Crew Preps for Dragon’s Arrival During Vision and Robotics Research

Crew Preps for Dragon's Arrival During Vision and Robotics Research

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is orbiting Earth on its way to the International Space Station for a docking on Thursday. The Expedition 75 crew members are preparing for Dragon's arrival while also conducting eye checks, maintaining spacesuit gear, and practicing innovative robotics solutions aboard the orbital outpost.

Flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA and Joshua Kutryk of CSA (Canadian Space Agency) will be on duty monitoring Dragon during its automated approach and rendezvous on Thursday. The duo joined NASA flight engineers Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney on Wednesday afternoon and called down to mission controllers to discuss cargo operations after Dragon arrives. NASA+ begins its live coverage at 9:15 a.m. EDT broadcasting Dragon's arrival and docking to the Harmony module's space-facing port scheduled for 11 a.m.

Dragon is carrying over 6,300 pounds of science, supplies, and roll-out solar arrays including research hardware to support creating artificial retinas and growing heart tissues in weightlessness. The roll-out solar arrays are stowed in Dragon's unpressurized trunk and will be installed and activated on the space station's truss structure for power generation during upcoming spacewalks.

All four astronauts also participated in eye exams inside Harmony peering into medical imaging gear while doctors on the ground observed their retina, lens, and cornea in real time. Insights may lead to a better understanding of how a long duration spaceflight affects vision and the shape of the eye to ensure mission success.

Menon earlier transferred student-controlled Earth observation hardware from the Destiny laboratory module into the Columbus laboratory module. Kutryk cleaned the inside of an EXPRESS rack installed in Columbus. Delaney and Watkins also partnered together inside the Quest airlock preparing a spacesuit and its sensitive components for return to Earth and stowing recharged lithium-ion batteries that power the spacesuits.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina were back inside the Nauka science module testing an exoskeleton suit to remotely control robots. The Teledroid experiment investigates wearing a specialized suit, using virtual reality goggles, and operating hand controls to manipulate tools in a simulated space environment. Results may help crew members prepare for remote robotics operations on future long-term space exploration missions.

Roscosmos flight engineer Sergey Teteryatnikov worked inside the Zvezda service module updating software on a laptop computer that controls the European robotic arm (ERA). The ERA was launched to the station on July 21, 2021, and was configured for activation during a spacewalk on April 28, 2022.

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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