(Image: NASA) The Expedition 75 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) continued preparations Thursday for a spacewalk scheduled for August 18, while also conducting experiments involving virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot are preparing for a spacewalk to replace a failed ISS antenna.(Image: NASA) The Expedition 75 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) continued preparations Thursday for a spacewalk scheduled for August 18, while also conducting experiments involving virtual reality and artificial intelligence. Nasa astronauts Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency are scheduled to venture outside the station next Tuesday to replace a failed high-speed space-to-ground antenna. The spacewalk is expected to last about six-and-a-half hours.Astronauts prepare for antenna replacement Menon and Adenot will begin the spacewalk after switching their spacesuits to battery power at 8.35 am EDT (6.05 pm IST). The astronauts will exit through the Quest airlock and travel to the Z1 truss segment above the Unity module, where the antenna is installed. The astronauts will first remove the existing antenna and place it on an external stowage platform. They will then retrieve a spare antenna from the platform and install it on the Z1 truss before securing the old equipment. NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir will support the spacewalk from inside the station. They will help Menon and Adenot put on and remove their spacesuits and operate the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Menon will be positioned on the robotic arm’s latching end effector during part of the operation, while Adenot will remain tethered to the station’s truss and assist with the antenna replacement. Spacesuits and emergency procedures checked Spacewalk preparations have been underway throughout the week. On Thursday, Menon and Hathaway checked the functionality of Menon’s spacesuit, including refilling its tanks and liquid-cooling ventilation garment with water.Story continues below this ad Meir and Adenot also reviewed the specialised tools needed to make the electrical and data connections between the replacement antenna and the Z1 truss. The crew held discussions with mission controllers and robotics specialists to review safety procedures, technical instructions and Canadarm2 manoeuvres ahead of the spacewalk. On Wednesday, the crew also conducted emergency response training. All seven Expedition 75 astronauts and cosmonauts reviewed their roles in the event of a pressure leak, chemical leak, or fire. The crew used tablets to review emergency procedures and coordinated with mission controllers on Earth to simulate the actions required to protect themselves and the station.Story continues below this ad Crew conducts VR and AI experiments While the Nasa and ESA astronauts focused on the spacewalk, the station’s Roscosmos crew continued scientific experiments using advanced technology. Flight engineers Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina took turns wearing virtual reality headsets and responding to computer-generated visual stimuli. The experiment is designed to study how the human sense of balance and direction adapts to microgravity. The cosmonauts also carried out other station maintenance and observation activities. Dubrov conducted an automated Earth photography session, while Kikina and Andrey Fedyaev continued work involving artificial intelligence tools intended to improve crew efficiency during future space missions. The crew also carried out photographic inspections of the windows in the Zvezda service module, Nauka science module, and Poisk mini-research module.Story continues below this ad With the August 18 spacewalk approaching, the Expedition 75 crew is expected to continue reviewing procedures, checking equipment and coordinating with ground teams to ensure the antenna replacement can be carried out safely.
Two helicopter pilots who crashed while they were fighting a wildfire in Utah are dead, officials confirmed Saturday.The pilots were killed when their Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter went down Friday morning, according to the Sevier County Sheriff.The helicopter was among those fighting a fire in the Fishlake National Forest. The crash ignited a new fire that spread to connect with the existing blaze, which has now scorched nearly 174 square miles (nearly 451 square kilometers).Officials did not identify the pilots but said they were employed by Helicopter Transport Services, which was contracted by the US Forest Service.Initially officials said they were unable to reach the crash site because of the fire. Then, on Saturday, crews were able to enter the area and confirmed the deaths, according to the Sevier County sheriff and coroner.The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate once its team can examine the wreckage. It will likely take the NTSB a year or more to determine the cause.Numerous fires also were burning in other parts of the West, including one that closed part of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.The National Park Service shut down access to the Sunrise and White River areas of the park after a new wildfire burned less than a third of a square mile (less than a square kilometer). Firefighters were working to gain control of it.Larger fires near Spokane, Washington, have now burned more than 15.63 square miles (over 40 square kilometers), but firefighters constructed more than 75 miles (over 120 kilometers) of containment line to help control those flames.Meanwhile in Oregon, hot and dry conditions helped an uncontrolled fire spread beyond 30 square miles (77.7 square kilometers).Firefighters were still trying to identify the best places to set up containment lines around the Wrights Spring fire as they mourned the death of 47-year-old Jason Ensign, who was killed while operating a bulldozer for a timber company. The blaze grew rapidly Thursday and cut off Ensign's escape route.And north of the border in British Columbia, more than 20,000 people had to evacuate ahead of another fast-moving wildfire.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) How may i help you today
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