Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Mikhail Kornienko and Tracy Caldwell Dyson participated in an emergency Soyuz descent drill Thursday to prepare for the unlikely event that they would need to evacuate the station during Monday’s relocation of the Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft from the aft end of Zvezda to the Rassvet module.The Soyuz TMA-19 arrived at the station June 17 carrying Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock, Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin, and its move will clear the way for the arrival of the ISS Progress 38 cargo craft on July 2.
To help familiarize themselves with their new home aboard the orbital outpost, Wheelock, Walker and Yurchikhin continued their orientation activities.
Throughout the day Wheelock had time set aside to participate in a few biomedical experiments, including the Scaling Body-Related Actions in the Absence of Gravity (Passages) experiment. Passages tests how astronauts interpret visual information in the microgravity environment aboard the station using a variety of visual exercises.
He also worked with the Bodies in the Space Environment (BISE) Experiment, which evaluates how perception and orientation are affected by long-duration spaceflight. The session was photographed by Caldwell Dyson.
