Engineered Heart Tissue: The crew performed sample fixations on selected tissue chambers and performed cell culture media exchanges on the remaining tissue chambers. The ground teams are still looking at the data from a recent troubleshooting session in order to attempt to remove noise from the EHT habitat data. A Human iPSC (induced Pluripotent Stem Cell)-based 3D Microphysiological System for Modeling Cardiac Dysfunction in Microgravity (Engineered Heart Tissues) assesses human cardiac function in microgravity. It uses 3D cultured cardiac muscle tissue that mimics the architecture and function of adult human cardiac muscle. A magnet-based sensor placed underneath the tissue culture chamber allows real-time, non-destructive analysis of the functional performance and maturation of the tissues in space, which is compared with those cultured on Earth.

ISS Experience: The ISS Experience camera and other associated hardware was setup up to capture the crew working on the Engineered Heart Tissue experiment. The ISS Experience creates a virtual reality film documenting daily life aboard the ISS. The 8 to 10 minute videos created from footage taken during the six-month investigation cover different aspects of crew life, execution of science aboard the station, and the international partnerships involved. The ISS Experience uses a Z-CAM V1 Pro Cinematic Virtual Reality (VR) 360-degree camera with nine 190° fisheye lenses.

ISS HAM pass: The crew participated in an ISS HAM pass with Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey. As a space and science education center, Space Camp Turkey is primarily focused on motivating young people from around the world to pursue careers in science, math, and technology. Through interactive, space-related simulations, both youth and adults learn about communication, teamwork, and leadership in a dynamic, fun-filled environment. ISS Ham Radio provides opportunities to engage and educate students, teachers, parents and other members of the community in science, technology, engineering and math by providing a means to communicate between astronauts and the ground HAM radio units.

MVP2 (Multi-use Variable-g Platform) Cell-03: The crew removed the Emory Modules from the MVP2, replaced the Nutrient and Waste Tubeset, and reinstalled Emory Modules into the MVP2 facility. MVP2 Cell-03 studies the generation of cardiomyocytes, specialized heart muscle cells, for use in research and clinical applications. Specifically, the team is studying the differentiation of these heart cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), adult cells that have been altered to reinstate characteristics of natural stem cells. Simulated microgravity studies have allowed the team to increase the yield, purity, and survival of cardiomyocytes derived from iPSCs, and true spaceflight conditions are expected to further enhance these effects. Understanding how microgravity improves cardiomyocyte differentiation will enable the team to create clinically relevant heart tissue for use in regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and drug discovery.

TangoLab2: The crew removed/replaced the appropriate cubes on cards 5, 11, 12, 14 in the TangoLab-2 facility. Space Tango’s TangoLab-2 locker is a reconfigurable general research facility designed for microgravity research and development (R&D) and pilot manufacturing aboard the International Space Station (ISS). TangoLab-2 is similar to TangoLab-1 with the primary difference being an upgraded fan system which allows for a greater heat rejection capability.

Systems

SpaceX 20 (SpX-20) Dragon Cargo Operations: The crew continued to perform Dragon cargo operations today off of the task list. Dragon departure is currently planned for April 6, 2020.

ISS Reboost: This afternoon, at 12:14 PM CT, the ISS completed a 543s (8 min 43 sec) reboost using the using the nadir 74P Mid Ring thrusters. This is the first of two reboosts setting up conditions for 62S launch on GMT day 100 (April 9th) and 61S landing on GMT day 108 (April 17th). The ISS velocity was increased by ~0.6 meters per second (m/s) and the height of the ISS orbit was increased by ~1.09 kilometers (km).

Completed Task List Activities:

Nanoracks Particle Flow Operations

Dragon Cargo Operations (ongoing)

Today’s Ground Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Multi-use Variable-g Platform-02 Cell-03 Replace

PRO LSG Facility Activation Commanding

SPDM MISSE Sample Carrier Transfer

ISS Solar Alpha Rotary Joint/Array operations and EPS Power Down/Up

ISS Reboost with SDMS Active

EHT Tissue Chamber Media Change and Fix/Preservation

Russian Segment CKB2 Testing

Lookahead Plan

Friday, 3/20 (GMT 080)

Payloads:

Acoustic Diagnostics

CGBA4 maintenance

Food Acceptability

Food Physiology

ISS Experience

MELFI icebrick insertions

PL NAS vent clean

Radi-N2 deploy

Systems:

EMU Hard Upper Torso ORU R&R

Node 3 MCA R&R

RGN ECLSS Recycle Tank Leak Check

Saturday, 3/21 (GMT 081)

Payloads:

No utilization activities

Systems:

Crew Off-Duty

Sunday, 3/22 (GMT 082)

Payloads:

No utilization activities

Systems:

Crew Off-Duty

Today’s Planned Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.