3 Apr 2025

3D printing, space navigation, and human research filled the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 72 crew members are helping researchers plan missions farther away from Earth with less support from mission controllers.

Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) kicked off their day supporting operations for the Metal 3D Printer investigation to learn how to print spare parts in space. Pettit opened the 3D printer’s sealed box and removed a printed specimen for analysis. Onishi assisted Pettit with the sample removal tasks before the duo returned the space manufacturing hardware back into the Columbus laboratory module’s European Drawer Rack-2.

Onishi later tested new space navigation technology that could provide a more accurate alternative to satellite systems for lunar navigation. Pettit spent the rest of his day repressurizing the station’s air and servicing orbital plumbing gear.

NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain continued her exercise research to understand how the heart and lungs respond to strenuous activity in microgravity. She pedaled on an exercise cycle while wearing breathing gear and electrodes measuring her aerobic capacity, or the bodies’ ability to deliver and use oxygen while working out. The data collected from the experiment will help scientists understand the energy needs required by astronauts for intense physical activities such as spacewalks.

NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers spent her day on lab maintenance ensuring the upkeep of the orbital outpost. She began her day inspecting and cleaning avionics hardware in the Destiny laboratory module that cools space station racks. Pettit and McClain assisted with the life support work installing airflow sensors on a carbon dioxide removal system in Destiny. Ayers later brushed up on her robotics proficiency skills practicing Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers on a computer.

Station Commander Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos continued collecting cargo for packing inside the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship that he, Pettit, and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner will ride in when they return to Earth on April 19. Vagner joined Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov and set up hardware to image a variety of landmarks on Earth in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths for analysis. Vagner later worked on cargo transfers inside the Progress 90P cargo craft. Peskov wrapped up his shift with more Earth observations imaging the nighttime atmosphere in ultraviolet wavelengths.

[Image]

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers opens the hatch to the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock aboard the International Space Station.