Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Space Blog

Astronaut Leroy Chiao's Space Blog

Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov picked up the pace of scientific, maintenance and familiarization activities aboard the International Space Station this week.

A highlight of the weeks scientific activities was work with an advanced diagnostic method that could be important to medical care of future crewmembers on long spaceflights. It also could improve medical care in remote areas and emergency medical care on Earth.

On Tuesday, Election Day, Chiao talked with reporters from Fox News and Associated Press. The conversations focused on Chiao having become the first person in space to vote in a U.S. presidential election when he cast his ballot by e-mail Oct. 31.

Next Monday Chiao and Sharipov will carry out proficiency training in operating the Space Station robotic arm, Canadarm2. To practice their work with the arm, the crew will maneuver the arm to provide camera views of an area of interest on the U.S. Lab module's exterior debris shielding. The area may be a shadow or possibly a dent in the shielding. The area has been observed in previous imagery taken during a Space Shuttle flight several years ago. On Friday the crew will operate the arm again to position its cameras in a prime viewing location for the relocation of the Soyuz by the crew later this month.

Information on the crew's activities aboard the Space Station, future launch dates, as well as Station sighting opportunities from anywhere on the Earth, is available on the Internet at:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/

Bolivia