Thursday, September 02, 2010

Science and Maintenance for Station Crew


As part of the ongoing Russian Seiner experiment, Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov photographed and documented developments and conditions in the Earth’s oceans Wednesday. His unique perspective of the oceans provides scientists on the ground with current position coordinates of bioproductive water areas.

Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko worked with the PILOT-M experiment. PILOT-M is an ongoing experiment that examines the effects of long-duration space flight and stress on the ability of crew members to complete manual spacecraft control tasks.

Flight Engineer Shannon Walker set up the Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device (SLAMMD) experiment and performed body mass measurements. SLAMMD follows Newton's Second Law of Motion by having two springs generate a known force against a crew member mounted on an extension arm, the resulting acceleration being used to calculate the subject's mass, in effect weighing the individuals.

Using the Fluid Servicing System, Walker also refilled the Columbus laboratory’s Internal Active Thermal Control System with a water-based coolant.

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