[sarex] Science, Maintenance Continue;

[Arthur Rowe]

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468

*Science, Maintenance Continue; Final Preps for Expedition 16*
20 SEPTEMBER 2007

  Image above: European Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 14 flight 
engineer Thomas Reiter works with the SWAB experiment. Credit: NASA

Flight Engineer Clay Anderson this week has been evaluating samples of 
microorganisms on the International Space Station. The samples are part 
of a year-long experiment called Surface, Water and Air 
Bio-characterization, or SWAB. The SWAB experiment, which ends this 
month, seeks to describe the types of microorganisms that live on the 
station and determine which are beneficial, neutral or harmful.

+ Read more about the SWAB experiment 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/swab.html> 


In other station activities, Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin 
and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov are performing routine maintenance on 
their Russian, or Orlan, spacesuits. Anderson is also sampling fluids 
from the newly installed Internal Thermal Control System.

Expedition 16 crew members will be flying to Baikonur, Kazakhstan next 
week to begin final preparations for their mission to the International 
Space Station. On Oct. 10 they will launch aboard a Soyuz TMA-11 
spacecraft and dock to the station two days later.

+ View crew daily timelines 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/timelines/index.html>
+ Read more about Expedition 15 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition15/index.html>
+ Read more about Expedition 16 
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition16/index.html>