{"id":375075,"date":"2026-04-11T21:53:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T21:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375075\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T21:53:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T21:53:20","slug":"crew-kicks-off-week-prepping-for-cygnus-cargo-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375075\/","title":{"rendered":"Crew Kicks Off Week Prepping for Cygnus Cargo Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Expedition 74<\/a> crew continues preparing for the next U.S. cargo mission due to visit the International Space Station<\/a>. The orbital residents also serviced spacesuits, configured scientific hardware, and studied how microgravity affects blood pressure at the beginning of the week.<\/p>\n

NASA Flight Engineers Chris Williams<\/a> and Jack Hathaway<\/a> joined each other in the cupola on Monday and practiced maneuvering the Canadarm2 robotic arm<\/a> to capture the Cygnus XL when it arrives to the space station. After the cargo spacecraft\u2019s capture, ground controllers will remotely command Canadarm2 to install Cygnus XL on the Unity module<\/a>\u2019s Earth-facing port. Cygnus will be delivering advanced microgravity research gear to study quantum computing technology, test stem cell therapies, promote astronaut health, and more.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, Williams and Hathway, along with NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir<\/a>, worked on spacesuit maintenance. Hathway and Meir took turns cleaning and flushing the suit\u2019s water-cooling loops that regulate an astronaut\u2019s body temperature in the extreme environment of space. Williams swapped a pair of lithium-ion batteries that power spacesuits inside the Quest airlock<\/a>\u2019s battery stowage compartment to maintain optimum battery performance.<\/p>\n

Meir began her shift powering up and replacing filters on the KERMIT fluorescence microscope<\/a>, that supports biological, physical, and material science research in microgravity, inside the Destiny laboratory module<\/a>. Next, she set up a physics experiment that studies how particles attach to droplets<\/a> and rearrange in microgravity that used KERMIT to image the phenomena. Results may lead to improved engineering designs for additive manufacturing and optical materials.<\/p>\n

Flight engineer Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) kicked off her shift inside the Kibo laboratory module<\/a> powering down the TUSK technology demonstration<\/a>, a small experimental robotic arm being tested for precise, sub-millimeter manipulation in weightlessness. Afterward, Adenot cleaned portions of Kibo\u2019s ventilation system then tested emergency communications with mission controllers from around the world.<\/p>\n

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, station commander and flight engineer respectively, took turns wearing a series of arm, wrist, and finger cuffs measuring their blood pressure for an ongoing cardiovascular study. Afterward, Kud-Sverchkov inspected spacecraft docking hardware while Mikaev worked on communications and electronics maintenance.<\/p>\n

Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev practiced European robotic arm maneuvers using computer simulation software at the start of his shift on Monday. Fedyaev then moved on to a study using artificial intelligence tools to improve crew operations and communications. Finally, he adjusted the lens setting on Earth observation hardware for a visibility test.<\/p>\n

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog<\/a>, @space_station<\/a> on X, as well as the ISS Facebook<\/a> and ISS Instagram<\/a> accounts.<\/p>\n

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

April 6, 2026 6:49PM<\/p>\n

More from International Space Station