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“Orlando has a surprising amount of orange sodium vapor lighting dotted around it,” wrote NASA astronaut Don Pettit<\/a>, responding to McClain’s photo.<\/p>\n The city of Orlando, Florida shines at night as seen from the International Space Station. (Image credit: NASA\/Anne McClain)Science status<\/p>\n Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:<\/p>\n CIPHER \u2014 NASA astronauts Jonny Kim<\/a>, Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain took part in studies that were part of the “Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research on Varying Mission Durations.” Kim and McClain used an ultrasound machine to measure blood flow, while Ayers and McClain used virtual reality googles to test how microgravity<\/a> affects the sense of balance.<\/p>\n Muscle Stimulation \u2014 Ayers and Kim worked together on a study of whether sending electrical impulses into astronauts’ legs can supplement exercise to combat muscular atrophy<\/a>. Ayers wore the electrodes, while Kim operated the equipment.<\/p>\n Real-time scans \u2014 McClain also donned electrodes for two ultrasound scans that were monitored by doctors on the ground. The data collected is supporting an ongoing study of the cardiovascular risks of long-duration spaceflight.<\/p>\n Roscosmos<\/a> cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Kirill Peskov also ran on a treadmill to determine how much physical activity is required to stay ready to perform spacewalks<\/a> and be subjected to increased gravity loads on their return to Earth.<\/p>\n Station keeping<\/p>\n The Expedition 73 crew also devoted time to maintaining the space station’s systems, including:<\/p>\n Boost \u2014 A Russian resupply craft, Progress<\/a> MS-30 (91P) docked to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, fired its engines for about 12 minutes on Wednesday (July 16) to give the space station an orbital boost, setting up for the arrival of the next crew early next month.<\/p>\n Microgravity Measurement Apparatus \u2014 Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi with JAXA<\/a> replaced a device that tracks how the Kibo laboratory vibrates in response to crew and spacecraft movements, motions that could impact research being conducted in the module.<\/p>\n Catalytic reactor \u2014 Anne McClain replaced a component of the station\u2019s water processor assembly that adds oxygen and oxidizes organics in the collected wastewater.<\/p>\n Astronaut activity<\/p>\n Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Zubritskiy stands atop a treadmill in the Zvezda service module after performing routine maintenance on the exercise device as an Expedition 73 flight engineer aboard the International Space Station. (Image credit: Roscosmos)Axiom Mission 4<\/p>\n After 18 days at the International Space Station, the Axiom Mission-4 crew on board SpaceX<\/a>‘s Dragon spacecraft “Grace” undocked and returned to Earth this week<\/a>. Commander Peggy Whitson, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla and mission specialists S\u0142awosz Uzna\u0144ski-Wi\u015bniewski and Tibor Kapu splashed down off the coast of California on Tuesday (July 15).<\/p>\n The four crew members conducted more than 60 scientific experiments from 31 countries \u2014 more than any other commercial mission \u2014 studying life sciences, conducting materials research, observing Earth and demonstrating new technologies. Whitson, Shukla, Uzna\u0144ski-Wi\u015bniewski adn Kapu also took part in 20 outreach events, speaking with scientists, students and government officials.<\/p>\n By the numbers<\/p>\n As of Friday (July 18), there are 7 people aboard the International Space Station: Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers and Jonny Kim of NASA and Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky of Roscosmos, all flight engineers.<\/p>\n![\"the](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/YzmNugtFkPScrkjXYzLHJC.jpg\")
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