First weekend in space is over, time to get ready for our first full week of work on the Space Station. But how has it been up here in these last two days?
Well, for one thing, more private, since the onboard cameras are not set to download live video on the weekend. Also, very quiet, to the point of feeling strange: calls from the ground are very rare and typically contain only brief communications, for example notifying a crewmember that a Space-To-Ground channel has been privatized for a private conference with the flight surgeon or with the family. I had both this weekend, but only because I have recently arrived on Station and facetime with the flight surgeon is scheduled more often.
In the future, except in case of medical issues, we will only talk once a week on a workday. The private family conference, on the other hand, is a weekly event that is typically on the weekend. With the webcam, you can show your family the Space Station or even a view from the Cupola!
Saturday is also cleaning day. Our ISS Commander, Butch, assigned us to the different non-Russian modules: he took care of Node 3 and PMM. Terry cleaned Node 1, Airlock and Lab and I devoted my labor to Node 2, Columbus and JEM. Granted, I had the easiest task, since the toughest modules to clean are certainly Node 3 (where we have the toilet and the exercise equipment) and Node 1 (where we eat). But we’ll rotate in the next weeks, so we’ll all get our share of fun.
To clean we use the vacuum cleaner on all the ventilation grids: especially the return grids get pretty dirty, because all the little debris that floats in the cabin eventually gets taken by the airflow to a return grid or another. It’s very important to keep the grids clean to ensure proper airflow throughout the Station. Carbon dioxide scrubbing and oxygen introduction only occur in certain places and proper circulation ensures that we have everywhere a good atmosphere to breath.
After vacuum cleaning, we use disinfectant wipes to clean the surfaces of most frequent use: the handrails, the handheld microphones, the computers. And we take the opportunity for a general check, for example ensuring that no ventilation outlets or inlets are blocked by something stowed too close in front of them.
In the picture, I’m vacuum cleaning our crew quarters in Node 2. That is my own, in the deck location. Butch and Terry live in the port and starboard locations and Sasha lives on the ceiling crew quarter. Anton and Elena have their sleeping stations in the Russian Service Module.
Futura mission website (Italian): Avamposto42
avamposto42.esa.int
* #SamLogbook * * #Futura42 *
(Trad IT) Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiCAST qui:
https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook
(Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici:
https://spacetux.org/cpamoa/category/traductions/logbook-samantha
(Trad ES – Currently not updated) Tradducción en español aquí:
https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora
01/12/2014