NASA Astronaut and Commander on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the @Space_Station.
International Space Station
Joined March 2022
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One of my favorite places to work on @Space_Station is the Life Sciences Glovebox, where we get to be the hands and eyes of scientists on the ground. Here, I’m helping with an experiment called InSPA-Auxilium Bioprinter-Cell Printing, which leverages the microgravity environment of ISS to 3D print cells and manufacture human liver, kidney, and cartilage tissue. Just one of many examples of how we’re using this amazing orbital national laboratory to reshape our understanding of biology, medicine, and engineering, and improve life on Earth!
A little luck and a lot of Grace go a long way (in this case, 250 miles up)!
Each crew’s zero-g indicator is unique. Ours, named Lucky, represents the golden dragon at the center of our Crew-13 patch, which honors the brave and resilient legacy of Apollo 13 on which we stand.
Thinking of Crew-12 today, whose indicator is beginning to drop right about now as they re-enter Earth’s gravity!
Last week we said goodbye to our Exp 67 crewmates and friends @olegmks, @denis_mks, and @sergkorsakov, but as they say, when one hatch closes another one opens. Getting to welcome our 🐢 classmate Frank Rubio to @Space_Station with his gold astronaut pin was a joy and an honor.
We put the human in human spaceflight this week as test subjects for @esa’s GRASP and GRIP experiments. These human research studies are exploring the role of gravity in hand-eye coordination and motor control, helping us prepare for future missions further into the system.
Review of the @Space_Station gym: Weird equipment- the bike has no seat, the treadmill is on the wall, and there are no weights…but the atmosphere is out of this world. 5 stars.
We Are Going. Launch window for @nasa’s Artemis l test flight to the Moon opens today at 8:33am EDT. Hoping to catch a glimpse from the @Space_Station, where for over two decades we’ve been laying the foundation to enable these next giant leaps. Go Artemis!
📸: @johnkrausphotos
ALT ISS Expedition 67 lunar transit as seen from southeastern Florida on May 12, 2022
Big thanks to yesterday’s geomagnetic storm for the front row tickets to the light show, and to @Astro_FarmerBob for capturing it! Watching the aurora dance around us in the Cupola was spectacular indeed.
Reason number 5280 why I’m grateful to call Boulder, CO home: the Flatirons make it easy to spot from the @Space_Station! A gorgeous view from every elevation.
On the @MarsCuriosity rover team, scientists and engineers across the world work hand-in-hand to take giant leaps, find creative solutions, and accomplish the impossible daily, and we strive to do just that here on the @Space_Station. Happy 10th landing anniversary, Curiosity!
Just another day in the life on @Space_Station, doing microscopy on the ceiling. Our Lab module is jam-packed with science, but access to 3 dimensions opens up a lot more space! Here, I'm checking out how immune cells age in microgravity in support of the Immunosenescence study.
While a lot of new science keeps us busy inside @Space_Station, important science is being conducted outside the station as well. @NASAJPL payload EMIT hitched a ride on @csa_asc Canadarm2 to its new home where it will study dust composition and its effects on Earth’s climate.
Feels like Christmas in July up here!
“I spy with my little eye…a 🐉!” Yesterday @astro_watkins and I helped bring aboard @SpaceX CRS-25 to the @Space_Station! Can you see it photo-bombing the first pic? Today we unloaded nearly 5800 lbs of science and supplies!
Suddenly 250 miles up doesn’t seem so far when galaxies in @NASAWebb's incredible first images are 290 million light-years away! #UnfoldTheUniverse
Space is lovely, dark and deep. You're looking at the deepest infrared image of the universe ever taken—the first full-color image from @NASAWebb.
Go deeper on the galaxies of SMACS 0723 at nasa.gov/webbfirstimages #UnfoldTheUniverse
ALT The background of space is black. Thousands of galaxies appear all across the view. Their shapes and colors vary. Some are various shades of orange, others are white. Most stars appear blue, and are sometimes as large as more distant galaxies that appear next to them. A very bright star is just above and left of center. It has eight bright blue, long diffraction spikes. Between 4 o’clock and 6 o’clock in its spikes are several very bright galaxies. A group of three are in the middle, and two are closer to 4 o’clock. These galaxies are part of the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, and they are warping the appearances of galaxies seen around them. Long orange arcs appear at left and right toward the center.
Last week I had the honor of harvesting the plants we've been growing as part of the XROOTS experiment, which uses hydroponic and aeroponic techniques to grow crops without soil. Just one of the many ways we use the @Space_Station as a testbed for future exploration!
Let Freedom ring.
Photo credit: @johnkrausphotos, capturing our #Crew4 @SpaceX Dragon capsule, Freedom, on launch day
Had a great time watching the @Hou_Sabercats leave it all on the pitch in the @usmlr Western Conference Final rugby match last weekend. Not a bad view from WAY up in the nosebleeds!
One of my favorite parts about being in orbit is getting to observe geologic features on Earth from a planetary perspective. A great example is the Grand Canyon –
truly grand both from afar and up close, but Valles Marineris on Mars is 4x as long, 4.5x as deep, and 20x as wide!
ALT Grand Canyon from the International Space Station (Credit: NASA/Astronaut Jessica Watkins)
ALT Turtle field geology training with NASA Astromaterials in the Grand Canyon (Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel)
ALT Valles Marineris, Mars (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Happy Juneteenth! To celebrate, check out @NASA's new documentary "The Color of Space", showcasing the stories of Black astronauts.
go.nasa.gov/3zLkd5j
Setting out to capture photos of Los Angeles, my former home, this weekend, it was hard to miss the smoke filling the valley near Wrightwood, CA. Our thoughts and prayers are with all who are affected by the #SheepFire.
