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Status Report: 01-355

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION 
Expedition Three Science Operations

Weekly Science Status Report
Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2001

The Expedition Three crew during the past week completed three science activities and prepared the International Space Station for the next Expedition.

All three crewmembers completed their last Hoffman Reflex test session on Friday, Nov. 16.  Begun during Expedition Two, H-Reflex studies changes to the human neurological system during long-duration space flights and whether exercise could be made more effective.  A mild electrical current is applied to the crewmember’s knee to measure spinal cord excitability.

Also last Friday, the crew successfully transferred the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) main computer from EXPRESS Rack 2 to EXPRESS Rack 4 as part of payload plans for Expedition Four.  It was reactivated and is collecting acceleration data again.  In another activity aimed at preparing for the UF-1 mission that marks the beginning of Expedition Four, the crew on Saturday, Nov. 17, relocated the Biotechnology Refrigerator from EXPRESS Rack 1 to EXPRESS Rack 4.  The refrigerator is storing samples from the Cellular Biotechnology Operations Support System experiment at a controlled 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) until their return on UF-1.

All three crewmembers on Monday, Nov. 19, completed the final monthly session of the Pulmonary Function in Flight experiment, which is designed to study any changes in lung function during long duration space flight, as well as any short-term changes that may be caused by spacewalking.  This activity was on the crew’s task list and completes the experiment for this Expedition.

The crew also performed their final Renal Stone session this week.  Aimed at studying the possibility of reducing the likelihood of kidney stone formation during space flight, this experiment requires crewmembers to take potassium citrate pills or placebos daily along with keeping a diet log and collecting urine samples for analysis later.  This research is managed by the Johnson Space Center.

The Active Rack Isolation System ISS Characterization Experiment (ARIS-ICE) science team sent kudos to Commander Frank Culbertson this week for successfully replacing a faulty actuator and pushrod last week.

Culbertson replaced the equipment on Thursday, Nov. 15 following a failure on Tuesday, Nov. 13.  ARIS testing was interrupted for two days before the faulty parts were replaced.  Rack testing resumed this week.  Located in EXPRESS Rack 2, ARIS is designed to damp out vibrations caused by crew movement, operating equipment etc. that could affect delicate microgravity experiments located in the rack.  The experimental vibration dampener is scheduled to become operational with experiments arriving on Expedition Four later this month.  Eight pushrods around the rack provide reactive force to counter vibrations.  ARIS-ICE testing is scheduled to continue through Expedition Four.  This experiment was developed by The Boeing Company and managed by NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

The Experiment on Physics of Colloids in Space (EXPPCS) completed a 48-hour test on Saturday, Nov. 17 and ran another 48-hour test on Sunday and Monday.  A 12-hour test was completed Wednesday and another was planned for Friday, Nov. 23.  This experiment examines three classes of colloids, systems of particles used in many products and manufacturing processes on Earth.  Better understanding of colloid behavior may lead to improve colloid engineering for the making of new materials.  The experiment is managed by Harvard University and NASA’s Glenn Research Center.

The crew’s optional task list this week includes the Crew Interactions survey, Crew Earth Observations photography and DREAMTiME videography.  The crew continues its normal health and status checks on Station experiments.

The crew was scheduled for 11.25 hours of payload activity this week as they prepare to complete their mission and make the Station ready to receive the Expedition Four crew next week.

 Geographic locations for the Crew Earth Observations photography this week included air quality over Mozambique and Cape Town, South Africa, snowfall over the southern Sierras in Central California, the Peruvian Andes and Central Andean volcanoes, new crops along the Parana River in South America, air quality in Southern France and Northern Italy, geologic features in Ethiopia and Tanzania.  The science team also asked the crew to videotape the Leonids meteor showers that peaked early Sunday.

Automated payloads continuing to run aboard the Station, monitored and controlled by scientists on the ground, include the Advanced Protein Crystallization Facility, Dynamically Controlled Protein Crystallization Facility, Microgravity Acceleration Measurement System, and the Materials International Space Station Experiment.  Experiments already completed for Expedition Three include the Cellular Biotechnology Support System experiment and Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students (EarthKAM) photography program.  The Bonner Ball Neutron Detector, which began measuring the Station’s radiation environment during Expedition Two, also finished collecting data this week and will be returned on the UF-1 flight.

Editor’s Note: The Payload Operations Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages all science research experiment operations aboard the International Space Station.  The center is also home for coordination of the mission-planning work of a variety of international sources, all science payload deliveries and retrieval, and payload training and payload safety programs for the Station crew and all ground personnel.