One More Wrinkle Related to the Starliner Delay

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: NASA

As if NASA needed another issue with the Boeing Starliner stranded at the International Space Station (ISS), the media (particularly the Indian media) is now reporting that one of the Starliner astronauts is having eyesight issues.

According to one media source, Astronaut Sunita Williams is experiencing eyesight problems that may be linked to her exposure to microgravity. The issue, called Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), is not an uncommon symptom related to space flight. It can lead to blurred vision over time and worsens over time.

NASA has noted that:

Most astronauts’ eyes and brain structure change in space…Weightlessness causes blood and cerebrospinal fluid to shift toward the head. This fluid shift is believed to be the underlying cause of the eye and brain structural changes…The longer they are in space, the more they may be impacted. Many astronauts only experience effects in space, but some changes may be permanent in some astronauts.

This has only become an issue now that an 8-day tour has turned into a potential 8-month tour. This Gilligan’s Island tour needs to come to an end so that the ISS can return to regular operations.

Image (Credit): Scene from the television show Gilligan’s Island. (CBS Television Network)

Progress MS-28/89 Spacecraft Docks with the ISS

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Progress MS-28 cargo spacecraft approaches the ISS on Saturday, August 17, 2024. (NASA)

The Progress MS-28 (or Progress 89 per NASA) spacecraft successfully attached itself to the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday so that three tons of supplies could be unloaded.

As with previous resupply spacecraft, it will remain attached to the station for the next six months before being ejected back towards Earth where it will burn up in the atmosphere.

Pic of the Week: Russian Launch to Resupply the ISS

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The launch earlier today of the Progress MS-28 cargo spacecraft to the ISS. (TASS Russian News Agency)

This week’s image is from earlier today when the Russian’s successfully launched its Progress MS-28 cargo spacecraft via a Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). The resupply mission was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft will rendezvous with the ISS on Saturday.

Note: NASA identifies the mission as Progress 89.

Study Findings: Archaeology in Space: The Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE) on the International Space Station. Report 1: Squares 03 and 05

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Image (Credit): A cutaway image of the International Space Station’s US Orbital Segment, showing the locations of Square 03 (at upper center, in yellow) and 05 (at lower right, in orange). (Tor Finseth, by permission, modified by Justin Walsh)

PLoS ONE abstract of the study findings:

Between January and March 2022, crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) performed the first archaeological fieldwork in space, the Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE). The experiment aimed to: (1) develop a new understanding of how humans adapt to life in an environmental context for which we are not evolutionarily adapted, using evidence from the observation of material culture; (2) identify disjunctions between planned and actual usage of facilities on a space station; (3) develop and test techniques that enable archaeological research at a distance; and (4) demonstrate the relevance of social science methods and perspectives for improving life in space. In this article, we describe our methodology, which involves a creative re-imagining of a long-standing sampling practice for the characterization of a site, the shovel test pit. The ISS crew marked out six sample locations (“squares”) around the ISS and documented them through daily photography over a 60-day period. Here we present the results from two of the six squares: an equipment maintenance area, and an area near exercise equipment and the latrine. Using the photographs and an innovative webtool, we identified 5,438 instances of items, labeling them by type and function. We then performed chronological analyses to determine how the documented areas were actually used. Our results show differences between intended and actual use, with storage the most common function of the maintenance area, and personal hygiene activities most common in an undesignated area near locations for exercise and waste.

Citation: Walsh JSP, Graham S, Gorman AC, Brousseau C, Abdullah S, Archaeology in space: The Sampling Quadrangle Assemblages Research Experiment (SQuARE) on the International Space Station. Report 1: Squares 03 and 05. PLoS ONE 19(8): e0304229 (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304229

Study-related stories:

ScienceAlert

Archaeology Magazine

Popular Science

Pic of the Week: Cygnus Approaching

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Cygnus cargo craft outside the ISS this week. (NASA)

This week’s image is from the International Space Station (ISS). It shows Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus resupply capsule on August 6, 2024 as the International Space Station’s (ISS) Canadarm2 robotic arm attempts to capture it. NASA noted that this Canadarm2 maneuver marked the 50th free-flying capture for the robotic arm.