Maintenance and Research for Station Crew

The Expedition 30 crew members living and working aboard the International Space Station Thursday focused on the maintenance of the systems aboard the orbiting laboratory and worked with a variety of scientific research from around the world.

Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers wrapped up two days of inspections and cleaning of the Cabin Fan Assembly 2 and ventilation ducts in the Columbus module. The work was completed to ensure good air circulation throughout the station. Proper air convection prevents pockets of stagnant air that could harm breathing, clog vents and set off alarms.

Commander Dan Burbank assisted Kuipers with the Cabin Fan Assembly 2 maintenance and cleaned Atmosphere Revitalization System bacteria filters in the U.S. modules.

Flight Engineer Don Pettit worked with the Capillary Flow Experiment Vane Gap 2 Test, which studies how fluids move up surfaces in a weightless environment. Results from this experiment will improve computer models used to design fluid transfer systems and fuel tanks on future spacecraft.

Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin collected air samples in the Russian segment of the station for analysis and transferred cargo from the docked ISS Progress 46 cargo craft. He also worked with the Seiner experiment, which examines the oceans below, documents their characteristics and then correlates that to certain bioproductive areas that impact the fishing industry.

Flight Engineer Anton Shkaplerov performed scheduled maintenance on the Treadmill Vibration Isolation System and transferred fluids from the station to the tanks of the ISS Progress 46 cargo craft.

Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko participated in a Russian medical test called SPRUT-2, which investigates the distribution and behavior of human body fluids in zero gravity. He also replaced lights and light panel fuses in the Russian segment of the station.