Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko ceremonially handed command of the International Space Station to Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka. The two cosmonauts along with their four station crewmates were inside the Zvezda service module for the crew handover.
Talking to the Neemo crew (Credit: ESA/NASA)
André writes: "The six of us on the Space Station live quite isolated from the world. But we are not the only people in such a situation. Before my mission started I asked if I could be in contact with two other missions. One on the bottom of the sea and one on the South Pole. I had very special conversations with people that are in similar situations or even more isolated."
Read more in André's blog: 'Cut off underwater and near the South Pole'
André works with one of the experiment racks in the Kibo laboratory (Credit: ESA/NASA)
André writes: "Two more days to go before my stay in space will end. I managed to complete three important tasks before I have to leave. I inspected cooling fluid valves for the Columbus laboratory, fixed an American scientific experiment rack and worked on the Japanese Ryutai rack. We do many maintenance tasks in the ISS. Maintenance must be done in a timely fashion to assure that the Space Station is used optimally for our scientific experiments."
Read more in André's blog: 'Checking water valves and another false alarm'
In this video Space Station astronauts André Kuipers, Don Pettit and Joe Acaba talk to US media in a final media interview before the end of the PromISSe mission to the ISS. André and Don are scheduled to land in their Soyuz spacecraft together with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko on 1 July after 6 1/2 months in orbit. Acaba remains on board the ISS until mid-September.
Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Joe Acaba of NASA and André Kuipers of the European Space Agency discussed life and research on board the International Space Station during an educational in-flight event with US students attending an education event in Philadelphia on 26 June.
The session included some great questions such as 'How do you do your laundry?', 'Can you have pets on the space station?', 'Can you take a shower in space?', leading to some interesting and often entertaining answers from the ISS residents.
A view of the Soyuz TMA-03M that is set to return ESA astronaut André Kuipers and his crewmates Don Pettit and Oleg Kononenko to Earth on Sunday morning. Posted on Flickr, André writes in the caption: "I will return in this Soyuz. From 28.000 to 0 km/h. Middle portion has a heat shield. The round section at the top and the section with the solar panels will burn up."
The Soyuz TMA-03M is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 06:48 CEST (04:48 UT) on 1 July. Landing in the Kazakhstan Steppe will follow at around 10:14 CEST (08:14 UT).
More photos from the PromISSe Mission in André's Flickr photostream
Soyuz TMA-03M (Credit: ESA/NASA)
André in Sokol suit (credit: ESA/NASA)
André is set to remain on board the ISS until Sunday 1 July, when he is scheduled to return to Earth with the Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft together with NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko. At the end of the mission he will have spent 193 days in space for the PromISSe mission.
Read more about space records in a previous blog entry: Fifty days in space
André works with the ALTEA SHIELD experiment
We take it for granted that our bodies stay at around 37ºC. Go jogging, spend time in a sauna, forget your coat on a cold day and your body will adapt and regulate its temperature. Blood vessels expand or contract and we sweat to keep heat or let excess warmth evaporate.
On Earth, our bodies rely on convection to cool down: as liquids and gases heat up they become less dense and rise, moving heat away from our skin.
There is no convection in weightlessness so it is surprising that astronauts’ bodies adapt and do not overheat in space.
André exercises on the treadmill (Credit: ESA/NASA)
As temperature control is particularly important during exercise, scientists on Earth are observing André and his colleagues at rest and during exercise.
The experiment is run in conjunction with NASA research on maximum oxygen intake as astronauts on the Station use an exercise bicycle.
Using traditional thermometers in space is time-consuming and impractical. Instead, André has two sensors on his forehead and chest that measure his temperature continuously.
Thermolab sensor for Mars500 (Credit: ZWMB, Charité Berlin)
Hospitals are showing an interest in the Thermolab equipment. Being able to monitor body temperature can provide an early warning to a change in a patient’s condition. As the system is non-invasive, it is more hygienic and easier to use.
André and his two crewmates will land at 10:15 GMT (12:15 CEST) on Sunday 1 July. Watch the landing via ESA and read his blog as he enters the last weeks of his PromISSe mission.
Read the original article on the ESA Portal
In his latest blog entry from on board the International Space Station, André Kuipers writes about taking part in a NASA experiment that measures astronaut’s blood pressure and heart rhythm during long stays in space.
André writes: The ISS repeatedly flew across the “terminator” over the last weeks. The terminator is the border between day and night on Earth. Flying in this orbit is a weird feeling as we see the Sun continuously on the horizon. It came in handy to take pictures of the Venus transit but night-time photography was out of the question unfortunately. I focussed on the golden-yellow reflection of the Sun on Earth instead. This makes beautiful pictures as well. I don’t have much time to take pictures at the moment. It seems like my mission has gone into overdrive.
Read more in André's blog: ICV: measuring blood flow and heart rhythm for 48 hours
André works with the ALTEA SHIELD experiment hardware
He writes: "When I return through Earth's atmosphere in my Soyuz I will have spent 193 days in space. My mission will have been the longest European space flight in history. Everything went well thanks to the thousands of people on ground that continuously keep an eye on us. Safety is number one priority in human space flight. Missions such as mine are inherently risky. In the last few weeks I started an experiment that looks at one of these risks: Altea Shield."
Read more in André's blog: Looking for the best heat shield for ISS
