By Arun Kumar,
Washington, March 24 (IANS) Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams is working with experiments on key aspects of long-duration space flights as US looks forward to missions to the moon, mars or other destinations.
Up at the International Space Station (ISS), flight engineer Williams and her commander Michael Lopez-Alegria served as test subject and operator for an experiment that examines how cosmic radiation affects brain waves, US space agency NASA said.
As test subjects, they wore an electroencephalograph cap that records readings of their brain functions, and over that a special helmet with Italian-designed instruments that records the amount and types of cosmic rays passing through the station.
Since cosmic radiation is even more prevalent at greater distances from earth, the research could lead to countermeasures important to the safety and productivity of future explorers.
Williams and Lopez-Alegria also worked with an experiment tracking how their bodies process nutrients in space and how food supplies are affected by storage in that environment.
Additionally, Lopez-Alegria provided the final samples associated with an experiment, which is looking at the space effectiveness of a drug used on earth to prevent kidney stones.
Meanwhile, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin worked with three Russian experiments that monitor cosmic rays and background radiation as they relate to long-duration flights and documented the condition of the earth below from the unique vantage point of the station.
All the three astronauts worked on an upgrade to the laptop computer network. The new, integrated station computer network will be 10 times faster than the current network, using Ethernet connectivity over a router and either cables or wireless equipment.
This will eliminate drag-through cables from the US segment into the Russian segment. The work was accelerated because of the next shuttle's launch delay.
They also continued preparations for the undocking and discarding of the ISS Progress 23 cargo ship, which will be full of trash when it departs March 27.
Russian flight controllers sent commands Friday that piped the last of the Progress 23 oxygen supplies into the station, and vented the Progress' propellant and oxidizer lines overboard to ensure a safe departure.