Spacewalk Cleanup, Biomedical Science, and Maintenance Wrap Up Week

Spacewalk Cleanup, Biomedical Science, and Maintenance Wrap Up Week

The seven Expedition 75 crew members cleaned up after a spacewalk, conducted biomedical assessments, and maintained orbital systems to wrap up a busy week aboard the International Space Station.

Flight engineers Joshua Kutryk of CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and Anil Menon of NASA reconfigured spacesuits and stowed spacewalking tools inside the Quest airlock following Thursday's six-hour and 59-minute spacewalk. Kutryk and Menon finalized a years-long effort to increase the orbital outpost's power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to 215 kilowatts, or about 30%, when they installed the eighth roll-out solar array on the space station's truss structure.

On Friday, the pair refilled spacesuit water tanks, removed air bubbles from the tanks, then installed rechargeable batteries inside the suits to continue keeping astronauts safe and comfortable during future spacewalks. Kutryk and Menon also cleaned up the Quest airlock, inspected tools and spacesuits, stowed the gear inside protective covers, and ensured all spacewalk-supporting equipment was powered down.

The experienced spacewalkers also joined NASA flight engineers Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney for a post-spacewalk conference with engineers on the ground. The quartet discussed their perspectives that will help prepare astronauts and mission controllers for future excursions outside the orbital outpost.

Watkins and Delaney assisted the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits, monitored their activities, and operated the Canadarm2 robotic arm on Thursday. The NASA duo also helped out with the spacewalk cleanup tasks on Friday. All four astronauts fit in a couple of hours each in their Friday schedule to relax following a week filled with science, maintenance, and spacewalking duties.

In the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting complex, flight engineer Sergey Teteryatnikov focused on biomedical research during his shift at the end of the week. Teteryatnikov first measured his blood pressure using arm, wrist, and finger cuffs. Next, he jogged on the Zvezda service module's treadmill while attached to electrodes measuring his heart and breathing rate. The continuous health data helps researchers monitor and understand how microgravity affects a crew member's cardiorespiratory system.

Flight engineer Anna Kikina worked throughout the day servicing Roscosmos ventilation systems and scientific payload hardware. Station commander Pyotr Dubrov completed an overnight carbon dioxide monitoring session, downloaded the data to mission controllers on Earth, then inspected the condition of modules and hatches.

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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