NASA was back in full swing this week with astronauts both on the station and at JSC quite busy. With the government shutdown, we missed quite a lot of PAO news which we wrote about here and part of that news that has since been announced this week was Scott Tingle becoming the new chief astronaut which we had written about two weeks ago here. Not only are the active astronauts back in full swing, but so are the new astronaut candidates that were announced two months ago.
Astronauts on the International Space Station
Zena Cardman
As is the case with any newly arrived cargo vehicle unloading and loading cargo is the most important task. Cardman along with Kimiya Yui of JAXA spent time Monday reorganizing cargo inside the Japanese Kibo laboratory module. She then collected food packages from inside the PMM and stowed them inside the stations galley. On Tuesday, Cardman completed spacesuit work and verified the installation of new ventilation and cooling gear which needed to be replaced before an upcoming spacewalk. She then spent time getting familiar with the Ultrasound 3 device that was delivered aboard Cygnus XL. Cardman was on photography duty on Wednesday as she photographed space suit components and packed hardware that would return inside Soyuz MS-27 next month alongside Jonny Kim. Later in the day Cardman, Kim, and Fincke called down to mission controllers to discuss maintenance on the stations US treadmill which will require temporarily removing the stations toilet. Thursday came along with Cardman studying stem cells in microgravity using a fluorescence microscope. She spent the later of the day working with Fincke and Kim on the treadmill repairs. When Friday rolled around the busy work week had come to an end but not before Cardman was tasked with working more on cellular research as well as moving samples from inside the life science glovebox into the portable science freezer.
Mike Fincke
With the news of their mission shortened by about a month it hasn’t slowed down research on station. On Monday, Fincke measured Kim’s blood pressure and scanned his veins while he used a device meant to change how bodily fluids behave in space. Fincke and Yui spent time on Tuesday working with physics studies looking at how fluids function and how flames spread in space. Fincke worked in the Quest airlock on Wednesday relacing life support systems inside a spacesuit, possibly revealing a spacewalk in December or early next year. As with Cardman, Fincke spent Thursday on the crucial treadmill repair tasks. Fincke spent Friday working with Yui moving equipment from inside Cygnus XL into the space station.
Jonny Kim
Kim’s mission has started coming to a close with his expected return to Earth on December 9th, despite the end of his mission he remains extremely busy up on station. Kim spent Monday working with Fincke on a body fluid study which aims to understand ways to pull fluids to the lower body to relieve brain and eye pressure. With the help of fellow doctors on the ground Kim got his eyes checked by using medical imaging gear. Kim continued with human science on Tuesday as he used a sensor vest and headband while working out on the stations treadmill. He spent the second half of Tuesday processing cell samples to investigate how microgravity affects cardiac or brain cells. With the arrival of Chris Williams on Soyuz MS-28 on Thanksgiving day, Kim had set up the crew alternate sleep accommodation on Wednesday inside the Columbus laboratory while Kim will sleep in once Williams arrives on station and moves into Kim’s old “bunk”. Likewise with Cardman and Fincke Thursday was dedicated to the treadmill repair tasks. On Friday, Kim finished up the work on repairing the treadmill by aligning it to the station and making sure everything checked out properly for use.
Astronauts in Training
Artemis II
The crew was supposed to be in Kennedy Space Center this week for Countdown Demonstration tests which has now moved to December. In his weekly update Reid Wiseman said the crew had a “free” week to work with flight controller experts who answered all their questions about the vehicle (SLS) and their mission. On Friday the crew worked inside building 5 with the Artemis science team and flight controllers as part of their “Capstone Lunar Flyby Day” the time in which they will be actively flying-by the mood. Canadian astronaut Jenni Gibbons was CAPCOM during this test.
Reid Wiseman
Nothing individual posted
Victor Glover
Nothing individual posted
Christina Koch
Nothing individual posted
Andre Douglas (Backup)
Nothing individual posted
Boeing Starliner – 1
Awaiting official crew announcement.
It was announced by Eric Berger that there are not more astronauts currently assigned to Starliner-1. With Scott Tingle moving to his new position as Chief of the Astronaut Office and Luke Delaney, who was assigned but since removed, Starliner-1 crew now fully remains TBA.
SpaceX Crew-12
Awaiting official crew announcement
We have waited and waited for the official Crew-12 announcement but with Roscosmos posting photos of Sophie Adenot, Oleg Artemyev, Jessica Meir, and Jack Hathaway, we can confidently say that those four will make up the crew.
Soyuz MS – 28
Christopher Williams
Williams and his back-up Anil Menon took a walk down the alley of cosmonauts, a line of trees in Star City, Russia that are planted by cosmonauts and astronauts who launch aboard Soyuz spacecraft. While in quarantine on Tuesday, Williams had down time to play chess with Menon. The second fit check took place on Wednesday where Williams got to see the Soyuz capsule one last time before launch and make sure everything is ready for launch. On Thursday, Williams got to plant his tree along the alley of cosmonauts.
Soyuz MS – 29
Anil Menon
Menon spent time backing up Williams this week by assisting him in any pre-launch duties.
Other active astronauts
Joe Acaba – Nothing posted
Nichole Ayers – Post ISS 6 month recovery
Mike Barratt – Nothing posted
Kayla Barron – Nothing posted
Marcos Berrios – Nothing posted
Chris Birch- Nothing posted
Eric Boe – Nothing posted
Stephen Bowen – Nothing posted
Randolph Bresnik – Nothing posted
Deniz Burnham – Nothing posted
Raja Chari – Nothing posted
Luke Delaney – Nothing posted
Matthew Dominick – Nothing posted
Tracy Caldwell-Dyson – Nothing posted
Jack Hathaway – In Star City, Russia for Training
Nick Hague – Nothing posted
Bob Hines – Nothing posted
Woody Hoburg – Nothing posted
Kjell Lindgren – Nothing posted
Nicole Mann – Nothing posted
Anne McClain – Post ISS 6 month recovery
Jessica Meir – In Star City, Russia for Training
Jasmin Moghbeli – Nothing posted
Andrew Morgan – Nothing posted
Loral O’hara – Nothing posted
Donald Pettit – Nothing posted
Frank Rubio – Nothing posted
Scott Tingle (Cheif) – Nothing posted
Mark Vande Hei – Nothing posted
Jessica Watkins – Nothing posted
Douglas Wheelock – Nothing posted
Stephanie Wilson – Nothing posted
Jessica Wittner – Nothing posted
Suni Williams – Nothing posted
Astronaut Candidates
The astronaut candidates took part in a survival camp, where the class was split into two teams and joined by JAXA astronauts to learn to work together in the case of any survival experience.
Ben Bailey – Nothing posted
Lauren Edgar –Nothing posted
Adam Fuhrmann – Nothing posted
Cameron Jones – Nothing posted
Yuri Kubo – Nothing posted
Rebecca Lawler – Posted survival training
Anna Menon – Nothing posted
Imelda Muller – Nothing posted
Erin Overcash – Nothing posted
Katherine Spies – Nothing posted
All information is gathered through NASA blog posts & astronauts various social media accounts that can be found at nasa.gov.