Expedition 53

Expedition 53 (September – December 2017) was the 53rd expedition to the International Space Station, which began upon the departure of Soyuz MS-04 on September 2, 2017, and concluded upon the departure of Soyuz MS-05 on December 14, 2017. Randolph Bresnik, Paolo Nespoli and Sergey Ryazansky were transferred from Expedition 52, with Randolph Bresnik taking the commander role. Transfer of Command from Expedition 53 to Expedition 54 was done on December 13, 2017. Expedition 53 officially ended on December 14, 2017 5:14 UTC, with the undocking of Soyuz MS-05.^[2]

Crew

In March 2017, after agreements with RSA, NASA announced that Joseph Acaba will be assigned to Expedition 53 and 54 crews, which previously included only Mark Vande Hei and Alexander Misurkin. Shannon Walker trained as a backup for Acaba.^[4]

Mission overview

Expedition 52/53 launch and docking

Soyuz MS-05 launched on July 28, 2017, transporting Randy Bresnik, Sergey Ryazansky and Paolo Nespoli, who would make up the Expedition 52/53 crew.^[5] MS-05 docked with the Rassvet module six hours later.^[6]

September 2017 - Research Mission Started

Expedition 53/54 launch and docking

Soyuz MS-06 launched on September 13, transporting Alexander Misurkin, Mark T. Vande Hei and Joe Acaba.^[7] MS-06 docked with the (Poisk (MRM-2) module six hours later.

Dragon Brought Back ISS Experiments

On September 17, the SpaceX CRS-12 Dragon cargo spacecraft was released by Bresnick and Nespoli using the Canadarm2, clearing the Harmony module's docking port.^[8] It touched down in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Long Beach, California.^[9] It landed with the Lung Tissue Experiment,^[9] which grew lung tissue using stem cells in microgravity,^[10] the CASIS PCG7 study,^[9] which grew larger versions of the protein LRRK2 to help study Parkinson's disease,^[11] and mice from the Rodent Research-9 study,^[9] that looked at cartilage loss in hip and knee joints.^[12]

September research

Nespli and Ryazanskiy were the subjects of a bone marrow experiment^[13] that looked at the negative effects of microgravity on bone marrow and blood cells produced in bone marrow.^[14] Bresnik was the subject of a study on physiological changes due to microgravity,^[13] he is one of 33 astronauts that had signed on to participate in NASA's Biological Specimen Repository.^[15] Vande Hei worked on a camera for the Meteor experiment,^[16] which took high-resolution video and images of the Earth's atmosphere for space-based observations of meteor chemical composition.^[17] Acaba installed a Fast Neutron Spectrometer^[16] that had a better suited technique for measurements in mixed radiation fields.^[18] Ryazanskiy, Nespoli and Bresnik took measurements of themselves for Sarcolab-3,^[16] to investigate the deterioration of the calf muscle where it joins the Achilles tendon.^[19] Bresnik and Nespoli also tested out a Miniature Exercise Device-2 (MED-2)^[20] that used small robotic actuators to provide motion and resistance for crew workouts in a smaller package than previous exercise devices.^[21] Acaba setup hardware for the Veggie-3 experiment^[22] that grew Extra Dwarf Pak Choi, Amara Mustard and Red Romaine Lettuce to set the ground work to feed future long-duration missions to space.^[23] Ryazanskiy and Acaba installed radiation sensors on the U.S. portion of ISS^[24] to characterize the radiation environment aboard the station.^[25]

October 2017 - Three EVAs and a Progress

EVA 1 - Robotic Arm work

On October 5, Bresnik and Vande Hei completed a 6 hour and 55 minute spacewalk.^[26] They replaced of the two Latching End Effectors (LEE) on Canadarm2.^[26] They also were able to get ahead by removing insulation from a DC switching unit and preparing a flex hose rotary couple.^[26] This was Vande Hei's first spacewalk and Bresnik's third of their careers.^[26]

EVA 2 - Lubrication and camera fix

For their second spacewalk in less than a week, Bresnik and Vande Hei completed a 6 hour and 26 minute spacewalk on October 10.^[27] They lubricated the LEE they installed on October 5, replaced a faulty camera system, replaced a smudged lens cover and removed two handrails outside the Tranquility module.^[27] This would be Vande Hei's second space walk and final one of this mission.^[27]

Progress MS-07 resupply

After a scrubbed launch attempt on October 12,^[28] the Progress MS-07 resupply ship launched from Baiknour Cosmodrome on October 14^[29] and docked with the station on October 16 about 252 miles over eastern China.^[30] The Progress had three tons of food, fuel and supplies for the station.^[31]

EVA 3 - Canadarm2 camera install

On October 20, Bresnik and Acaba exited the station for their 3rd spacewalk of the mission.^[32] They installed a new camera system on the end of Canadarm2's LEE, an HD camera on the starboard truss of the ISS and replaced a fuse on the Dextre robotic arm.^[32] Bresnik also installed a new radiator grapple bar, prepped one of two spare pumps and started work on the second.^[32] This was Bresnik's 5th career spacewalk, bringing his total EVA hours to 32, and Acaba's third spacewalk, bringing his total hours to 19.^[32]

November 2017 - Science and Cygnus

Science ambassadors, space culture and research

In addition to their duties as researchers and maintenance technicians, astronauts Vande Hei and Acaba shared their science and technology studies with students from Shaker Heights High School in Cleveland, Ohio.^[33] The crew also documented life aboard the station for the CSA's study called "At Home in Space",^[33] testing a hypothesis that despite their different backgrounds, due to the isolation and confined environment of the ISS, astronauts share a common space culture.^[34] Vande Hei also setup gear to analyze the air in the space station for dust^[35] to highlight any health impacts and maintain crewmember well being.^[36] Nespli participated in a Fine Motor Skills study^[35] and how those motor skills are affected by a microgravity environment.^[37] To monitor microgravity vision impairment,^[38] Misurkin, Ryazanskiy, Nespoli and Vande Hei examined each other's eyes.^[39]

Cygnus CRS OA-8E "S.S. Gene Cernan" resupply

After a scrubbed launch attempt on November 11,^[40] the Cygnus resupply ship, named after Gene Cernan, launched atop an Orbital ATK Antares rocket on November 12^[41] from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.^[42] The spacecraft docked with the ISS on November 14 with 7,400 pounds of research and supplies.^[43] The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (or BEAM) was outfitted in late November for future stowage operations by removing excess gear including inflations tanks and sensors.^[44] The old gear from BEAM and trash was placed into the Cygnus resupply ship for disposal.^[44] The spacecraft was detached from the station on December 5 by Vande Hei, Acaba and ground controllers.^[45]

December 2017 - Station handover to Expedition 54

On December 13, with an official change of command ceremony, Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik handed the station over to Expedition 54 Commander Alexander Misurkin.^[46] They undocked from the station on December 14, ending Expedition 53 and starting Expedition 54.^[47] They touched down later that day southeast of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.^[48] At the end of the mission, Bresnik had logged 150 days in space over two missions, Ryazanskiy had 306 days over two missions and Nespoli logged 313 days over three missions.^[48]

Spacewalks

Uncrewed spaceflights to the ISS

Resupply missions that visited the International Space Station during Expedition 53:

References

1. ^ Garcia, Mark. "Crew Makes It To Space, Next Stop Station". NASA. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
2. ^ Garcia, Mark. "Expedition 53 Leaves Station, Begins Ride Home". NASA. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
3. ^ "Upcoming ISS Expeditions". spacefacts. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
4. ^ "NASA Announces Upcoming International Space Station Crew Assignments". NASA, press release 17-017. March 28, 2017.
5. ^ "New Crew Blasts Off to Station | Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
6. ^ "New Crew Docks to Station | Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
7. ^ "Crew Makes It To Space, Next Stop Station | Space Station". blogs.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
8. ^ Garcia, Mark (17 September 2017). "Dragon Released Carrying Science and Gear Back to Earth". blogs.nasa.gov
9. ^ Garcia, Mark (17 September 2017). "Dragon Splashes Down in Pacific With NASA Science Experiments". blogs.nasa.gov
10. ^ Nichols, Joan. "The Effect of Microgravity on Stem Cell Mediated Recellularization". nasa.gov
11. ^ Baptista, Marco. "Crystallization of LRRK2 Under Microgravity Conditions". nasa.gov
12. ^ Tavares, Frank (14 August 2017). "Rodents Help NASA Take the Next Step to Mars". nasa.gov
13. ^ Garcia, Mark (18 September 2017). "Three Spacewalks Scheduled, Crew Researches Life Science". blogs.nasa.gov
14. ^ Trudel, Guy. "The MARROW study (Bone Marrow Adipose Reaction: Red Or White?)". nasa.gov
15. ^ McMonigal, Kathleen. "National Aeronautics and Space Administration Biological Specimen Repository". nasa.gov
16. ^ Garcia, Mark (19 September 2017). "Astronomy Gear Work and Muscle Scans on Tuesday's Schedule". blogs.nasa.gov
17. ^ Fortenberry, Michael. "Meteor Composition Determination". nasa.gov
18. ^ Christl, Mark. "Fast Neutron Spectrometer". nasa.gov
19. ^ Cerretelli, P. "Myotendinous and Neuromuscular Adaptation to Long-term Spaceflight". nasa.gov
20. ^ Garcia, Mark (25 September 2017). "Astronauts Research Adapting to Space and Plan for Spacewalks". blogs.nasa.gov
21. ^ Moore, Cherice. "Miniature Exercise Device". nasa.gov
22. ^ Garcia, Mark (26 September 2017). "Station Readied for Crops, Crew Runs Biomedical Studies". blogs.nasa.gov
23. ^ Massa, Gioia. "Veg-03 I/J/K/L". nasa.gov
24. ^ Garcia, Mark (27 September 2017). "Crew Looks for Neutron Radiation While Prepping for Spacewalks". blogs.nasa.gov
25. ^ Tomi, Leena Maija. "Radi-N2 Neutron Field Study". nasa.gov
26. ^ Garcia, Mark (2017-10-05). "Spacewalkers Wrap Up Robotic Arm Work". NASA.gov. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
27. ^ Garcia, Mark (10 October 2017). "Astronauts Back Inside Station After Second Spacewalk". blogs.nasa.gov
28. ^ Garcia, Mark (12 October 2017). "Launch of Russian Cargo Mission Scrubbed". blogs.nasa.gov
29. ^ Garcia, Mark (14 October 2017). "Cargo Mission Launches Carrying Food, Fuel and Supplies to Station". blogs.nasa.gov
30. ^ Garcia, Mark (16 October 2017). "Russian Spacecraft Delivers Station Supplies". blogs.nasa.gov
31. ^ Garcia, Mark (11 October 2017). "Spacewalk Review Ahead of Thursday's Cargo Delivery". blogs.nasa.gov
32. ^ Whiting, Melanie (20 October 2017). "Expedition 53 Spacewalk Successfully Comes to an End". blogs.nasa.gov
33. ^ Williams, Catherine (1 November 2017). "Station Crew Continues Prep for Eighth Orbital ATK Launch". blogs.nasa.gov
34. ^ Johnson, Phyllis. "Culture, Values, and Environmental Adaptation in Space". nasa.gov
35. ^ Garcia, Mark (8 November 2017). "Cygnus Training, Respiratory Health and Performance Studies Today". blogs.nasa.gov
36. ^ Karlsson, Lars. "AIRWAY MONITORING". nasa.gov
37. ^ Holden, Kritina. "Effects of Long-Duration Microgravity on Fine Motor Skills: 1 year ISS Investigation". nasa.gov
38. ^ Otto, Christian. "Prospective Observational Study of Ocular Health in ISS Crews". nasa.gov
39. ^ Garcia, Mark (21 November 2017). "BEAM Work and Vision Checks for Crew Today". blogs.nasa.gov
40. ^ Garcia, Mark (11 November 2017). "Cygnus Launch Scrubbed and Rescheduled for Sunday". blogs.nasa.gov
41. ^ Garcia, Mark (12 November 2017). "Lift Off of the Antares Rocket with Cygnus". blogs.nasa.gov
42. ^ Garcia, Mark (9 November 2017). "Crew Tests New Workouts and Lights as Rocket Preps for Launch". blogs.nasa.gov
43. ^ Garcia, Mark (14 November 2017). "Cygnus Installed on Station With New Science Experiments". blogs.nasa.gov
44. ^ Garcia, Mark (20 November 2017). "BEAM Prepped for Cargo, CubeSats Deployed and Leg Muscles Scanned". blogs.nasa.gov
45. ^ Garcia, Mark (6 December 2017). "Astronauts Command Robotic Arm to Release Cygnus Cargo Craft". blogs.nasa.gov
46. ^ Garcia, Mark (13 December 2017). "Crew Set to Say Goodbye and Close Soyuz Spacecraft Hatch". blogs.nasa.gov
47. ^ Garcia, Mark (14 December 2017). "Expedition 53 Leaves Station, Begins Ride Home". blogs.nasa.gov
48. ^ Garcia, Mark (14 December 2017). "Touchdown! Veteran Space Travelers Back on Earth". blogs.nasa.gov
49. ^ Harding, Pete (2017-10-05). "Spacewalkers conduct LEE replacement task on station's robotic arm". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
50. ^ Cygnus OA-8 Cargo Craft Departs ISS after Three-Week Stay for CubeSat Deployment & Re-Entry