With Earth’s limb in the background, the Poisk module and a docked Progress cargo craft are seen from the International Space Station’s newly installed cupola. On Friday, Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Soichi Noguchi collaborated on the PanOptic experiment. The visual experiment uses an ophthalmoscope to capture detailed images and video of the eye for study by experts back on Earth.
Flight Engineer T.J. Creamer was busy conducting plant experiments. The APEX-Cambium, or Advanced Plant Experiment-CAMBIUM, is an experiment that seeks an understanding of physiological processes that are affected in plant systems during spaceflight. Another experiment, Tropism in Plants, studies the growth patterns of plants in microgravity.
Flight Engineers Maxim Suraev and Oleg Kotov were busy in the Russian segment of the International Space Station. In addition to Soyuz and Poisk activities, they also are holding conferences with students and family on the ground.
Suraev and Kotov took photographs of the docked Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft for an inspection of its blister window, which provides a visual aid during docking. They also upgraded software in the new Poisk module. Poisk doubles as a spacewalk airlock and a docking port.
Over the weekend, Suraev and Kotov are conducting a ham radio session with students at the Siberian State Telecommunications and Informatics Institute. The pair also will conduct a weekly private conference with their families.
