ESA ISS Science & System - Operations Status Report # 104 Increment 29

The report is compiled by ESA’s Astronaut and ISS Utilisation Department in cooperation with ESA’s Columbus and Payload Operations Management and Mission Science teams from the Astronaut and ISS Utilisation Department.

ISS Utilisation Programme
The principal focus of the European utilisation of the ISS is the Columbus laboratory, which was launched and permanently attached to the ISS in February 2008. In addition to the science taking place using the internal and external experiment facilities of the Columbus laboratory, ESA also has some further ongoing research taking place inside the Russian Segment of the ISS and in the US Destiny laboratory. The current status of the European science package on the ISS is as follows:

NB: ISS research activities have been at a reduced level in the two-week reporting period awaiting the launch of the next Soyuz. This will restore the ISS to the full crew complement of six for a few days with the arrival of three ISS Expedition 29/30 crew members on 16 November as following a few days of handover the three Expedition 28/29 crew members will return to Earth. However in the period between 20-26 December the Expedition 30/31 crew with ESA astronaut A. Kujpers will also be launched which will again re-establish a six-member crew on the ISS.

European science and research facilities inside the Columbus Laboratory

Biolab and associated experiments
No activities were carried out using the Biolab facility in the two week period up until 7 October. Biolab is a multi-user facility designed to support biological experiments on micro-organisms, cells, tissue cultures, small plants and small invertebrates.

Due to the still ongoing functional recovery activities for the Biolab facility the TripleLux experiments’ execution has been deferred due to the Biolab microscope failure. The microscope which is needed for the TripleLux experiments was returned to ground with STS-134 and will be returned to the ISS to resume the utilisation of a fully functional Biolab after repair. The objective of the TripleLux experiments is to further understand the cellular mechanisms underlying the aggravation of radiation responses, and the impairment of immune function under spaceflight conditions.

European Drawer Rack and associated payloads
No activities were carried out using the European Drawer Rack facility in the two week period up until 7 October. The European Drawer Rack is a multi-user experiment facility which will host the Facility for Adsorption and Surface Tension (FASTER) and the Electro-Magnetic Levitator payload from 2012 onwards. FASTER is a Capillarity Pressure Tensiometer developed for the study of the links between emulsion stability and physico-chemical characteristics of droplet interfaces. The Electro-Magnetic Levitator (EML) will investigate thermophysical properties of metal alloys under weightlessness, supporting both basic and namely industrial research and development needs.

A KUBIK incubator is currently scheduled to process ESA’s ROALD-2 experiment before the end of 2011 with launch of the samples on Soyuz 29S (André Kujpers’ flight). This will expand on the initial ROALD experiment from 2008 and will determine the role of a certain lipid in the regulation of immune processes and in the cell cycle under weightless conditions. Subsequently the KUBIK incubator in the European Drawer Rack will also be used to process NASA’s NIH Ageing experiment which is currently planned for the second half of 2012.

Fluid Science Laboratory and Geoflow-2 / FASES experiments
Science runs for the Geoflow-2 experiment resumed on 26 September following the successful troubleshooting activities that were undertaken for the Fluid Science Laboratory (FSL) in the previous weeks. Three further non-rotation runs for the Geoflow-2 experiment (inside the FSL) were completed by 30 September, including one extended run. Good quality real time images were received from the experiment and the Canadian-developed Microgravity Vibration Isolation Subsystem was used to characterise any vibrations occurring during the runs. Images and Microgravity Vibration Isolation Subsystem data were downlinked from the Fluid Science Laboratory on 30 September and 3, 4 October. The science team are analysing the data including the impact of an orbital debris avoidance manoeuvre that was undertaken by the ISS on 29 September.

These activities follow on from extensive Geoflow-2 experiment runs, which started processing in the FSL on 21 March. All mandatory experiment runs have now been completed for Geoflow-2 except for the high-rotation runs. Additional experiment parameter runs using a different optical diagnostic mode have also been carried out on top of the mandatory runs. The main experiment parameters of the GeoFlow-2 experiment are the core rotation speed, electrical field, temperature gradients and liquid viscosity variation of the spherical experiment cell with the experiment fluid.

Geoflow-2 (which follows on from the initial Geoflow experiment with new scientific objectives and a different experiment configuration) is investigating the flow of an incompressible viscous fluid held between two concentric spheres rotating about a common axis as a representation of a planet. This is of importance for astrophysical and geophysical problems such as global scale flow in the atmosphere, the oceans, and in the liquid nucleus of planets. For Geoflow-2 the incompressible fluid is nonanol which varies in viscosity with temperature (unlike silicon oil) to provide a different aspect of research with more of a simulation to Earth’s geophysical conditions.

The subsequently planned Fluid Science Laboratory experiment “Fundamental and Applied Studies of Emulsion Stability” (FASES) has been thoroughly prepared via a full scientific verification programme of the emulsions’ composition and the optical diagnostics’ adjustment. The execution of the FASES experiment will depend on the functionality of the FSL Video Management Unit during current activities on orbit. The flight of the FASES Experiment Container will be rescheduled to a later launch in 2012. This experiment will be studying emulsion properties with advanced optical diagnostics. Results of the FASES experiment hold significance for oil extraction processes, and in the chemical and food industries.

European Physiology Modules (EPM) facility and associated experiments
The European Physiology Modules facility was again activated on 6 October for data downlink for the PASSAGES experiment (see below). The European Physiology Modules facility is equipped with different Science Modules to investigate the cardio- and neurophysiological effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body. Experiment results from the investigations using the European Physiology Modules will contribute to an increased understanding of terrestrial problems such as the ageing process, osteoporosis, balance disorders, and muscle atrophy.

PASSAGES
On 6 October the PASSAGES experiment hardware was installed on the front of the European Physiology Modules. This included the associated laptop and the Neurospat light shield and trackball. Sessions of the PASSAGES experiment were then carried out by ISS Commander Mike Fossum and ISS Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa, their second and final sessions. The PASSAGES experiment investigates how astronauts interpret visual information in weightlessness using virtual reality stimuli such as traversing through a virtual door. This neurological experiment can improve our knowledge of neurological processes and provide an insight into the efficiency of performing certain tasks in space, which in turn can improve training techniques for astronauts.

Pulmonary Function System (in Human Research Facility 2)
No activities were carried out using the Pulmonary Function System in the two weeks until 7 October. The Pulmonary Function System is accommodated in NASA’s Human Research Facility 2, which was relocated from the US Destiny laboratory to the Columbus laboratory in October 2008. The Pulmonary Function System is an ESA/NASA collaboration in respiratory physiology instrumentation, which analyses exhaled gas from astronauts' lungs to provide near-instant data on the state of crew health.

European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS)
No activities were carried out using the European Modular Cultivation System in the two week period until 7 October after the successful processing of NASA’s Plant Signalling experiment. The next ESA experiment to take place in the facility is the Gravi-2 experiment which builds on the initial Gravi experiment in determining the gravity threshold response in plant (lentil) roots.

The European Modular Cultivation System, which was flown to the ISS in July 2006, is dedicated to biological experiments such as the effects of gravity on cells, roots and physiology of plants and simple animals. It was developed by ESA and is being operated jointly with NASA under a bilateral barter agreement which was renewed after the initial 2 years time frame.

Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System (MARES)
No activities were carried out using the Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System (MARES) in the two week period until 7 October. MARES is capable of assessing the strength of isolated human muscle groups around joints to provide a better understanding of the effects of weightlessness on the muscular system of ISS astronauts.

In the future MARES will undergo functional testing in two parts: the first part without a crew member using the system, the second functional testing with a crew member in the loop using the system. These two commissioning parts will include testing of hardware and software as well as testing downlink capabilities. The first part will take place in the near future.

MARES consists of an adjustable chair with a system of pads and levers that fit to each astronaut and cover different movements, a main box containing the facility motor and control electronics to which the chair is connected by an articulated arm, as well as dedicated experiment software. The system is considerably more advanced than equivalent ground-based devices and a vast improvement on current muscle research facilities on the ISS.

European science and research facilities outside the Columbus laboratory in open space

SOLAR
The latest Sun visibility window for the SOLAR facility to acquire scientific data which opened on 22 September, closed on 3 October. Sun visibility windows for SOLAR are open for the facility to acquire scientific data when the ISS is in the correct orbital profile with relation to the Sun. During the ISS debris avoidance manoeuvre on 29 September SOLAR was placed in a safe configuration for the related thruster firings. This included heating up (and thereafter cooling down) the SolACES instrument. The SOLAR payload facility has been studying the Sun’s irradiation with unprecedented accuracy across most of its spectral range currently for around 3 ½ years on-orbit. This has so far produced excellent scientific data during a series of Sun observation cycles. Following the conclusion of the detailed technical feasibility study for on-orbit lifetime extension the science team will be able to continue gathering further science data in a period of increasing solar activity up to 2013 and possibly beyond.

Vessel Identification System (Vessel ID)
Successful data acquisition is ongoing for the Vessel Identification System (commonly known as the Automatic Identification System, AIS), using its Norwegian receiver, and telemetry is still being successfully received by the Norwegian User Support and Operation Centre (N-USOC) in Trondheim via ESA’s Columbus Control Centre in Germany. The Vessel Identification System has acquired an extensive amount of data since its installation in Columbus.

The Vessel Identification System consists of two different on-board receivers (NORAIS and LuxAIS), which were scheduled to be alternated every three months or so, and the ERNO-Box, which is used as a data relay for the Vessel Identification System, whose antenna was installed on the outside of Columbus during an EVA on 21 November 2009. A new LuxAIS receiver is currently scheduled to be transported to the ISS on Soyuz 29S towards the end of 2011. The Vessel Identification System is testing the means to track global maritime traffic from space by picking up signals from standard AIS transponders carried by all international ships over 300 tonnes, cargo vessels over 500 tonnes and all types of passenger carriers. Meanwhile various service entities have been asking to get access to the VIS data which is continuously acquired on Columbus.

European science inside the US Destiny Laboratory

Materials Science Laboratory (MSL) in the First Materials Science Research Rack (MSRR)
ISS Commander Mike Fossum undertook a sample swap in the Materials Science Laboratory on 24 September removing a Sample Cartridge Assembly for the MICAST experiment (processed on 30, 31 August) and inserting the first Sample Cartridge Assembly for the SETA experiment. Following a chamber leak test on 28 September processing of the SETA project sample started. This was planned to undergo a long (~35 hour) solidification processing. Shortly after 01:30 on 30 September the primary Payload Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MDM) computer in the US laboratory crashed leading to a shutdown of the Material Science Research Rack, in which ESA’s Materials Science Laboratory is the primary payload. This affected power and cooling to the Materials Science Laboratory. Once the payload computer was recovered, just over an hour later, the Material Science Research Rack and Materials Science Laboratory were rebooted. About 40mm of the 50mm SETA sample had been processed though no quenching had taken place. Following reboot the Materials Science Laboratory was in a safe configuration and the furnace had cooled considerably. A second MDM computer crash occurred some time afterwards but the temperatures inside the furnace were by then cool enough not to have any additional significant impact on science.

On 5 October further processing of samples was put on temporary hold as some graphite foil had come detached from an element of the Sample Cartridge Assembly of the SETA experiment sample inside the Materials Science Laboratory. Photo and video images of the furnace insert were taken and downlinked for assessment by the industrial team in order to determine the appropriate steps to remove the detached graphite foil from inside the furnace insert and restart experiment processing. Science teams are also assessing the impact on the SETA sample processed. The first six Batch 2 samples were delivered to the ISS on STS-135/ULF-7 Shuttle Atlantis in July (two each for the CETSOL, MICAST and SETA experiments). In addition to the one SETA sample one CETSOL and one MICAST sample have been processed from the Batch 2 samples

The first twelve CETSOL/MICAST experiment samples that were processed in the Low Gradient Furnace (which was replaced with the Solidification and Quenching Furnace earlier in January) have already undergone analysis by the relevant science teams on ground. The science team has already presented very promising preliminary scientific results stemming from analysis of this initial set of material samples. This constitutes an excellent basis for further materials research with international collaboration. The final MICAST sample from the first batch (belonging to NASA) which completed processing in the Solidification and Quenching Furnace of the Materials Science Laboratory in January is currently undergoing post-flight analysis. ESA’s Material Science Laboratory is the primary research facility located in NASA’s Materials Science Research Rack-1, which was launched on STS-128/17A in August 2009 and is installed in the US Laboratory on the ISS.

CETSOL (Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Solidification Processing) and MICAST (Microstructure Formation in Casting of Technical Alloys under Diffusive and Magnetically Controlled Convective Conditions) are two complementary material science projects. The goal of MICAST is to study the formation of microstructures during casting of technical alloys. In space, buoyancy convection is eliminated and the dendritic solidification of the alloys can be quantitatively studied under purely diffusive conditions. The objective of CETSOL is then to study the transition from columnar growth to equiaxed growth that occurs when crystals start to nucleate in the melt and grow independently. The SETA (Solidification along a Eutectic path in Ternary Alloys) experiment is looking into a specific type of eutectic growth in alloys of aluminium manganese and silicon. Results of all these experiments will help to optimise industrial casting processes.

Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) and associated experiments
The Microgravity Science Glovebox was active between 27 September and 1 October for processing DLR’s Capillary Channel Flow (CCF) experiment which is performed in collaboration with NASA. Capillary Channel Flow is a versatile experiment for studying a critical variety of inertial-capillary dominated flows important for innovations in the containment, storage, and handling of large liquid inventories (fuels, cryogens, and water) aboard spacecraft.

SODI-Colloid 2 will be the next ESA experiment to begin processing in the MSG in October. On completion this will be followed almost directly with processing of the SODI-DSC experiment which will be the third and final Selectable Optical Diagnostic Instrument (SODI) experiment processed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox starting in November and running for about 7 weeks.

Colloid 2 follows on from the SODI-Colloid experiment which took place in the Microgravity Science Glovebox in September/October 2010 and is still undergoing detailed evaluation by the science team following return of the flash disks to Earth on STS-133 Shuttle Discovery, which landed in March. The Colloid experiment covers the study on growth and properties of advanced photonic materials within colloidal solutions. The focus is on materials that have a special interest in photonics, with emphasis on nano-structured, periodic dielectric materials, known as photonic crystals, which possess appealing properties and make them promising candidates for new types of optical components. Colloid is the second in the series of three SODI experiments.

The DSC (‘Diffusion and Soret Coefficient Measurements for Improvement of Oil Recovery’) experiment followed the implementation of the partially re-defined liquid mixtures in conjunction with the new ELIPS project DCMIX. The experiment is supporting research to determine diffusion coefficients in different petroleum field samples and refine petroleum reservoir models to help lead to more efficient extraction of oil resources.

The Microgravity Science Glovebox was developed by ESA within the Early Utilisation barter agreement with NASA. The Glovebox provides the ability to perform a wide range of experiments in the fields of materials science, biotechnology, fluid science, combustion science and crystal growth research, in a fully sealed and controlled environment.

Portable Pulmonary Function System (PPFS) and associated experiments
On 26 September ISS Commander Mike Fossum repeated a session of ESA’s Thermolab experiment in conjunction with NASA’s Maximum Volume Oxygen (VO2 Max) experiment originally undertaken on 19 September. This was due to a locked up display on the CEVIS exercise device during the first run. The Thermolab experiment uses the ESA-developed Portable Pulmonary Function System to investigate thermoregulatory and cardiovascular adaptations during rest and exercise in the course of long-term exposure to weightlessness. The Maximum Volume Oxygen (VO2 Max) experiment is aimed at measuring oxygen uptake and cardiac output in particular, during various degrees of exercise. The Portable Pulmonary Function System is an autonomous multi-user facility supporting a broad range of human physiological research experiments under weightless conditions in the areas of respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic physiology.

ALTEA Experiments
Data acquisition for the ALTEA-Survey experiment has been continuing in its current location in the two week period until 7 October with the minimum 20-day acquisition period having been reached on 12 August (preferred duration is 30 days or more). During the reporting period it was confirmed that 1 of the six silicon detectors had not been acquiring science data since 20 September. This was of minor significance as it was one of two detectors collecting data in a specific direction. On 3 October the hardware was rebooted to bring all six detectors back online. However two detectors pointing in the same direction went offline on 6 October leaving only four active detectors pointing in only two directions rather than the necessary three. There have been 59 cumulative days of science acquisition at this current location until 7 October. The ALTEA experiments aim at obtaining a better understanding of the light flash phenomenon, and more generally the interaction between cosmic rays and brain function. The experiment continues to undertake a 3-dimensional survey of the radiation environment in the US laboratory which is followed soon by the corresponding measurements of different shielding materials with the ALTEA detectors on the ISS.

European science inside the Russian ISS Segment

GTS-2 (Global Transmission Service)
The Global Transmission Service was deactivated on 31 May 2009 though following negotiations with Russian representatives the instrument has been successfully reactivated and functionally tested for continuation as a cooperative joint European-Russian experiment on the ISS. This experiment is intended to test the receiving conditions of a time and data signal for dedicated receivers on the ground. The time signal distributed by the GTS has special coding to allow the receiver to determine the local time anywhere on the Earth without user intervention. The main scientific objectives of the experiment are to verify under real space operation conditions: the performance and accuracy of a time signal transmitted to the Earth’s surface from low Earth orbit; the signal quality and data rates achieved on the ground; and measurement of disturbing effects such as Doppler shifts, multi-path reflections, shadowing and elevation impacts.

Non-European science and research facilities inside the Columbus Laboratory

Human Research Facility 1
NASA’s Human Research Facility 1 was activated on 3 October and ISS Commander Mike Fossum hereafter performed a leg muscle ultrasound scan on himself for NASA’s SPRINT protocol. Two days later the facility was again active in connection with ultrasound eye scans for Fossum and ISS Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa. The same day Human Research Facility 1’s Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device was used to take monthly body mass measurement for Furukawa

Human Research Facility 2
On 4 October ISS Commander Mike Fossum underwent a blood draw (assisted by Satoshi Furukawa) for NASA’s Nutrition with Repository protocol. Blood samples were spun in the Refrigerated Centrifuge of Human Research Facility 2 before being placed in one of the European-built MELFI freezers. The following day Fossum assisted Furukawa in taking a blood draw which was also centrifuged and placed in a MELFI unit. On 7 October both astronauts assisted each other in undertaking a blood draw which was centrifuged and placed in one of the MELFI units

Activities were carried out with the support of ESA’s Columbus Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. The two NASA Human Research Facilities support different areas of physiology research.

ISS general system information and activities *

Columbus laboratory and Columbus Control Centre
In addition to the Columbus experiment facilities mentioned above, the Columbus systems have been working well. Some regular maintenance activities have been executed by the crew and the Flight Control Team on top of the regular conferences of the ISS Crew with the Columbus Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. Highlights of the past two weeks include:

• Smoke Detector Test
  The Columbus Control Centre carried out a Smoke Detector Built-In Test Synchronisation for all the powered smoke detectors in Columbus on 27 September.
• Condensate Water Separator Assembly
  The periodic inspection of the Desiccant Module of the Condensate Water Separator Assembly in Columbus was carried out by ISS Expedition 29 Flight Engineer and JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and ISS Commander and NASA astronaut Mike Fossum on 27 September. This was to check on its drying ability and replace it if required.
• Water Pump Assembly
  A checkout of the Water Pump Assembly in Columbus was successfully carried out on 27 September.
• Columbus Laptop Reboots
  On 29 September the monthly inspection and reboot of laptops in the Columbus laboratory took place including recording the battery state-of-charge
• Compund Specific Analyser Measurements
  Concentrations of O2 in Columbus were taken on 29, 30 September using two Compound Specific Analyzer-Oxygen instruments (oxygen sensors).
• Emergency Communications Proficiency Check
  On 30 September the Columbus Control Centre took part in an emergency communications proficiency check together with ISS Expedition 29 Flight Engineer and JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and the control centres in Houston, Huntsville Alabama, Moscow and Tsukuba, Japan. This involved the VHF sites at the Dryden Flight Research Center in California and the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, USA.

Activities in the European-built Node 3

• Exercise Equipment
  Mike Fossum carried out his fourth session of the new Treadmill Kinematics protocol on the T2 COLBERT treadmill in the European-built Node 3 on 25 September. This protocol is making an assessment of current exercise protocols. This was carried out in addition to the regular use, inspection and servicing of the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) and T2/COLBERT treadmill.
• Regenerative ECLSS and Additional Environmental Control Racks
  The two Water Recovery System racks, together with the Oxygen Generation System rack, form the Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) which is necessary in support of a six-person ISS Crew to help reduce upload mass. Other environmental control racks in Node 3 include an Atmosphere Revitalisation Rack and a Waste and Hygiene Compartment. No major activities were carried out with these racks and facilities in the two weeks until 7 October.
• Japanese Super Sensitive High-Definition Television camera
  From 4 – 7 October recording sessions with the Japanese Super Sensitive High-Definition Television camera were carried out from within the European-built Cupola Observation Module attached to Node 3. The session used infrared filters and two different size lenses.

Minus-Eighty degree Laboratory Freezer for the ISS (MELFI)
There are three European-built MELFI freezers on the ISS: MELFI-1 and MELFI-2 in the Japanese laboratory and MELFI-3 in the US laboratory. During the reporting period samples for Mike Fossum and Satoshi Furukawa were placed in the MELFI units for NASA’s Nutrition with Repository protocol (blood and urine) and for the Canadian Space Agency’s Vascular Blood protocol (blood).

Progress 42P Activities
During the two week period until 7 October the ISS atmosphere has been repressurised with nitrogen from Progress 42P tanks. After configuring pumping equipment, on 30 September ISS Flight Engineer and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Volkov transferred urine from three containers into one of the BV Rodnik tanks for disposal after Progress undocking. Also in preparation for undocking Progress 42P is being filled with trash and excess items from the ISS for disposal.

US Airlock
On 26 September ISS Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa carried out maintenance on two of the US Extravehicular Mobility Units: emptying and filling their Service and Cooling lines, and scrubbing the cooling loops for particulate matter. The Extravehicular Mobility Units are the US suits worn to undertake spacewalks.

Solar Array Power Testing
A Solar Array Wing maximum power output test was carried out on 26, 27 September in order to improve maximum power output calculations.

ISS Debris Avoidance Manœuvre/Reboost
On 27 September Flight Controllers were monitoring space debris from a Japanese rocket body. This proved of no concern though on 28 September some more debris from an S/L-4 Rocket Body was also being monitored. On the morning of 29 September this debris was still classed as being in the ‘red zone’ so it was decided to undertake a debris avoidance manoeuvre. This in turn replaced the necessity for a reboost of the ISS that was due to take place on 5 October. The manoeuvre which took place on 29 September used Service Module thrusters, lasted 2 min 49 sec, and increased the ISS altitude by 4.6 km. This also resolved the need for any possible future actions involving additional debris from a Chinese Fengyun satellite.

Chinese Space Station: TianGong-1
China launched its first space station elements into orbit on 29 September. This consisted of two modules, one a laboratory module and one a service module. The elements of the Chinese space station, known as Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace), were launched on a Long March 2F/G rocket from the Jinquan Satellite Launch Centre in China.

US Payload Multiplexer/Demultiplexer Computer Crash
Early in the morning of 30 September the US laboratory multiplexer/demultiplexer payload computer crashed causing a shutdown of a number of facilities including ESA’s Materials Science Laboratory (see above). The computer was recovered shortly after though a second crash occurred which was again recovered about an hour later. The backup multiplexer/demultiplexer will act as primary payload computer for the foreseeable future until the root cause of the crash is established.

Node 2 LAN Network
The Integrated Station Local Area Network (LAN) Router in Node 2 was replaced on 3 October by Satoshi Furukawa. Following its replacement ground controllers used two wireless laptops in Node 2 to configure the new router.

Inter-Module Ventilation
ISS Commander Mike Fossum installed a ventilation return line from Node 1 to the European-built Permanent Multipurpose Module (attached to Node 1) on 5 October. This is intended to improve airflow when hatches are closed.

Other Activities
Other activities that have taken place on the ISS in the two-week period until 7 October include: an inspection of screws in Soyuz 27S to make sure all relevant pre-launch screws had been removed; replacing hard disks in the Fluid Physics Experiment Facility in the Japanese Laboratory; replacing failed light fittings in the US laboratory; activation and checkout of the Multi Purpose Small Payload Rack in the Japanese laboratory; a US contingency telemetry test; and replacing elements of the Condensate Water Processor of the Russian water recovery system.

(*)These activities are highlights of the past two weeks and do not include the majority of standard periodic operational/maintenance activities on the ISS or additional research activities not mentioned previously. Information compiled with the assistance of NASA sources.

Contact:
Martin Zell
ESA Head of ISS Utilisation Department
martin.zell[@]esa.int

Rosita Suenson
ESA Human Spaceflight Programme Communication Officer
rosita.suenson[@]esa.int

Weekly reports compiled by ESA's ISS Utilisation Department.

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