ALT The astronauts and cosmonauts are not the only busy bees on the orbiting laboratory. The International Space Station is also abuzz with robotic assistants - Astrobees. Cassidy powered up two of three free-flying robots to perform readiness tests for an upcoming competition, the Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC). The Kibo-RPC gives students the chance to try out their own computer code on these autonomous robots. The robots are equipped with cameras and sensors to help with on-orbit operations such as monitoring, sampling, and other routine tasks to free up more critical science time.

ALT Plant researchers for NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences who are based at Kennedy Space Center are investigating capabilities of growing edible produce on the space station. Cassidy cleaned botany research hardware after growing lettuce and mizuna greens inside the Columbus laboratory module. The Veggie PONDS (Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System) facility aims to provide a garden bed for growing vegetables in space, eventually to support future crews on long-term missions, including those to the Moon and Mars.

ALT On Earth, researchers are likely conducting their scientific experiments by standing upright or sitting at a laboratory bench. The brain has the ability to adapt to the microgravity environment, and soon after arriving, an astronaut could be routinely performing science "upside down" on the "ceiling" of the station. The Effect of Long Duration Hypogravity on the Perception of Self-Motion (VECTION) experiment is looking at astronauts' ability to take this new environment on the space station and visually interpret motion, orientation, and distance compared to their experience on Earth.

ALT Expedition 63 commander Chris Cassidy of NASA

ALT Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos