Space to Ground: The Scientist: Aug. 23, 2024

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

What is said in the film

Welcome to Space to Ground, I'm Kayla LaFrance. While one crew prepares for their mission to space, the current crew on board the Space Station received fresh supplies and continued science investigations that will help build a future on the Moon and Mars. After its successful launch last week, the unpiloted Progress 89 spacecraft rendezvoused with the orbiting laboratory on Saturday. Progress 89 then robotically docked to the Aft Port of the Zvezda Service Module. The Roscosmos spacecraft delivered about 3 tons of fuel food and supplies for the Expedition 71 crew aboard the International Space Station.

Progress 89 will remain docked to the service module for approximately 6 months when it will depart full of trash for a fiery but safe re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. This week, NASA astronaut Matt Dominick was hard at work continuing the Concrete Hardening investigation. Initiated in 2022 the Material Science on the Solidification of Concrete investigation examines how the lack of gravity affects the hardening process and resulting properties of concrete. In this study, different mixtures of Cement, Water, Sand, Simulated Lunar Regolith, and other additives are mixed and left to harden in microgravity. The resulting product is compared to ground samples to determine the material strength, bubble and pore distribution, and crystal structures.

The study helps to understand how concrete behaves when formed in space to help in the development of materials for the construction of habitats in lunar or planetary exploration. Results from the initial run helped researchers verify that the device used to produce concrete in microgravity met the requirements for ease of use, safety in space, and could produce samples suitable for determining their physical and mechanical properties. Final preparations are underway for the next crewed launch of the Roscosmos Soyuz spacecraft which will ferry NASA astronaut Don Pettit to space for his fourth voyage into low Earth orbit. When chemical engineer turned astronaut, Don Pettit, age 69, blasts off for the International Space Station next month, he will become the second oldest NASA astronaut in space, after the legendary John Glenn, who spent nine days aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery at the age of 77 in 1998. Pettit will join the Expedition 72 crew on the orbiting laboratory to add on to his 370 days accumulated time in orbit.

His previous missions included Expedition 6 in 2003, a short duration space shuttle mission aboard the Endeavor for STS 126 in 2008, and Expedition 30/31 in 2012. Pettit may be best known for his mind-blowing orbital astrophotography, but he also received the first ever patent for an object invented in space when he designed a Zero-G Coffee Cup. If you want to hear more about Pettit's upcoming flight and amazing NASA career we invite you to listen to the latest episode of "Houston, We Have a Podcast". You can find this conversation by going to nasa. gov/podcasts.

"Houston, We Have a Podcast" along with the full library of NASA podcasts are also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. And that's Space to Ground for this week. Thanks for watching.

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