Expedition 74 studies sound and conducts Earth observations aboard ISS

Expedition 74 crew members aboard the International Space Station carried out sound and hearing studies and conducted Earth observations on Wednesday. NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams worked in the Columbus laboratory exploring how sound and shockwaves travel through small, solid particles, or granular materials.

Sensors measured the speed of sound and how waves weaken and change shape as they move through loose collections of tiny beads; results may show how lunar or Martial soils behave as construction materials or during resource extraction and could lead to a better understanding of soil mechanics on Earth to help prevent landslides and sinkholes.

Williams and cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev also took a regularly scheduled hearing test using a quiet area such as the Quest airlock, a headset and a laptop to check the eardrum and inner ear in microgravity. Williams spent the second half of his shift organizing cargo inside a SpaceX Dragon due to return to Earth this spring.

Dragon will bring back completed experiments for analysis, including material samples exposed to the external space environment, liquid crystal films developed in microgravity, and stem cells programmed to become brain and cardiac cells. While docked to the Harmony module’s forward port, Dragon will fire its engines one more time to boost the station’s orbit at the end of the week.

Key Topics

Science, International Space Station, Spacex Dragon, Columbus Module, Granular Materials, Hearing Test