Retired NASA Astronaut Captain Butch Wilmore joins FOX Weather to share his expertise on NASA’s plan to complete the first combustion experiment on the moon and how the flames will behave in space.
NASA’s Expedition 75 began Thursday, starting the first of three spacewalks aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The crew will explore space manufacturing techniques, augmented reality and artificial intelligence methods for crew health checks and bioprinting human tissue, according to NASA.
Starting on Aug. 6, Spacewalk 96 will be led by two astronauts, Jessica Meir and Anil Menon, who will install hardware outside the ISS to modify the station’s power channel and prepare for the future installation of a roll-out solar array, scheduled for delivery later this year.
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This will provide additional power to support critical station operations.
Astronaut Scott Parazynski performing repairs on the ISS.
(NASA)
For Spacewalk 96, astronauts will exit the ISS airlock equipped with a tool bag containing the necessary equipment to install hardware that will modify the station’s 3B power channel and prepare it for the future installation of an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA).
This is the necessary stepping stone for Spacewalk 97, which is set to take place on Aug. 13, and will involve replacing a space-to-ground antenna on the orbital complex. There, the astronauts will remove and temporarily stow the old antenna.
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This is essential, as it is a critical communication system NASA uses to transmit data and high‑speed communication between the Mission Control Center in Houston and the space station.
Both astronauts will once again go outside and replace a space-to-ground antenna for the orbital complex.
An interesting tool used to assist astronauts with such technical tasks is the space station robotic manipulator, otherwise known as the robotic arm, which essentially locks in the feet and helps maneuver the crew to necessary areas, such as the space-to-ground antenna that must be replaced.
Astronaut James H. Newman waves during a spacewalk.
(NASA)
The antenna being replaced is a critical communications system used to transmit data and support high-speed communication between mission control and the space station.
Finally, on Aug. 25, Spacewalk 98 will have crew members connect power channel cables and data relay systems as part of ongoing maintenance, along with replacing a navigation aid used for spacecraft docking.
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Additional tasks that will be carried out include replacing one of the high-definition cameras aboard the ISS, which can only take still photos. By doing so, officials will gain video streaming capability to aid operations.
Aside from the technical, hands-on work the astronauts will conduct, they will also conduct bioprinting or manufacture living cells and tissues using bioinks, as the lack of gravity enables cells to grow into higher-quality tissues.
Shuttle crew members on Sept. 12, 2006.
This is done to develop advanced treatments for cartilage injuries on Earth and in space.
By September, the progress exchange will begin, during which NASA will launch and dock with the Russian segment of the ISS.
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Operations Integration Manager for the ISS program, Bill Spetch, said more information on Spacewalks 97 and 98 will be released closer to the mission dates.
