equipment also was transported for the Multipurpose End-To-End Robotic Operations Network (METERON) investigation.
This technology provided by the European Space Agency will examine the operational and technical capability for astronauts on the space station to remotely control robots on Earth.
The study aims to validate and test technology for future human space exploration missions where an astronaut in orbit might need to control a robot as it explores an asteroid or the surface of Mars.
(Alex training to perform tasks on the space station – Photo Credit: NASA)
The remote techniques developed for METERON can be have a valuable impact on Earth. The technology could be used in telemedicine or for the operation of robots in hazardous environments, such as in a nuclear power plant after a radiation leak.
During their six-month stay, Wiseman, Suraev and Gerst will conduct hundreds of scientific investigations including Earth remote sensing, an assessment of human behavior and performance, and studies of bone and muscle physiology.
Expedition 40 will conduct a wide variety of research projects which focus on human, biology and biotechnology research. There will also be technology demonstrations and educational activities alongside studies about Earth and space sciences.
Results from all of these activities will dramatically help advance scientific knowledge about both Earth, and space.
Craft arrivals
Expedition 40 will also have a summer filled with visits by different space supply freighters. The hardware and samples for many more experiments, along with crew supplies, will arrive on four different resupply vehicles.
Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus craft, a Russian Progress resupply ship, the European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle and the SpaceX Dragon are all planned to launch to the station during the summer.
(SpaceX’s Dragon craft – Photo Credit: NASA)
The second private company to send a resupply ship to the station, Orbital Sciences, will launch their Cygnus commercial vehicle from Cape Canaveral on June 10. It will berth to the Harmony node three days later.
In July, the ISS Progress 56 cargo craft will also arrive to the station to deliver replenishment’s for the crew.
SpaceX, another private company with a NASA contract, will launch its fourth Dragon cargo craft in August. It will occupy the Harmony port as Cygnus will leave it vacant when it departs in July.
The European Space Agency will launch its fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle in mid-August for a docking to the station’s Russian Zvezda’s port.
Spacewalks (Extra Vehicular Activities)
Two Russian and three U.S. spacewalks are also planned during Expedition 40. The trio of U.S. spacewalks are planned for July/August and will be conducted by NASA astronauts Swanson and Wiseman as well as European astronaut Gerst.
Skvortsov and Artemyev are also scheduled for a pair of Russian spacewalks targeted for June and August.
(Reid and Alex preparing for EVA training – Photo Credit: NASA)
After a day of rest on 29th May, the work will begin once again on Friday. Over the next two weeks, the 3 new arrivals will have time set aside to become accustomed to living and working aboard the station, which is the size of a football field. They will have to adapt to weightlessness and the side effects that accompany living in microgravity.
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