Space to Ground: A Grip on the Future: Feb. 17, 2023

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 am nilufar ramji. For over 6 decades, humans have been flying beyond earth’s atmosphere and exploring space. During this time in orbit, we have expanded our knowledge of the world, and ourselves. This week aboard the international space station, we continue to seek advancements as we aim toward a return to the moon.

The microgravity environment that the orbiting laboratory provides allows for a unique approach in studying dexterous manipulation. The grip experiment studies a series of maneuvers performed at different stages of astronauts’ missions to track the changes over the course of time while living in microgravity. Astronauts often perform activities involving careful use of small objects. It’s important for us to understand how living in microgravity impacts their grasp and fine motor controls, something the grip experiment aims to learn. What we learn could contribute to the design and control of intelligent haptic interfaces used in challenging environments such as deep space, planets and moons, or asteroids.

It could also aid engineers in designing prosthetic limbs back on earth. Grip may also be used to identify potential hazards for astronauts as they move between gravitational environments. The study aims to increase our understanding of how the human nervous system controls both movement on earth and in space. More science continues with the bio fabrication facility, or bff, a 3d bio printer being tested to print the tiny, complex structures found inside human organs. 3d bioprinting technology has advanced considerably over the years but scientists are still challenged when fabricating the complex network of tiny void spaces inside organs such as capillary structures.

The microgravity environment removes the need for scaffolding structures to support complex tissue shapes. Bff is an early step of a larger plan to manufactor whole human organs in space. Astronauts recently installed the bff and are preparing it for experiments seeking to print a knee meniscus and cardiac tissue samples in the coming months. Did you know that the international space station is visible from earth? You can spot the station and here’s why.

Just like we can see the moon from earth, the international space station is visible because it reflects the light of the sun. But unlike the moon, the space station is not bright enough to see during the day, it can only be seen in the dawn, dusk or night skies. The space station is visible to the naked eye and looks like a fastmoving plane only much higher and travelling thousands of miles faster. Don’t forget to watch the space station pass overhead. It is the third brightest object in the sky and easy to spot if you know where to look.

Visit spotthestation. nasa. gov to find out when its passing over you. That’s space to ground for this week. Thanks so much for watching.

We'll see you next week.

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