International Space Station Crew Working on Various Experiments to Help NASA Scientists

After a day off on Monday, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station resumed their work on a number of experiments on board the International Space Station in order to better inform NASA about how to improve life in space for a prolonged period of time.

Only three remain aboard the ISS after the other three members of Expedition 39 returned back to Earth last week. Expedition 40 now consists of Commander Steve Swanson and Flight Engineers Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev as they await three new members to arrive by the end of the month.

On Sunday, the Dragon spacecraft returned over 100 experiments that were undergoing work for about six months back to NASA scientists on Earth. The astronauts are still continuing a few projects, most importantly plant science experiments, to determine more ways to sustain flight crews when on long-term microgravity missions. The VEGGIE plant experiment was delivered in April and still remains on board the ISS.

Commander Steve Swanson of the United States worked on the Resist Tubule botany experiment in the Destiny laboratory module, which aims to document a plant's response to microgravity and examines any changes to its cellular components due to gravity resistance. He also checked on the VEGGIE experiment that is currently harvesting salad-type crops to later be examined by scientists on Earth.

The cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev worked on repairing and upgrading computers and performed maintenance on the Russian thermal control and life support systems. They also worked on the Radi-N2 study, a very essential aspect of the ISS. The Radi-N2 observes the station's neutron environment and defines the risk to a crew member's health in order to provide the data necessary to develop advanced protective measures for future space flight, according to the experiment overview.

The current ISS crew members await the arrival of NASA's Reid Wiseman, Roscosmos' Max Suraev, and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, on May 28. Their arrival will restore the full crew and officially put the tenure of Expedition 40 underway.