(NASA) – The Expedition 18 crew has lit the flame of science, literally, aboard the International Space Station.
Flight Engineer Sandy Magnus became the first person to light flames on the station Saturday, as she began work with the Smoke Point in Co-flow Experiment, or SPICE, which determines the point at which gas-jet flames begin to emit soot in microgravity. Studying a soot-emitting flame will help scientists understand how fires spread in space and aid in the control of soot for future combustion systems.
Image above: Astronaut Sandra Magnus, Expedition 18 flight engineer, works with the Microgravity Science Glovebox in the Columbus laboratory of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Commander Mike Fincke carried on operations with SPICE on Tuesday, testing the hardware and videotaping payload operations.
Meanwhile, Magnus collected samples from surfaces throughout the station and tested them for microbial contamination. For this task, the crew uses LOCAD, the Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System, which detects biological and chemical substances within 15 minutes.
In the Zvezda service module, Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov connected cables for new proximity and rendezvous equipment.
Later, Lonchakov sent down greetings for the 110th anniversary of the St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University, while Fincke answered an amateur radio call from students at South Park Elementary in Pennsylvania.
The crew continues to unload cargo from the ISS Progress 32 spacecraft, which docked to the station Friday. The unpiloted supply vehicle delivered more than 1,910 pounds of propellant, more than 100 pounds of oxygen and air and more than 2,860 pounds of dry cargo.
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