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Medical requirements and payload training are popping up more and more frequently in my schedule. Payload training, by they way, that’s how we call experiments training. Scientific research and technological development are the reason why ISS exists, hence that’s our payload! For example, on Thursday I’ve had a briefing on the experiment “Microbiome”. Did you know that about 9 out of 10 cells on the human body are actually… not human? They belong to the microorganisms that live inside our body and on our skin and make up what we call the microbiome. Most of them are beneficial to us: they facilitate digestion, provide Vitamin K, enhance the immune function and more. How changes in the microbiome affect our health is actually a pretty hot topic right now in medical research. This ISS experiment will study how the microbiome is affected by long-duration spaceflight. The “microbiome” protocol involves taking samples of urine, feces and saliva at certain intervals before, during and after the mission. Body swabs are also collected to investigate the microorganism population on the skin surface. Sample collection is often shared between experiments. For example, this week I’m doing a saliva collection every morning not only for “Microbiome”, but also for “Salivary Markers”, which investigates immune system dysregulation during spaceflight. Changes in muscle strength are instead the object of a medical requirement. We take measurement of maximum strength across several joints a few times before and after spaceflight to have quantitative data on the loss of strength and the recovery time. In the picture you can see the setup to measure strength across the knee. Now to a interruption notice: looking at my training schedule in the next couple of weeks, it looks like I will be so busy that I won’t be able to write the Logbook. But I’ll be back soon! In the meantime, I’ll try to post shorter updates on Twitter. If you are on Twitter, you’ll find me as @AstroSamantha. Sorry for the unplanned Loss Of Signal. See you on the other side! #SamLogbook  #Futura (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://spacetux.org/cpamoa/category/traductions/logbook-samantha/

Another very varied day, split between training and medical exams. First thing in the morning a short introductory lesson on performing the Cardio Ox experiment, a study on the cardiovascular effects of long-duration spaceflight and the correlation between changes in the heart and in the arteries with oxidative and inflammatory stress. While the latter is measured through biomarkers in blood and urine, heart and arteries are observed via ultrasound. Of course we’re not expected to become proficient at performing ultrasound scans: we’ll be remotely guided from the ground as we examine our own brachial and carotid arteries and our heart. In another class I had a chance to work with Hi-Fidelity EVA hardware and some of the units that could potentially be replaced during a spacewalk, if they failed. From big battery “boxes” that store power from the solar arrays during insulation to the big tanks that contain ammonia for the external cooling loops to the tanks that contain the nitrogen to pressurize those same cooling loops to units that provide venting capability of that ammonia to space from the radiator lines in case of a malfunction… and that’s just a tiny selection of the dozens of units out there that can be replaced on an EVA. I also had a very sophisticated test of my vestibular system – basically a balance test, but one in which visual and proprioceptive cues are carefully controlled to isolate as much as possible the effect of the vestibular system itself on balance. I will repeat this test once more before flight and then again after returning to Earth: everybody’s vestibular system is in pretty bad shape after a long-duration spaceflight. Finally, I had a practice class on the SAFER, the jetpack unit attached to the back of the EMU suit that is intended to provide self-rescue capability to a crewmember who should come detached from Station. Just to be clear – it was never actually used (except for testing purposes). Other that George Cloney’s jetpack in Gravity, the SAFER has only very little gas. That’s why we train to fly back to structure in the most fuel-efficient manner possible in a virtual reality environment that replicates the ISS. In the picture you can see a picture of a virtual reality run: the yellow line is the trajectory flown away from Station and then, with the help of the SAFER, back to it. #SamLogbook  #Futura (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://spacetux.org/cpamoa/category/traductions/logbook-samantha/

Today I got to try a flight space suit! I went to the facility that produces the EMU spacewalking suit for a fit check in Class 1 hardware – components that are not meant for training in the pool, but rather for space. The purpose was to get the configuration of the suit that I would use on orbit, which can differ somewhat from the one in the NBL, since in the pool we don’t actually float inside the suit itself. A lot of the padding that, being a small person, I use in the water to prevent me from shifting “down” inside the EMU whenever I change body orientation is not needed in weightlessness. It was also a chance to work with Class 1 gloves inside the suit and evaluate the fit. As you might remember, I had a separate glove fit check in the glove box in the past. Once the fit check was completed, we verified that I could reach all the switches, levers and controls on the the Display and Control Unit (DCM) in front of the suit, that I could attach the umbilicals and that I could raise and lower the visor, turn on and off lights and cameras and open the purge valve, which basically opens a hole in the helmet to vent oxygen outside – but no worries, the suit regulator is capable of compensating for that, so internal pressure in maintained. May not be so important when it’s just overpressure with respect to ambient pressure, but certainly important in vacuum! As you can see in the picture (from a past event) we often operate the controls with one hand, while we hold up the other hand to use the mirror that we have at the wrist. #SamLogbook   #Futura (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://spacetux.org/cpamoa/category/traductions/logbook-samantha/

Many different things going on today for me at Johnson Space Center. First thing in the morning a couple of hours of eye examinations:  partly an annual requirement and partly related to the additional set of medical tests we have to undergo before a long-duration spaceflight. Not my favorite exam, because it requires inducing a dilation of the pupils with special eye drops. For a few hours afterwards the eyes are quite sensitive to light and it’s hard to read. Fortunately my vision was almost back to normal by the time I had a phlebotomy practice class: thanks to my countryman Luca, who works here at JSC and volunteered to have me draw his blood twice today! I had to use my eyes and move them very quickly between camera views also in my last class, a refresher in flying the arm in support of a spacewalk. We flew part of the procedure that Koichi used on ISS last December in support of the pump module replacement contingency EVAs. If you missed it, here you can read some words about robotic support for EVAs, in particular what we call GCA. In between I also had a class on cold stowage operations. We have a lot of cold stowage needs on ISS, both for science as well as for medical exams, since we routinely take blood and urine samples that need to be conserved and then returned to Earth for analysis. In the picture you can see me practicing working with the Melfi – actually only one representative unit. The actual Melfi has several of those freezer units and we have three Melfi racks onboard. We use them to stow cold packs as well, which in turn we use when samples have to be returned to Earth to prevent breaking the cold chain. #SamLogbook  #Futura (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://spacetux.org/cpamoa/category/traductions/logbook-samantha/

Yesterday I had my first full day of training at Johnson Space Center on this trip. First I had a workout on the ARED to practice “weightlifting”  on this peculiar machine. ARED stands for Advanced Resistive Exercise Device – I talked about it here, if you missed it. A typical ARED workout consists of six exercises and crewmembers on ISS rotate through different routines. Yesterday, for example, we did squat, deadlift, romenian deadlift, heel raise, shoulder press and bent over row. Later on the day I was introduced to Word Map software, which is loaded on many ISS laptops in support of Earth photography. Let’s say you want to take a picture of a particular location on Earth, for example a volcano: either by picking it on the map or by geographic coordinates you can create a “target” in World Map. The software can then calculate pass predictions for you: when will that target come in your field of view? how long will be the pass? will it be day or night? at what angle will you see it? As you can imagine, this is invaluable information for Earth Observation ops! Finally I had a review class on fire emergency response, in preparation of a simulation scheduled for the upcoming weeks for Terry, Anton and myself. The focus was a relatively new software applications that helps in locating a fire hidden inside a rack, in identifying equipment that should be turned off and, if necessary, what fire port we should insert the fire extinguisher in. The picture was taken during a previous fire emergency sim last year. The tool is a measurement device for combustion product concentration. (Picture: NASA) #SamLogbook   #Futura (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://spacetux.org/cpamoa/category/traductions/logbook-samantha/

Yesterday I flew from Tokyo to Houston – a very long Wednesday, 39 hours long. As I traveled East across the International Date Line, I “gained” a full day. My time in Japan has been just lovely. Yes, ISS training is very standardized and in the end there is no big difference in learning about cooling loops of the JEM in Japan, of Columbus in Europe or of the US modules in Houston. But a training trip to Japan is also an almost overwhelming cultural experience. Unfortunately I don’t speak any Japanese, so I can not even begin to scratch the surface of this rich culture. But even without understanding much, it’s fascinating : it’s impossible not to be touched by Japan’s hospitality or enthralled by its sophisticated cuisine, with the variety of its ingredients and dishes and the elegance of service and presentation. You are bound to admire the strive to perfection, the attention to every minute detail in all things. And the kindness, politeness, readiness to help, which people meet you with are hard to match. A big thank you to our JAXA colleagues for making us feel so welcome. In the pictures you can see some of them during our visit at the JEM mission control room SSIPC (Space Station Integration and Promotion Center). Now it’s time to resume training here in Houston! After a free morning to rest from the flight, I’ll have a training tagup and a photo/TV ops this afternoon. [Picture: ESA/Corvaja] #SamLogbook  #Futura (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://spacetux.org/cpamoa/category/traductions/logbook-samantha/

Last day of training at the Japanese Space Agency JAXA for me and Terry. Among many other things, we were trained on the Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) in the JEM laboratory. The purpose of the PCRF is to take advantage of the microgravity conditions on ISS to produce large, high-quality protein crystals, that are then returned to Earth for x-ray diffraction analysis. Unless you’re familiar with the topic, you’re probably wondering why we care about protein crystals. I certainly did, before it was explained to me today. So, here’s what I understood. We care a lot about proteins. Everything that happens in our body is regulated by proteins – about 100.000 different ones, continuously assembled in our cells according to the instructions coded in our genes. So, when researchers on Earth try to develop a drug that will cure a certain disease, one approach is to find out what relevant proteins are involved and how they function: drugs can then be developed that specifically target those proteins. The good thing about proteins is that their function and their structure are closely related: figure out their structure and you’ll have learned a lot about their function. The other good thing about proteins is that we know how to make them grow into a crystal structure, in other words into a highly ordered arrangement of molecules. And the next good thing is that we have a great technique, X-ray diffraction, to analyze the structure of those crystals. Now bring the ISS into the equation, a facility that provides long-term exposure to microgravity conditions. The protein crystals we can grow on ISS are larger and better quality than crystals that can be grown on the ground: subsequent X-ray diffraction analysis yields a much better understanding of the protein structure. Again, know the structure, know the function – which in turn is the necessary step to develop new drugs to cure disease. In the picture (Credit: ESA/Corvaja) you can see us working on the PCGF training model. #SamLogbook   #Futura (Trad IT)  Traduzione in italiano a cura di +AstronautiNEWS qui: https://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbook/ (Trad ES) Tradducción en español aquí: https://www.intervidia.com/category/bitacora/ (Trad FR) Traduction en français par +Anne Cpamoa ici: https://spacetux.org/cpamoa/category/traductions/logbook-samantha/