Crew Studies Advanced Health Tech and Gears Up for Next Crew Swap
NASA Science ·
Ultrasound scans using augmented reality and artificial intelligence topped the health research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 75 crew also collected blood and saliva samples to study how the immune system adapts to weightlessness. The orbital residents are now preparing for a crew swap as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission announces a launch date. The post Crew Studies Advanced Health Tech and Gears Up for Next Crew Swap appeared first on NASA Science .
Ultrasound scans using augmented reality and artificial intelligence topped the health research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 75 crew also collected blood and saliva samples to study how the immune system adapts to weightlessness. The orbital residents are now preparing for a crew swap as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission announces a launch date.
The EchoFinder-2 space health study uses augmented reality and artificial intelligence coupled with Echo ultrasound hardware to scan a crew member’s organs. Augmented reality uses markers displayed on a computer tablet screen to confirm correct positioning of the Echo probe during the scan. Artificial intelligence verifies the probe can detect and visualize the specific organ. Crewmates Jessica Meir of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency), station commander and flight engineer respectively, took turns scanning each other using the probe inside the Columbus laboratory module as an ultrasound technician remotely guided them in real time. Results may enable future crews to use medical monitoring tools without guidance from doctors on the ground as they travel farther away from Earth.
NASA flight engineer Anil Menon continued processing his blood samples for the Immunity Assay biomedical experiment. Menon worked inside the Harmony module and drew his own blood sample, placed it inside a centrifuge, then spun the device to separate the blood components. Afterward, he placed the specimen in a science freezer for preservation and later analysis. The samples will be analyzed aboard the orbital outpost to learn how living in space affects an astronaut’s ability to fight infections and disease.
NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway assisted Menon during his scientific work collecting sample hardware components and placing them inside the Kubik incubator for additional processing. Next, Hathaway collected samples from the Destiny laboratory module ’s Exploration Potable Water Dispenser (xPWD) for incubation. The samples will be returned to Earth for microbial analysis to help engineers verify the water’s purity and the xPWD’s operation for future space exploration missions.
Hathway and Meir, pilot and commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission, are nearing the end of their stay at the orbital outpost with Adenot and Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev, both Crew-12 mission specialists. The quartet has begun packing personal items for loading inside the Dragon spacecraft that will fly the crew back to Earth after the Crew-13 mission arrives no earlier than October 1 . The foursome also joined Menon and trained to use emergency respirator masks at the end of their shift on Wednesday.
Fedyaev began his shift testing a specialized suit from Roscosmos that reverses space-caused fluid shifts from the head toward the feet. Cosmonaut and flight engineer Anna Kikina assisted Fedyaev as he wore the lower body negative pressure suit that may ease his adjustment to Earth’s gravity after the completion of his nearly eight-month spaceflight.
Kikina later joined Menon and Roscosmos flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov and practiced procedures in the unlikely event an emergency would require the crew to evacuate the space station inside the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft . Afterward, Kikina collected her saliva samples that will be analyzed to understand how the immune system adapts to microgravity. Dubrov continued unpacking some of the new food, fuel, and supplies recently delivered aboard the Progress 96 cargo spacecraft.
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.
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The post Crew Studies Advanced Health Tech and Gears Up for Next Crew Swap appeared first on NASA Science .