Crew Kicks Off Week Prepping for Cygnus Cargo Mission

Flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) kicked off her shift inside the Kibo laboratory module powering down the TUSK technology demonstration, a small experimental robotic arm being tested for precise, sub-millimeter manipulation in weightlessness. Afterward, Adenot cleaned portions of Kibo's ventilation system then tested emergency communications with mission controllers from around the world.

NASA Flight Engineers Chris Williams and Jack Hathaway joined each other in the cupola on Monday and practiced maneuvering the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the Cygnus XL when it arrives to the space station. After the cargo spacecraft's capture, ground controllers will remotely command Canadarm2 to install Cygnus XL on the Unity module's Earth-facing port. Cygnus will be delivering advanced microgravity research gear to study quantum computing technology, test stem cell therapies, promote astronaut health, and more.

Meir began her shift powering up and replacing filters on the KERMIT fluorescence microscope, that supports biological, physical, and material science research in microgravity, inside the Destiny laboratory module. Next, she set up a physics experiment that studies how particles attach to droplets and rearrange in microgravity that used KERMIT to image the phenomena. Results may lead to improved engineering designs for additive manufacturing and optical materials.