FuturaMissionLogbookSamanthaCristoforetti

Full text of the original Logbook by Samantha Cristoforetti, originallypublishedonGoogle+betweenJuly19,2013andSep10,1015.FollowingtheshutdownofGoogle+,postsarenolongeravailable.Thisebookwascreatedfromtheauthor'sbackupfiles.

License

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike(CCBY-NC-SA)

Cover:SamanthaCristoforettiintheCupolaCredit:NASALogoFutura:CopyrightESA/ASI/V.PapetiPhotosL-389Credit:©MiloSciaky

eBookeditingbyCarloGandolfiMany thanks to: Samantha Cristoforetti, Paolo Amoroso, PaoloAttivissimo,AstronautiNEWS,AssociazioneISAA.

Firstedition-May2019

SamanthaCristoforettiisaEuropeanSpaceAgency(ESA)astronautofItalian nationality. Between November 2014 and June 2015 she spent199daysonboard the InternationalSpaceStationasaFlightEngineerfor Expedition 42 and 43. During ASI's Futura Mission, Samanthaconducted experiments in the Station's laboratories. Samantha is aCaptainintheItalianAirForce.

http://samanthacristoforetti.esa.int/

FuturaMissionLogbookESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti documented in this Logbook thelast500daysofhertrainingforherfirstspacemissionandher200dayson the InternationalSpaceStationascrewmemberofExpedition42/43,also known as Futura Mission. She arrived on ISS on November 24,2014,sixhoursafterbeing launched from theBaikonurcosmodrome inKazakhstan onboard of the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft, together withRussiancosmonautAntonShkaplerovandNASAastronautTerryVirts.

Sourcesandtranslationsavailable

Futuramissionwebsite(Italian):Avamposto42

(TradIT)Traduzioneinitalianoacuradi+AstronautiNEWS:http://www.astronautinews.it/tag/logbookeBookinitaliano:https://www.astronautinews.it/il-dario-di-samantha-cristoforetti-in-e-book/

(TradFR)TraductionenfrançaisparAnneCpamoa:https://spacetux.org/cpamoa/category/traductions/logbook-samantha

(TradES)TradducciónenespañolporCarlosLallanaBorobiohttps://laesteladegagarin.blogspot.com/search/label/SamLogBook

(TradDE)DeutscheÜbersetzungvonhttp://www.logbuch-iss.de

(Trad RUS) Русский перевод Dmitry Meshkov http://samlogbook-ru.livejournal.com

L-500:Logbook

Astronauts Samantha Cristoforetti and Anton Shkaplerov in the SoyuzsimulatorinStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia),2013.07.19—It'sL-500days!Not that I'mcountingofcourse:-)

Launch datemight always change a little bit, but one needs to have atarget inmind,soIthoughtI'dstartthecountdownandalsostartalittlelogbookonwhat'sgoingoninmytrainingdays.

ThankstoMichaelSacchiforindirectlygivingmetheidea!

I'minStarCity!InafewminutesI'llridemybiketothetrainingfacilities.Today, I'llhave fourhoursofSoyuzsimwithmyCommander,Anton. Itwill look somewhat like in the picture. But before the sim itself, thismorningwe'llhaveatwo-hourbriefwithourinstructor,Dima,discussingwhatawaitsusintheafternoon.

Yesterdaywewentoveranominalreentry…whichofcourseturnedoff-nominalwhenboththemaincomputerandtheenginefailedonus.

Todaywe'lldotheemergencydescentscenario…that'swhensomethingisreallywrongandyouneedtogetdownquickly!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-500! Inizia ildiariodibordodiSamantha Cristoforetti della sua prima missione spaziale, by PaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-499

SamanthaCristoforetti'sSoyuzmanualson theESAoffice table inStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.07.20—No training is usuallyscheduledontheweekend.Timetorest,ofcourse,butalsoanoccasiontoworkoutwithnorushandtocatchup.

StarCityinsummerisagreatplacetogorunningorbikingoutside,sincewe're pretty much surrounded by trees and little lakes. But for themoment the day is quite cold and humid. I'll see if it gets better in theafternoonandinthemeantimeI'llworktoreorganizemynotesfromthisweek'ssimsontheSoyuzprocedurebooks(inthepic).

AswegothroughtheSoyuzsims,wealladdnotesandremindersandwe try to highlight actions that are especially important and/or easy tomiss.

I'm theonlyESAastronauthere thismonth, so I havehijacked thebigtable in theESAoffice.Thebulkof theSoyuz trainingwedo ison thereentrybook.Intheend,comingbacksafelyfromspacecomesdownto

onething:whateverhappens,dowhateverittakestogivethenecessarybraking burn. Thatmeans: at the right time,with the proper orientationandwiththerequiredimpulse.

Ifyoudon'tdothat,whoknowswhenandwhereyou'regoingtoland!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-499: Per rientrare accendi ilmotore,aqualunquecosto,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-498

The ISS seen in the Soyuz perioscope in the simulator. Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.07.21—Another rainy and chillyweekendday inStarCity. I guess I'llworkout in thegymagain today,insteadofrunningoutside.

On the training side, I'll reviewmy notes from the class on the 4-orbitrendezvous profile. Believe it or not, I recently had to go back toclassroomforatheorylesson!

As youmight haveheard, the trip to the ISShasbecomea lot shorterlately.StartingwiththecrewofPavelVinogradovthispastspring,we'vebeenexperimentingwiththe"quickrendezvous"whichbringstheSoyuztodockingwithinaboutsixhours(orfourorbits)fromlaunch.

ItusedtotaketwodaystogettoStation.Afterascentandinsertionintoorbit, the ground personnel would track the Soyuz, measure its actualposition and velocity and, based on that, calculate and upload to theonboardcomputerthedatafortheengineburns:whenshouldtheengine

turnon? for how long? inwhatorientation should the capsulebe?ThegoalofcourseistogetclosertotheISSandintoapositionfromwhichtheonboardcomputercancalculatethefinalrendezvousburns.

Now, it turns out that after hundreds of Soyuz and Progress launchesRussian controllers have a lot of statistical data and can predict prettywellhowtheorbitwilllooklikeafterlaunch.Sowenowinsertthedataforthefirsttwoburnswhentherocketisstillonthelaunchpadandgetthosefirsttwoburnsdonerightaway.

It means that after launch things will go pretty fast! As the boardengineer,Iwilldevotemyattentionmainlytothesystemsverificationandtotheleakchecks,makingsurewe'renotlosingairintofreespace.Inthemeantime Anton will monitor the beginning of the dynamic mode: inpreparationoftheengineburns,theSoyuzwillorientitselfalongthelocalvertical(withthe"belly"pointingtoEarth)andhewillbeabletoobservethis procedure in his periscope view. Like in the picture, except that atthispointAntonwillseetheEarth,notyettheStation.

Ofcourse,asagoodcrewwe'lltrytolookeachotherovertheshoulderaswework in parallel tomake surewe don'tmiss anything andwe'rewellonourwaytohumanity'soutpostinspace!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-498: Rendezvous veloce perprincipianti,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-497

TheSoyuzTMA-7leavestheISS.Source:NASA

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.07.22—Starting onemore week oftraininghereinStarCity.

Iwon'tbeintheSoyuzsimtoday,butI'llhaveatwohourbriefingwithmyCommander Anton and our instructor Dima. The actual sim will betomorrowmorningandwillprobablybea"suited"one,meaningthatwe'llwearourSokolpressuresuits.

IntheafternoonI'llhaveatrainingsessioninmanualre-entry.TheSoyuzre-entry is normally controlled automatically by an onboard computer.However, therearesomefailuremodes inwhichthecomputerwon'tdoit, either because it's broken or because it doesn't like the entryconditionsintotheatmosphere.Inthesespecialcases,beforegoingforaballistic re-entry, thecrewcanactually tryand "save" thecontrolled re-entrymodebytakingovermanually.

At that point, separation has already occurred and only the descentmoduleremains. Ifyoutakea lookat thepicture, that's thebell-shaped

central part. The spherical orbital module and the cylindrical servicemoduleburnupontheirownduringre-entry.

Controlsareprettyeasy-astheyshouldbe,sinceyou'llbeunderGandwearingthethickglovesof thepressuresuit.However,endingupclosetothenominal landingpointwhilekeepingtheGloadingwithinrequiredlimits…noteasyatall.Well,that'swhywepractice!

Italiantranslationof this logbookentry:L-497:Controllare il rientrodellaSoyuz schiacciati dall’accelerazione, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-496

"SamanthaCristoforetti, Anton Shkaplerov and Terry Virts in front of aSoyuzsimulatorinStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia),2013.07.23—Iwill spendsixhours in theSoyuzsimulatortoday!Actuallyintwodifferentones.

The first one you can see in the picture. That day our crewmateTerrywaswithusaswell,nowhe's in theUS. It's in this typeofsim thatwepracticeallphasesofflight.Thehatchrightbehindus,btw,doesnotexistintherealspaceship:onthelaunchpadyouhavetoloweryourselfdownfromthetopsection,theorbitalmodule.Butforthedailyworkitwouldbeabitcumbersome.

We also have another sim type that is used only to train manualrendezvous, manual docking, undocking-and-redocking to another port(thislatterisalwaysmanual).I'llhaveapracticesessionintheafternoon.

In themorning I'llbewithAnton in thesim topracticeascentandpost-ascentorbitaloperations.We'llstartout,aswewouldnominally,withthequickrendezvousproceduresthatI'vetalkedaboutacoupleofdaysago.

But in the process of doing the burns to get to Station, somethingwillhappenthatwillmakeitimpossibletokeepthetightschedule.

Fortunately, the "old" two-day rendezvous profile always applies! Inagreementwiththeground,we'll transitiontothelongerprofileandgiveourselvessomemoretimetofix the issues.We'll justhavetowaitabitlongerforthatwarmmeal!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-496: Che fare se non si puòarrivareallaISSvelocemente?,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-495

Samantha Cristoforetti is prepared for a session in the Star Citycentrifuge.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.07.24—TodayIgoballistic!

The Cosmonaut Training Center here in Star City is the home of theworld’sbiggestcentrifugewithits18-metersarm.It’saprettyimpressivebeast.Ihadafirstrideinitlastweek(foto)andI’vewrittenaboutithere.

ButwhilelastweekIonlywentto4.3G,thistimeIwillexperienceupto8G. The purpose of this is not to inflict unnecessary pain on poorcrewmembers,butrathertoprepareusforthecaseofaballisticreentry,whenGloadscaneasilygoupto8Gandmore!

So,what’s a ballistic re-entry?That’s amode inwhich nobody, neitherthe crewnor the computer, is trying to control the re-entry trajectoryofthevehicle.Itprettymuchcomesdownlikeaninertbodywithatrajectorydictated purely by its geometric characteristics and mass distribution.With one trick: the capsule is put into a continuous rotation around it’slongitudinalaxisofabout13°/sec.

So,whywouldwechoosetogoballistic?Notthatthenominalre-entryisa smooth ride, but this one is definitely rougher.Well, it could happenbecauseofanumberof failuresduring thenominal reentry.That’swhywhenever a crew is returning from orbit there are always two rescueteams waiting: one at the nominal landing site and the other at theballisticsite.

Butitcouldalsohappenthatyouhavetoleavetheorbitquicklybecauseofanemergency, forexamplea fireoradepressurization. In thatcasethe control teams at Mission Control Moscow don’t have the time tocalculateanduploadintotheonboadcomputerthedataforacontrolledre-entry.Soballisticitis!Andno,therewon’tbearescueteamwaitinginthiscase.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-495:Nellacentrifugapiùgrandedelmondo,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-494

Terry Virts, Anton Shkaplerov and Samantha Cristoforetti in front of aSoyuzsimulatorinStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.07.25—Last day of training in StarCityforthistripanditwillbeanotherfulldayintheSoyuzsimulators!

Firstamanualapproachsession,inwhichAntongetstopracticegettingtheSoyuzmanuallyfromadistanceofafewkmtoabout100metersinfrontofthedockingport.Astheflightengineer,I'llhelphimoutfromtheorbital module by measuring speed and distance with a laser rangefinder.

Thenitwillbemyturnatthecontrols.I'llhaveasolosessiononmanualdocking,when I'll practice docking theSoyuz fromwithin 400meters -that'swhatwecalltheclose-range.

Theafternoonwillbe…hot!AtsomepointduringourtrainingsessionintheSoyuzsimulatorsmokewillstartflowingintothedescentmodulefrombehindthecontrolpanels.Notthatsmokewouldnecessarilyhavetoflowfromthatdirection in real life,but thesimulatordoeshavesomeknown

patternsofbehaviorofcourse.We'll turnoffallelectricequipmentbut Ihaveadistinctfeelingthat,likeeverytime,thiswillnotfixtheprobleminour scenario. So we'll be left with only one choice: removing all theatmosphere.Thatwilldefinitelykillthefire!

Once everybody has donned their Sokol pressure suits and the suitshavepassedthe leakcheck,wewilldepressurize thecapsuleandstartworking procedures to organize the emergency descent. At this point,we'reonaclock: thesuitsareconnected to theoxygen tanksand theycankeepusaliveforacoupleofhours.That'splentyoftimetoorganizethebrakingburnthatwillbringusbackintotheatmosphere,butthereiscertainlynomarginfornotgettingitrightthefirsttime!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-494: E se c’è un incendio abordo?,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-493

Samantha Cristoforetti in a Soyuz simulator in Star City. Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Frankfurt(Germany),2013.07.26—D-Dayhasarrived.

DepartureDay,thatis.Definitelynotmyfavoritepartoftraininglife:whenyouhavetopackyourbagsandmovetothenextlocation.InStarCityIhaveanaccommodation that isassigned tome,meaning that IalwaysstayinRoom32whenIcomefortraining.ButwhileI'mgone,otherESApersonnelonbusiness travelcanstay there,sowhen I leave Ineed topackallmystuffandputinstoragewhateverIdon'twanttotakewithme.ItfeelsabitlikeputtingonelifeonfreezeasIgosomewhereelsetoliveanotherlifeforawhile.

Because traffic aroundMoscow is typically inclement,weusually leaveStarCity4to5hoursbeforeplanedeparture.Thatcanbeevenearlieronsnowy days, a bit later if we leave at low-traffic times, like today. Ourskillfuldriver,Nikolay,knockedatmydoorat5amthismorning.

NowI'minFrankfurtwaitingformytraintoCologne.Ihavesomeoffice

work to take care of at the European Astronaut Centre this afternoon.Sittinghereinthebusyterminal,it'sstrangetothinkthatIwasridingmybike inpeacefulStarCity just lastnight.Or, for thatmatter,around thistimeyesterdayIwassettlinginmychairinmy"other"office.Iattachedapicture.

Lotsoflessonslearnedfromourfiresimyesterday,especiallyintermsofdistributingtasksbetweenAntonandmyselfduringafirecase.Whenthesituationiscritical,CrewResourceManagementisespeciallyimportant!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-493:È arrivato il giorno dellapartenzadaMosca!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-492

Before the 8G centrifuge run. Getting final instructions from the doctorsupervisingtheexercise.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Cologne(Germany),2013.07.27—Enjoyingadayoffathome!

Lots of little things to take care of before I depart for Houston earlytomorrow,butallinallarelaxingday.

I thought I'dsharesomepictures fromthe8Gcentrifugerunearlier thisweek.Someofyouaskedtoseesome"after"pictures,sohereyougo:before,duringandafter!

I'lltellyoumoretomorrowabouthowitfelt.

Atthe8Gplateaufromthedoctor'scameraview.

After the run, as centrifuge operators are sliding the seat out of thecentrifuge.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-492:Prima,duranteedopo lacentrifugaa8G,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-491

The A380 for Houston waiting at Frankfurt airport where SamanthaCristoforetti is going to embark on 2013.07.28. Source: SamanthaCristoforetti

Frankfurt (Germany), 2013.07.28—I'm on my way to Johnson SpaceCenterforfourweeksofUStraining.

Short train ride fromCologne to theFrankfurtairportearly thismorningand now an 11-hour flight to Houston. There's an A380 waiting at thegate,boardingisabouttostart.Asyoucanseeinthepicture,boardingforthis"beast"isdoneviathreejetwaysonmultiplelevels!

I'mnot looking forward to the7-hourdifference in timezone.Actually9hours compared to Star City, where I was just two days ago. Jet lagmightbethesinglegreatesthurdleinastronauttrainingforme:italwaystakesmeaweektotendaystogetbacktonormalsleepingpatternsaftera intercontinental flight.Maybebecause I'maccustomed tobea soundsleeper and typically fall asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow,dealingwithsleepdisruptionsisnotmycupoftea.

Anyway,Iseeitaspartofthetraining.SleepshiftingoccursprettyoftenontheInternationalSpaceStation,inparticularwhenthecrewneedstosupport the arrival of new crewmates or of resupply vehicles likeProgress,ATV,HTV,Dragonor, inthenewfuture,Cygnus.Asyoucanwellimagine,dockingtimesaredeterminedbyorbitalmechanics,launchwindowsandorbitalday/nightrequirements,notbythesleepscheduleofthecrew.

I'mexperimentingwithamoredeliberateapproach tosleep-shifting. I'mwearingsunglassesthismorningtoreducelightexposurewhileit'snightinHouston.AndI'vepurposelysleptonlyacoupleofhourslastnight,inthehopethatthiswillhelpmebeasleepmostoftheflighttotheUS.Inacouple ofweeks I'll havea briefing at JohnsonSpaceCenter on sleepshiftingtechniques:lookingforwardtolearningsomehelpfultricks!

Italian translation of this logbookentry: L-491:Spostamento del sonno,jetlagegrandiaerei,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-490

TheviewfromSamanthaCristoforetti'sofficeatNASA'sJohnsonSpaceCenterinHouston.ThebuildingatthebottomrightistheMissionControlCenter-Houston.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter (Houston,USA),2013.07.29—Justhada tag-up with my NASA ITI (Increment Training Integrator) Alicia on theupcomingfourweeksoftraining.TerryandIwillbebusy!

NowIstillhavehalfanhourtotakecareofsomeadminstuffatmydesk.It'sagorgeousviewfromthewindow,asyoucansee.Thebuildingfaronthe right, by theway, isMissionControl Center - Houston. For friendsMCC-H. More formally: the Gene Kranz Mission Control Center.Remember"failureisnotanoption"?

Soon I'll be heading to a class on Fluid Quick Disconnects (QDs)operations. QDs connect different segments of the fluid lines outsideStation,inparticularthehighlytoxicammonialines.I'veworkedwithQDsin the pool before during EVA training, but the poolmockups are low-fidelity.Todaywe'llspendsometimeworkingwiththehigh-fidelityQDs.

IntheafternoonI'llhaveaclasscalledretinalimaging,inwhichIwillbetaught some skills necessary to perform examination of another crew-member'seyes.Betterlearnthiswell!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-490:QuickDisconnects,esamedellaretinaepanorama,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-489

Samantha Cristoforetti practices with an ophthalmoscope at the JSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.07.30—I'dsaytodayisadaydevotedtooverallwell-beingonISS.

Both Terry and I are being trained as Crew Medical Officers (CMO).We've both already taken a number of classes covering basicmedicalprocedures.Forexample,theretinalimagingclassIhadyesterday!Youcanseemeinthepicturegettingafeelforthefundoscopethatisusedtotakeimagesoftheretina.Asyoumighthaveheard,manylongdurationcrew-members have experienced eyesight degradation during theirmissionand the reasonsarenot fullyunderstoodyet.That'swhywe'renowmonitoringtheeyessocloselythroughoutthespaceflight.

AsCMOs,todayTerryandIwe'llhaveabriefonthemainpsychologicaldisordersthatmightoccurinlongdurationspaceflight:howtorecognizethem,whattodoaboutthem.Ifyouaskme,goodfoodisoneofthemainmeansofpsychologicalwell-being.Howfittingthattodaywe'llalsohaveourESA food tasting!ESAdoes not provide food for the standard ISS

menu, but we do provide a number of dishes that crew-members canchoosefortheirbonusfoodcontainers.

Anotheraspectofwell-being isoverall fitness.Today Iwill alsohaveatrainingsessionontheARED(AdvancedResistiveExerciseDevice).TheARED is theweight-liftingmachine onboard ISS, except that it doesn'thaveweights,butratherbigvacuumcylindersthatprovideresistanceaswedosquats,chestpresses,bicepcurlsandmuchmore.

I've also attached a picture from the Quick Disconnects class I talkedaboutyesterday, incaseyou'recurioustoknowhowQDslook like.WegottopracticeonpressurizedQDsonaspecialpressuretrainer.Havingtodealwith thepressure in the linesgavemeawholenewrespect forthistask!

Workingona1.5inchQuickDisconnectonthepressuretrainer.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Italiantranslationofthis logbookentry:L-489:Com’èunoftalmoscopio?

EunQuickDisconnect?,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-488

AstronautAlexanderGerst trains in the rendezvousandberthing in theDomesimulatorattheJSC.Source:AlexanderGerst/NASA

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.07.31—ThetrainingdaywillstartinacoupleofhourswithashortlessononthestillcamerathatistakenoutonspacewalksandwithwhichEVAcrew-membershavetakenstunningphotosoutsideStation.

ThenI'llmoveontoatwo-hourrefresheronCrewMedicalOfficerskills.These classes have pretty serious currency requirements, as you canimagine. On the plan, among other things, a review of catheterizationprocedures, just in case microgravity messes up with somebody'sbladderfunctions.Iknow,notaveryglamorouspartofspaceflight,butasituationwewanttobereadyfor!

IntheafternoonTerryandIwillhaveaathree-hourfreeflierrendezvousclassinthedome.FreefliersarevisitingvehicleslikeHTV,Dragonor,inthenearfuture,Cygnus,thatdon'tcomeallthewaytodocking,butratherhold position at 10 m from Station and are then grappled by theastronautswiththeroboticarmandberthedtoafreeISSport.

I'vefoundareallycoolpictureoffellowShenaniganAlexinthedome.It'sa pretty amazing facility inwhichwe practice the rendezvous phase ofvehiclesfromcorridormonitoringduringtheapproachphaseall thewaytograpplingwiththeCanadarm2.

Finaleventfortheday,afit-checkformycustom-madeearplugs.Thoseareespecially important for theperiodichearingassessmenton ISS, inwhich we monitor the hearing function of astronauts throughout themission.Withallthosepumpsandfansrunningallthetime,ISSisneververyquiet!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-488: Volo libero e proceduremediche che speriamo di non usare, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-487

SamanthaCristoforettipracticestheCanadarm2intheCupolasimulator.Source:JoshMatthew

JohnsonSpaceCenter (Houston,USA),2013.08.01—Today Igo3D!DaywillstartwithaclassontheISS3Dcamcoder.Ihavenoexperienceatallwithsuchequipment,soI'mverymuchlookingforwardtoit.

The Canadarm 2 approaches Cygnus in the Dome simulator. Source:JoshMatthew

Then I will have an EVR refresher class. The acronym EVR refers torobotics operations in support of EVA activities: that's when we " fly"spacewalkers around Station on the the Canadarm2. This refresher isimportant,because tomorrow Iwill getoperate theNBL roboticarm forthefirsttime.Yes,thereisactuallyaroboticarminthepool!

JusttokeepmyheadintheCrewMedicalOfficerworldaswell,I'llhaveaclasslatertodayondentalproceduresthatcouldberequiredonboardISS.

IattachsomepicturesfromourtrainingintheDomeyesterday,wherewegot to practice our teamwork in monitoring the approach of Cygnus.We'reallveryexcitedaboutthefirstCygnusflyingtoISSnextmonth!

Practice with the Canadarm 2 in the Cupola simulator. Source: JoshMatthew

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-487: Catturare Cygnus, byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-486

TheCanadarm2roboticarmintheNBLoftheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.08.02—Reallybusydaytoday. Mostly at the Neutral Buoyancy Facility (NBL), the giant poolwherewepracticespacewalks.

I helped suit-up crew-mate Butch early in the morning and then Ioperatedtheroboticarminthepoolforseveralhours.Youcanseepartsofthearmstickingoutofthewaterinthepic.

ThenTerryandIhadathreehourclassinwhichweprettymuchtookaspacewalkingsuitapartandputitbacktogether.

I'llsharemorepicsovertheweekend!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-486:Operazionirobotichenellagrandepiscina,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-485

SamanthaCristoforettiatthecommandofCanadarm2oftheNBLattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.03—No trainingscheduled on the weekend, although I will certainly take some time toreview my notes of the week and to start preparing for next week'straining in the NBL, the big pool where we practice spacewalks. TerryandIwilltrainforacontingencyreplacementofapumpmodule.Soundsfamiliar?That'sbecauseithasalreadyhappenedonorbit!

HelpingtowearanEVAsuit.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

I'veattachedsomepicturesfromyesterdayattheNBL.Ishowedupearlyin themorning for a brief on the peculiarities of the pool's robotic arm.The software interface and the hand controllers are the same, but thearm itself is of course quite different and the pool has its own specialconstraints.Ifyoueverhearmesayonorbit:"Ican'tgoanyfurthernadir,we'regettingclosetothefloor"…somethingisbadlywrong!

FlyingthearminthepoolismainlyfocusedontheGCAmoments.That'san acronym we borrowed front the aviation world and it stands forGround Controlled Approach. A GCA controller has the approachingaircraftontheradarandgivesinstructionstothepilottokeeptheplaneontheglide-pathuntilthepilothastherunwayinsight.IntheEVAworld,aGCAiswhenthespacewalkingcrew-membergivesinstructionstotherobotic arm operator in order tomove the arm to a particular position.Instructions can be for example "1 meter station zenith" or "15° bodypitchup".SinceGCAsusuallyoccurclose tostructure,goodsituationalawareness on the part of everybody involved is very important andeffectivecommunicationisvital.

Ialsogottopracticesuitingupcrew-mateButch.That'snotaneasytask.Weusually have very skilled suit technicianswhohelp us, but onorbitwe'llbeonourown,soit'simportanttobeabletohelpeachothergetting

intothesuit.

TheroboticarmintheNBLpool.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

HelpingtowearanEVAsuit.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

At the controls of the robotic arm in the pool of the NBL. Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

TheroboticarmintheNBLpool.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-485:Pilotareilbracciorobotico,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-484

Samantha Cristoforetti performs some dental procedures. Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.04—Sharing somepicturesfromtrainingeventsthispastweektoday.

Youmight remember I had a class on the EVA camera this week. It'sactuallyacommercialoff-the-shelfcamerawithminormodifications, liketheuseofa lubricant that is suitable for vacuumoperations.TherearemanysuchcamerasonISSandcrew-membersusethemtotakepicturesinside all the time. When a camera needs to go outside, it's nicelywrappedinawhitegarment,asyoucanseeinthepicture.That'smostlydoneforthermalbalancepurposes.

AcamerawithEVAthermalcoating.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Ialsohadaclassonthe3Dcamcorder.Now,thatreallyopenedanewworldtome.Convergence,negativeparallax,positiveparallax…there'sawholenewcomplexitycomparedtoshooting2Dvideo!

Shooting training with the 3D video camera. Source: SamanthaCristoforetti

Asforthedentalproceduresclass,don'tworry:nobodyplanstohaveusdomajordentalworkwhileonorbit.Main things I havebeenshown ishowtotemporarilyfillupaholeinthetoothifafillinghascomeoffandhowtoreattachacrown.Also, Ihadsomeinstructions inhowtogivealocalanesthesiaasatemporaryreliefincaseofabadtoothache.

DismantlinganEMUsuit.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Finally,apictureofourclasstakingapartthespacewalkingsuit.ItsrealnameisExtravehicularMobilityUnit(EMU),buteverybodycallsitsimply"thesuit".Thatwasafunclass!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-484: Foto-video camere,proceduredentistiche,EMU,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-483

Expedition34memberstrainforCPR(cardiopulmonaryresuscitation)ontheISS.Source:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.05—Starting theweekwithsomeseriousemergencyscenarios!

I'm not talking about fire, leaks or toxic spills, but rather medicalemergencies.WhetherwearedesignatedCrewMedicalOfficersornot,wearealltrainedinrespondingincaseacrew-matehasnopulseand/oris unable to breath. We have a permanently deployed Crew MedicalRestraintSystemwithwhichwecankeepsomeoneinastablepositiontoadministerCPR(CardioPulmonaryResuscitation).Iattachedacoupleofpictures from Expedition 34 in which you can see that crew-membershavedifferentoptionsinweightlessnesswhenitcomestobodypositionstoadministercompression.

An Expedition 34 astronaut is trained in CPR (cardiopulmonaryresuscitation)ontheISS.Source:NASA

Mydaywillstartwitharefresherontheemergencyresponseequipment,fromtherestrainttabletotheAED(AutomatedExternalDefibrillator)andthe Respiratory Support Pack and then I'll move on to a class on theactual emergency response procedures. They're not unlike anyprocedureyoumighthavelearnedinafirstaidcourse,butoptimizedforthespecificsituationwehaveon-board,theequipmentwehaveavailableandthefactthatwecan'tcall112or911.

LaterI'llhaveameetingattheFoodLabtostartdiscussingthecontentofmybonusfoodcontainerandthenI'lldrivetotheNBLforthe1GclassofFriday'spoolrun.Wecall1Gclassesthepreparatoryeventsinwhichtheinstructorsdescribe tous the tasks for theupcomingrunandweget tomanipulate in a 1Genvironment, i.e. outside of the pool, the tools andequipmentwe'llbedealingwithinthewater.Somegiantcomponentscanbeveryheavyin1G,butthepoolmodelsaremadeasneutrallybuoyantbyaddingfoam.It'sascloseasitgetstoweightlessness!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-483: Emergenze mediche inassenzadipeso,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-482

"AnISSpumpmodule isstowed in theShuttle'scargobayduringSTS-135.Source:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.06—Training todayhas started with a class on the SAMS payload: that's the SpaceAccelerationMeasurement System, a series of interconnected sensorsthroughout ISS that for over ten years have been characterizing themicrogravityenvironmentonStation.The internal camerasmightbeoffpastworkinghours,buttheSAMSgroundcontrollersalwaysknowfromtheacceleration telemetrywhether it'sbedtimeonorbit or if there's stillactivityonboard!

TherestofthedayI'llmainlybeplanningFriday'strainingruninthepool.As I already mentioned, we'll be practicing a contingency scenario inwhich we have to swap a pump module. That's a vital component,becauseitkeepscoolingfluidrunninginoneofourtwoexternalthermalcontrol system loop. With one pump module down, we loose a lot ofredundancyonStation,startingwithhalfofthepowersupply.Replacingapumpmoduleisa3-EVAtask,butonFridaywe'llonlypracticeoneofthem,EVAnumber2.Prepworkwillalreadyhavebeendoneandwe'll

bereadytoslidethefailedpumpmoduleoutofitslocationandinstallaspareone.

Apumpmodulehasfailedinthepast!Inthepictureyoucanseeafailedunitbeingstowed in theShuttlepayloadbayduringSTS-135twoyearsago. Itgivesyouan ideaof itssize.Andsomeunits, likebatteries,areevenbigger!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-482: Qualcuno è ancorasveglio?,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-481

Samantha Cristoforetti and Alexander Gerst in the NBL pool. Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.07—I'll be flyingaroundISStoday!

Notreally,butIwillbescubadivingintheNeutralBuoyancyLaboratory(NBL) with my EVA instructor, Faruq, to prepare Friday's run in thepressure suit. And sincewe have a full scale replica of the ISS underwater (except the Russian segment), it feels really like flying aroundStation!

SamanthaCristoforetti swims in theNBLaround the replicaof the ISS.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

When the trainingscheduleallows it,diving isagreatpreparation forasuited run.Wecangeta feel for translationpaths,obstaclesalong theway, safety tether routing. And we can check out worksites andunderstand the geometry involved.What body position is better? Howcan I securemyself?Whereshould Iattachmy toolbagor temporarilystowaspareunitwhileweremoveafailedone?

As you can see in the pictures, somehow you even meet a suitedcrewmember or two when you dive in the pool! Recognize my fellowShenaniganAlexinthis"old"picture?

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-481:Volare intornoalla ISS…piùomeno,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-480

LucaParmitanosleepsinhisapartmentontheISS.Source:NASA

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.08.08—Today'strainingseems to be focused not somuch on technical content, but rather onsomeaspectsoffunctioningwellasahumanbeing,bothonthegroundandonISS.

I'll start theday in a fewminuteswithmyhighly-anticipatedbriefingonsleep shifting.We sleep shift a lot in training, because of all the travelbetween training locations in different continents, but also on orbit,typicallytosupportthearrivalofnewcrewmembersorresupplyvehicles.

Key in sleep shifting is of course… sleeping. How good that my nextclasswillbeaboutthecrewquartersonISS.InthepictureyoucanseemyfellowShenanigan+LucaParmitanosleepinginhiscrewquartersonorbit!

ThenI'llhaveashortclasshighlightingtheprocedurestobefollowedbycrewmemberstodownloadpersonalfotosandvideosfromISS.Nothingever gets lost, but following certain procedures ensures that you'll get

certainmaterialbackquickerwhenyougetback,forexampletouseitforpost-flightpresentations.

Intheafternoon,ontoaclassaboutthePeriodicFitnessEvaluationthatwe do on orbit. And finally, one more class on Cardio-PulmonaryResuscitation(CPR).

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L-480:Dormire e essereumaninellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-479

SamanthaCristoforettiandTerryVirtsareloweredintotheNBLpoolforanEVAsimulation.Source:JoshMatthew

JohnsonSpaceCenter (Houston,USA), 2013.08.09—Late and shortupdatetoday.

Terry and I ran one of the pump module replacement EVAs, as Imentioned in an earlier post. Days in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab arealwayslongandfull.Wegettherearound6:30-7:00andthenit'sabusyprogramuntil around 17:00.We prepare all our tools on the pool-deckfirst thing in themorning, then thedoctors seesus tomakesurewe'reOK,thenontothebriefingwiththewholeNBLteamandbacktothepooldeckforsuitingup.Weworkunderwateruntil15:00thenwegetthesuitoff,getaquickshowerandit'sdebrieftime!

Itwasgreattraining,fullofchallengesandlearningpoints.Nowit'stimeto go and get a drink: I don't know how it happened, but it's alreadyFridaynight!

PS:thankstoourChiefTrainingOfficer+JoshMatthewforcomingoutto

thepoolandforthepic!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-479: Una giornata pienasott’acquaedègiàvenerdìsera,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-478

ChrisCassidyandKarenNybergintheDomeforthecaptureofHTV-4.Source:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.10—It's weekend!Lookingaheadtowhat'scomingupnextweek,oneofthebigeventswillbeaTrack&CaptureclasswithButch(crewmateBarryWilmore).

Track&Capture training prepares crewmembers for the grappling of avisiting vehicle, specifically the ones that we call Free Flyers, becausetheycannotdockautonomously to ISS.All thosecargo resupplyships(HTV,Dragon,Cygnus)haveagrapplepinthatcanbecapturedwiththeendeffectoroftheroboticarmand,rightnexttoit,avisualtargetfortheastronaut to align the arm properly. The "Track" part of it consists inmatching the residual translationand rotation ratesof the vehicleswithrespect toStationwhile it's instationkeeping.Realvehicleshavebeenprettysteadysofar,butweseequitesignificantratesintraining!

I'vedonealotofsoloTrack&Capturetraining,meaningmyselfandtheinstructor.Nextweek'sclasswithButchwillbethefirstoneinwhichwepractice coordination and teamworkwith actual crewmates.While one

person is at the hand controllers concentrating on the target andperforming the capture, the second person has the overall awarenessandrunsthechecklistsincaseofanoff-nominalsituation.

Btw, yesterday on orbit Karen Nyberg captured HTV-4 with theassistance of Chris Cassidy. You can see them at their CupolaworkstationinthispicturesharedbyLucaParmitano.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-478:Inseguimentoecattura,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-477

Chris Hadfield performs a Periodic Fitness Assessment (PFE) on theISS.Source:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.11—One of theclassesfromlastweekIhaven'ttalkedmuchaboutistheintroductiontothePeriodicFitnessAssessment(PFE).

PFEsarescheduledperiodicallyonorbit:thefirstoneabout14daysafterarrival to Station and then monthly thereafter. The exercise device ofchoice is theCEVIS (CycleErgometerwithVibration IsolationSystem),which is installed in the US Lab. Crewmembers are very familiar withCEVISbecausetheyperformonitabouthalfoftheirdailycardiovasculartrainingsessions-theotherhalfisonthetreadmillT2.

TheclassIhadlastweekwasaboutsettinguptheequipmentnecessaryfor the PFE data collection: attaching the electrodes for theelectrocardiogram,positioningthebloodpressurecuffandtheheartratemicrophone,configuringallthecablesandinterfacingwiththesoftwaretorecordthedata.

For theirPFEcrewmembersperformanad-hocprotocolbasedon theirpre-flight VO2max.Data lands on the desk of their flight surgeon,whocan track the evolution of the cardiovascular condition throughout theflightandpossiblyrecommendadjustmentsofthetrainingprotocols.

InthepictureyoucanseeChrisHadfieldperformingaPFEonorbit.Andyes, the CEVIS we train with on the ground does have a seat andhandlebars.Onorbit,theshoesthatcanbeattachedrigidlytothepedalsareallyouneed!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-477:Quantosieteinforma?,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-476

Chris Cassidy examines the EMU suits he used together with LucaParmitanoontheISS.Source:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.12—Starting theweekwithalongclassonEMUmaintenanceoperations.

The EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) is the US pressure suit forspacewalks. It's like a little spaceship that you wear on yourself andkeepsyoualivefor7-8hoursinvacuum.

Thesuithasoxygentanksthatprovideyouwithoxygentobreathandtokeeptheinternalpressureatabout4.3PSI.Italsokeepsyoucoolthanksto a sublimator that gets rid of excess heat. And of course it providescommunication and protection against micrometeorite strikes andradiation.

Thereareperiodicmaintenanceoperations thatarecarriedoutonorbitandwewillstart learningaboutthoseintoday'sclass.Sometimestheremight also be the necessity to perform troubleshooting. That has beenthe case in recent weeks after the water leak problem in Luca

Parmitano's suit last month. In the picture you can see Chris Cassidybusywithsomeofthattroubleshootingwork!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-476:Manutenzione delle tutespaziali,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-475

KevinFordtrainsontheISSAREDmachine.Source:NASA

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.08.13—DaystartedwithanearlyexercisesessionontheARED.

AREDstandsforAdvancedResistiveExerciseMachine.It'sbeenonISSfor several years now and it has reallymade a huge difference in theeffectiveness of resistive exercise in limiting bone loss in long durationcrewmembers.We're scheduledeveryday fora sessiononAREDandwearegivenprotocolsthatareespeciallydesignedtotargetcriticalareasofboneloss,likeforexamplethehip.

TolyaIvanishintrainsontheAREDmachine.Source:NASA

You can see in the pictures cosmonaut Tolya Ivanishin and astronautKevinFordperformonorbitsomeofthemanyexercisesyoucandoonARED.Itreplicatedtheeffectofworkingoutwithdumbbellsandbarbells,except that, as you can imagine, those would not be very effective inweightlessness. Instead, ARED has two big vacuum cylinders and wecansettheresistancecontinuouslyinaverywiderange.

The rest of the daywill be dedicated to science, as Iwill get an initialoverview of the experiment complement in my increment. Lookingforwardtostartworkingonthatsoon!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-475:Eserciziconimanubrieibilanceri,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-474

SamanthaCristoforettiinEMUsuitinaEVAPrep&Postclass.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.08.14—Todayit'saPrep&Postday!

This is a full day training event in the airlockmock-up inwhichwe gothroughalltheproceduresthatneedtobeperformedinthehoursbeforeand after an EVA.We basically simulate an EVA day, minus the timeactuallyspentoutside.

ThisisactuallythePrep&PostclassofmycrewmateButch.Myrolewillbethatofthe"suitIV",soIwillhelpwiththesuitdonninganddoffing,theprebreath protocol and the airlock depress/repress procedures. Weprebreathtopurgenitrogenfromourblood,inordertopreventproblemswithdecompressionsickness.Remember that thesuit ispressurized toonlyabout1/3ofatmosphericpressure!

I attach a picture of a Prep & Post class I did almost two years ago.Reallytimetorefreshmyknowledge!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-474:Ungiornodipasseggiataspazialesenzapasseggiata,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-473

HTV-4 seen from Dome just before the capture with the robotic arm.Source:NASA

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.08.15—TodayIhavetheclassonTrack&Capture that Ihave talkedaboutalready in theL-478Logbook.

There'salotofpreparationworkinvolvedingettingreadyforaFreeFlierrendezvous and subsequent capture. Usually a two-person team willswap leading rolewhen it's time to transition to roboticoperations.TheVV1 (Visiting Vehicle Officer 1) who's had the primary responsibilityduring the rendezvous phase transitions to a supporting role duringcapture operations. VV2, on the other hand, will put hands on thecontrollerstoperformthecapture.WecallthatroleM1.

DomeconfigurationforthecaptureofHTV-4.Source:NASA

Asyoucanseeinthepicture,it'squiteacomplexsetupintheCupolaona capture day. We have the robotic workstation, including the handcontrollers, with which we fly the arm. But we also have the visitingvehiclecontrolpanel,withwhichwecommand it to freedrift justbeforecapture:whenwegrappleitanditbecomesrigidlyconnectedtostation,wedon'twantitsthrusterstofiresowedeactivateitsguidancesystemsandjustletitfreefloatinspaceforafewseconds.Onthecontrolpanelwe also have commands to send the vehicle away in an off-nominalsituation.Andofcourse,asyoucanseeinthepicture,wehaveavarietyofmonitorsforexternalcameraviewsandafewlaptops.

I alsoattachedapicturepostedbyKarenNybergof her viewofHTV4whensheandChrisCassidycaptureditlastweek.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-473:LaCupolaquandoètempodicattura,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-472

Samantha Cristoforetti performs adaptation texts of the gloves of theEMUsuitinthevacuumchamber.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.08.16—JustbackfromaglovefitcheckfortheglovesIuseintheNBLforEVAtraining.

Ihaveusedtheseglovesthroughoutmytrainingsofar,butadjustingtheglovesisanartandthereisneveraperfect,finalresult.There'salwayssomethingdifferenttotrytomakesureyoucanworkwellinthegloves.Ifthe modifications we're trying are significant, our suit engineers willschedulea fitchecktomakesurethat theoverallgloveconfiguration isstillgood.

They can adjust the finger lengths (withing a certain range) and theyprovide a number of different pads and comfort gloves of differentthicknessthatwewearbeneaththeEVAgloves.

Inthepictureyoucanseethesmallvacuumchamberwetesttheglovesin. Air is pumped out of the chamber so that the overpressure in theglovesis4.3PSI,justlikeitisforanEVA.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-472: L’importanza di avere iguantigiusti,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-471

The end of the Canadarm 2 robotic arm hooked to the HTV-4 pin.Source:NASA

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.08.17—I'vetalkedaboutlastweek'sTrack&CaptureclasswithButchintheL-473logbook.

In fact, I'll have another such class coming up next week, in which I'llhave a chance to practice coordination and communication with adifferentcrew-mate:Terry.

WithallthisTrack&CapturetraininginthesimulatorsI'vebeencuriousto see how the real hardware looks like, so I've taken a look at thepictures from lastweek's grapple ofHTV4 byKarenNyberg andChrisCassidy.Ireallylikethesetwoclose-upstakenbeforeandaftercapture.

ThepinisthetargetofHTV-4beforecapture.Source:NASA

Inthe"before"pictures,thelongerpinyouseestickingoutofthegrapplefixtureisthegrapplepin:thesnaresofthearmendeffectorclosearounditwhenwesqueeze the trigger -assumingofcourse thatweare in thegrappleenvelope.

The white line and circle with the shorter pin sticking out is the visualtarget thatwesee in theendeffectorcamera.Youcanseethat thepinhasawhitedot inthecenter:whenweobservethewhitedot insidethewhitecircleinthecameraview,weknowthatwehaveasufficientlygoodalignmentinpitchandyaw.

Inthe"after"pictureyoucanprobablyrecognizetheendeffectorcamera,facingstraightdownontothetargetpin.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-471: Ipernidipresae ipernibersaglionellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-470

SSamanthaCristoforettihelpsanastronautcolleague towear theEMUsuitforEVA.Source:JoshMatthew

.Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.18—In the L-474LogbookIhavetalkedabitaboutthePrep&Postclass, inwhichIhadthe chance to perform the suit IV tasks for crewmateButch and JAXAastronautNorishigeKanai.AsImentionedthen,thePrep&PostclassisaboutallthathappensinanEVAday,minusthetimespentoutside.

Airlockconfigurationissomethingwewouldtakecareofinearlierdays,butsureenough the firstproceduresof the"dayof"guideus throughafinalchecktomakesurethatallequipmentisintheproperconfigurationandallswitchesintheexpectedposition.

Thenwe start the pre-breath protocol,whose goal is to purge nitrogenfrom the body to mitigate the risk of decompression sickness whenexposed to the low pressure in the suit (about a third of atmosphericpressure): the EV crewmembers don their oxygenmasks and the pre-breathclockstarts.

Weallworktogethertopowerupthesuitsandchecktheirconfigurationand then it's time to take the suits apart, so that theEVcrewmemberscandonthelowercomponent(legs,uptowaist).Beforetheycancomeoff themasks to don the upper part of the suit, we close the hatch toNode1sothatweare isolatedfromtherestofStation.Wethenreducepressure in the airlock by about a third and wait for the oxygenconcentration tostabilizeatahigherpercentage thannormal tocomplywiththerequirementsofthepre-breathprotocol.

Thenit'stimeformetohelpthemdonthesuit.Theyneedto"slide"theupperbodyintothesuittorsoandthenit'smyjobtobuildthesuitaroundthem:connectthelegstothetorso,attachthegloves,helpthendonthecomcap,putthehelmeton.It'shardwork,especiallyin1G!LuckilyIhadhelpandguidancefromasuittechnician.

Aftermoreverificationstepson thesuitanda leakcheck,we initiateapurge procedure to create a pure oxygen environment inside the suitsand I reopen the hatch to Node1. At this point, I help the EVcrewmembersworkthroughtheIn-Suit-Light-Exerciseprotocol:forabout50minutestheyneedtoperformcyclesoflightexercise,mainlymovingtheir legs, to bring up theirmetabolic rate and accelerate the purge ofnitrogen.

Once that iscomplete, I'llhelp themmove in thesmallersectionof theairlock(theonethatisdepressurizedtovacuum),closethehatchbehindthemandget ready toassist in running thedepressurizationprocedureoncetheyreachaminimumof100minofin-suitpre-breathtime.

Asyoucansee,it'salongdaybeforeanEVAcanevenstart!

PS:thankstoJoshMatthewforthepic!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-470:Èuna lungagiornatagiàprimachepossainiziare,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-469

ISSwatersamplecontainersforanalysis.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.19—Water, water,water!

WaterisextremelyimportantonISSandwetakemeasurestomonitoritsquality on a regular basis. Today I took the first of a series of classesaimed at making me familiar with all the water sampling and analysisprocedures that I'll be schedule to perform on orbit. This intro classfocusedon theequipmentand the logistics.We'llhavemore integratedactivitiesinfuturetrainingeventsclosertoflight.

Take a look at the picture! Don't you love color-coded? A color formicrobiology anaylisis, one for the iodine analysis, another one for theTotalOrganicCarbonAnalyserandonefinalcolorforreturntoHoustonforgroundanalysis.

Did Imention that thewaterwe drink onboard ismostly recycled fromurine? That's the story for another day, but be assured: it's probably"cleaner"thanmostofthewaterwedrinkonEarth!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-469:Acqua,acqua,acqua!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-468

TheareaoftheISSneartheNode1.Source:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.20—I had a busyEVAandroboticsday!

Igot tocaptureCygnuswith the roboticarm for the first time today.Asyou might know, this is a new cargo resupply vehicle that will fly toStation for the first timeprobablynextmonth.Nobigchanges from themany HTV captures I've practiced so far, but a bit of a change ofperspective: thegrapple fixture is right next to themainenginenozzle!It's abit strange tobe looking through thearmcamera straight intoanengine's "business end", but of course engine firingwill be inhibited atthatpoint.

ThenIhadapreparatoryclassforThursdayEVAtrainingintheNeutralBuoyancy Facility (see L-479 Logbook). We'll be practicing thereplacement of an InterfaceHeatExchanger on the Lab. In the pictureyoucanseeourworksite:we'llactuallyhavetoremoveacoupleofLabpanelstogainaccesstothecomponent.It'sareallytightplaceinthebigsuits, especially because, since this picture was taken, the PMM

(PermanentMultipurposeModule)hasbeenattachedtothefreeCBMonNode1.TheCBMistheCommonBerthingMechanismandyoucanseeitinthepictureaswell:it'sthecirclewiththefourpetals.

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L-468:CatturareCygnuse fareEVAinspaziristretti,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-467

Samantha Cristoforetti waiting to be lowered into the NBL pool for anEVAtrainingsession.Source:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.21—I spent themorningat theNBL todaydiving inpreparationofmyEVA training runtomorrow.

As I'vementionedbefore(seeL-481Logbook),diving isagreatwayofgetting familiarwith a task, especially in termsof translation paths andgeometryoftheworksite,aswellasavailablehandrailsandotherpointsoffixation.

Moreover, being immersed in the 3D space makes it a bit easier topicturehowthesafetytetherroutingwillbe.Safetytethersareanchoredsomewhereonstructure, typicallyclose to theairlock,and thenunwindasyoumoveawayfromtheanchorpoint.We'realwayssupposedtostayattachedtostructure,butifweevermadethemistakeoffloatingoff,thesafetytetherwouldpullusbacktowardsitsanchor.

Sometimesweattachtwosafetytetherstogethertohavemorelength,as

you can see in the picture - the blue foam is for water buoyancyconcerns.AndasyoucanreadinthisaccountofLucaParmitanoofhisrecentEVAwateranomaly,asafetytethercansavethedayinavarietyofways!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-467:Comeilcavodisicurezzapuòsalvarvilagiornata,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-466

SamanthaCristoforettiinthefirstNBLtrainingsession.Source:NASA

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.08.22—JustbackfromalongandchallengingdayattheNBL.

The InterfaceHeatExchangeron theLabendcone isoneof those fewcomponentsthatwereally,reallyhopeneverfails(seeL-468Logbookforthelocation).Itiswell-knowthatanEVAtogoandreplaceitwouldbeaverydifficultone.NowIcanconfirmitfromdirectexperienceinthepool!

Timetograbdinnerwithafewfriendsnowandlatergetreadytoleave.IhavesomemoretrainingtomorrowmorningandthenI'mheadingbacktoEuropeintheafternoon.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-466: La EVA che tutti siauguranodinondovermaifare,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-465

Samantha Cristoforetti is trained in ultrasound to the eye. Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.08.23—Half day oftrainingfullydevotedtosciencetodaybeforeheadingtotheairport.

First thing in the morning my crewmates and I received briefpresentations from a number of PIs (Principal Investigators) who areproposingexperimentsinwhichwewouldberequiredtoserveashumansubjects. It's their opportunity to present the scientific value of theirinvestigationsandforustoaskanyquestionswemighthaveabout theexperiment protocols and about any risks and constraints involved.Actually, the risks are typically really minimal: before an experimentmakes it to this point, it has been reviewed atmultiple levels tomakesuretherearenoconcernsforthesubjects.

ThenIhadthechancetopracticemakinganultrasoundofmyeye.Notonmyown,ofcourse.As faras Iunderstand, it takesyears to trainanultrasound operator. But hopefully now I will be able to implementinstructionsproperlywhen I'lldo thisonStationunder remoteguidance

fromaground-basedoperator.

Nowit'stimetodrivetotheairportandcatchthatplanetoEurope!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-465: Farsi un’ecografia a unocchio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-464

ESAEAClobbyinCologne.Source:PaoloAmoroso

Cologne(Germany),2013.08.24—BackinEuropeafteralong,butverysmoothflight.

Early next week I'll take care of some administrative work at myhomebase, the European Astronaut Centre (EAC). You know… email,paperwork, meetings. Plus a couple of interviews. After that I'll be onvacationfortendays.I'llbebackatEAConSeptember9thforColumbustraining.

When there is no Space-To-Ground communication with the SpaceStationwesaythatweareLOS(Loss-Of-Signal).ShortperiodsofLOSare normal and due to discontinuities in satellite coverage. So, thistraininglogbookwillbeLOSforacoupleofweeks.

So long and, as they say from Mission Control before the start of aplannedLOS,"seeyouontheotherside!".

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-464: Ci vediamo dall’altra

parte!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-448

SamanthaCristoforettiinadvancedtrainingforColumbussystemsattheEAC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

EuropeanAstronautCentre (Cologne (Germany), 2013.09.09—Backfrommyvacationandreadyfortwoweeksoftrainingathome-base:theEuropeanAstronautCentreinCologne,Germany.

This week is dedicated to Europe's laboratory in space, theColumbusmodule.NotsomuchtothesciencethatwedoinColumbus-that'swhatwe call payload training and it's for another time. But rather the actualColumbussystems,fromthermalcontrolsystemtopowersupplyordatamanagement.

Specialized training for the Columbus module systems. Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

WithmycrewmateButchIwillreceivespecialisttrainingthisweek.I'lltellyoumore in thenextdaysabout thedifferent levelsofqualificationswecanhaveontheISSsystems,butonethingtoknowisthatatanytimeweneedat leastaspecialist-trainedcrewmemberonboardforeachISSmodule/system.WhenEuropeanastronautsareonISS,ofcoursewe'retheColumbusspecialist!

TodayButch and I had several lessons on different systems, includingwhatwecallstructureandmechanisms.That'swhenwegot topracticerotatingarack.Imaginethatinyourhouseyouhadwardrobesonallyourwalls, as well as the ceiling and the floor. That's the way it is on theSpaceStation.Eachofoftheseelements,thatwecallracks,ishingedonone one side and can be rotated, for example to provide access toneighboringlocationsformaintenancepurposes.Someracksareeasierthanotherstorotateandit'sgoodtohavesomepracticewiththetrickier

ones.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-448:Diritornodallevacanze,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-447

SamanthaCristoforettiatworkinahousingofaColumbusrack.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2013.09.10—SeconddayofColumbusspecialisttrainingwithcrewmateButch.

Yesterday I mentioned that we have to rotate racks out of the waysometimes to access hardware. One example is the Columbus portendcone,whichcontainsalotofcriticalECLSSequipment.

ECLSS is the Environmental Control and Life Support System. TheECLSSinColumbusishighlyintegratedwiththerestoftheISSanddoesnot have an autonomous capability of air revitalization, meaning CO2scrubbing and oxygen introduction. That's not a problem, though,because many fans at the module interfaces force air to circulatethroughoutStation.

Columbusdoeshaveitsownairconditioningsystemthough.Condensateheatexchangers,thatcooldownanddehumidifythecabinair,areintheDeck1 rack that Butch and I rotated up in the picture. The endcone

equipment in frontofus ismainly redundantcabin fanswith their filtersandducting.

Also hidden down there are several shut-off valves that allow forinterruptionofthefluidexchangebetweenColumbusandtherestofISS:thenitrogensupplylinesforourexperimentracks,forexample,butalsothecondensatelinethatbringsbackthewaterrecoveredfromthecabinairforreprocessinginNode3.

IfwehadtoisolateColumbusforacontingencysituationwewouldhavetoclose thosevalves.Luckily theyaremotorizedandcanbecontrolledremotely,butifthemotorfailedwewouldhavetorotatetherackanddiveinthebellyofColumbustoactuatethemmanually!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-447:ImmergersinellapanciadiColumbus,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-446

SamanthaCristoforetti trainsforColumbuslaptopmaintenance.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2013.09.11—Laptops,laptops,laptops!

ContinuingwithourColumbusspecialisttraining,todayButchandIspentsometimewithour instructorBerndlookingatsomemaintenancetasksrelatedtotheColumbuslaptop.

Wehavemany,manylaptopsonISSandno,notalllaptopsarecreatedequal.Some laptops, thatwecallPCS,areon the ISScontrolbusandhavedisplays thatallowcrewmembers tomonitor thestatusofonboardsystems and to send commands. Truth to be told, most systemcommandingisdonefromthegroundbyspecialistssittingonconsoleinthevarious control centers.As crewmemberswearemainly trainedonprocedures thatwould be critical in caseof anemergencyor a loss ofcommunicationsituation.

Columbus,justliketheJapaneselaboratoryJEM,hasitsownlaptopfor

telemetry and commanding, which is called PWS. I hope you're notgettingtiredofacronymsalready,becausethisisjustthebeginning!

WealsohaveSSC laptops thatarenoton thecontrolbusandcontainapplication software for planning, procedure viewing, inventorymanagementbutalsovideoconferencingandIPphonecalls.

Finallyfor internetaccessandsomemoreapplicationsoftwarewehaveCSLlaptops.

Oh, I almost forgot: lots of experiment racks come with their owndedicatedlaptopaswell!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-446:Laptop,laptop,laptop!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-445

Luca Parmitano replaces a ColumbusWater Pump Assembly. Source:NASA

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2013.09.12—Nowyouhaveawater leak inColumbus:whatdoyoudo?ButchandIweretrainedonthatinoneofourColumbusspecialistclassestoday.

First of all, why do we have water lines in Columbus, as well asthroughoutISS,withtheexceptionoftheRussiansegment?That'showwe cool our equipment! And it's also how we cool the the cabin air,thankstodedicatedheatexchangers: that'sourairconditioningsystem.Thinkabouthowhotyourlaptopcomputercangetandnowimaginehowmuch heat we generate on ISS with so many computers and otherelectromechanical components! All that heat is collected by coolingwater, then transferred to the ammonia lines outside ISS and finallyrejectedtospacethroughtheradiators.

So,awaterleakisareallybadthing.Notonly,ornotsomuch,becauseyouhaveawaterspill,butbecauseyou'reprogressively loosingcoolingefficiency and your equipment will soon overheat. Let's be clear:

Columbus is pretty aggressive when it comes to protecting itself. If acertain amount ofwater is lost, itwill prettymuch shut itself downandleaveonlyvitalequipmentrunning,reducingthethermalloadtothepointthatnoactivewatercoolingisrequired.

Butsincewedon'twantthattohappen,wehaveproceduresthathaveusworktogetherwiththegroundinacoordinatedefforttopinpointtheleakas fast as possible and isolate it. Since most of the possible leaklocationsarenotinplainview,thehuntcanbelong!

OneofthepossibleculpritsinawaterleakscenariocouldbetheWaterPumpAssembly.Good thing that Luca replaced a failed one on ISS afewmonthsago,sothatwe'renowbacktofullredundancy.Youcanseehiminactioninthepicture!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-445:Aveteunaperditad’acqua:cosafate?,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-444

Columbus mockup at ESA EAC in Cologne. Source: SamanthaCristoforetti

EuropeanAstronautCentre (Cologne (Germany),2013.09.13—Asoftoday,ButchandIareofficiallyColumbusspecialists!

Our trainingweek finished thismorningwithanevaluationsimulation intheColumbusmock-up.AndintermsofColumbussystemstraining,thisis it until flight.Except foraquick refresherofa coupleofhours in thefinal months before launch, next time I'll do any work on Columbussystems will be on the real flight hardware in space. Feels kind ofstrange,actually.

Whilewewererunningthesimulationinsidethemock-up,alotwasgoingonoutside:theteamhereisgettingreadytowelcomealotofvisitorsinlittleoveraweek.TheEuropeanAstronautCenterwillopenitsdoorsonSeptember 22nd as part of a big open day of the entire GermanAerospaceCentrethatweareco-locatedwith.

AtEACwe'llhavetoursofthetrainingfacilitiesthroughoutthedayanda

rich stageprogram. If you canmake it toCologne,we're really lookingforwardtoseeingyou!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-444: Non vediamo l’ora diincontrarvi!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-443

AndreasMogensentestsasmallexerciserintheAquariushabitatduringtheSEATESTmission.Source:AndreasMogensen/ESA

Cologne(Germany),2013.09.14—EnjoyingarareweekendathomeinCologne:notrainingexcept,asusual,workingout.

Strength and endurance training are daily activities for astronautsonboard the International Space Station. We have very effectiveequipment onboard that helps us reduce muscle and bone lossassociatedwith longexposure toweightlessness.But thatequipment isalso quite bulky. Consider that the ISS is a gigantic space vehiclecompared to anything we will use in the future for space explorationbeyond LowEarthOrbit, sowe'll probably need smaller devices in thefuture.

Looks like fellowShenaniganAndreasMogensen got to assemble andtest such a device during his SEATEST mission in the Aquariusunderwaterhabitat.Takealookathisvideoreport!

Video:SEATESTMissionDay3(2:04)

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-443:L’avventurasottomarinadiAndreasMogensen,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-442

ATV-3 Johannes Keplermaneuver thrusters just before docking at theISS.Source:NASA

Cologne(Germany),2013.09.15—NextweekattheEuropeanAstronautCentermycrewmateSashaandIwillhaveourfirstweekofATVtraining.

ATVistheAutomatedTransferVehicle,thecargoresupplyspaceshipofthe European Space Agency. It docks automatically to the ServiceModuleoftheRussianSegmentusingtheRussianDockingSystem(thesameoneastheSoyuz)butadifferentsuiteofextremelyprecisedockingsensors.

You can not take over control of ATV from ISS and fly it manually todocking, but crews are trained to monitor the rendezvous and sendcontingencycommandstointerrupttheapproachifnecessary.

Sofar,fourATVshaveflownandallofthemhavedockedflawlesslywithgreatprecision.ATV4AlbertEinstein ison ISSrightnow.The lastone,ATV5GeorgesLemaîtrewill flynextyearandshouldstillbeonStationwhenmycrewmatesandIarrive.

In this beautiful picture, takenbyDonPettit, you can see thearrival ofATV3EdoardoAmaldilastyear!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-442:Parliamounpo’diATV,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-441

ATV-2JohannesKepler.SourceNASA

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2013.09.16—TheATVtrainingweekhasstartedtodayatEAC…withoutme.

I've actually received a waiver for today's and tomorrow's theoreticallessons,since Ialreadyhad thoseclassesduringbasic training.Insteadofthefulllessons,IhadareviewwithaninstructorwhoalsoverifiedthatIstillpossesstherequiredknowledge. Iwill joinmycrewmateSasha inthesimstartingWednesday.

One of the lessons that were waived covers the distribution ofresponsibility between the ATV Control Center (ATV-CC) in ToulouseandMissionControlCenter(MCC)Moscow.

ATV-CC is of course in control of the vehicle: itmonitors the status ofATVand theexecutionof themissionprofileand ituploadscommandsas necessary. However, during the rendez-vous and docking phaseMCC-Moscow has mission authority, since ATV docks to the Russiansegment of the ISS. In fact, crewonorbit talks toMoscowduringATV

approach and docking. That's why we practice coms in Russian alsoduringoursimsatEAC!

BacktoATV-CC,though. Ifyou'recuriousabouthowwork isorganizedinToulouse,takealookatthisnicepostontheATVblog!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-441: Perché qualche voltaparliamorussoaColonia,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-440

CadyColemaninhisISSaccommodation.Source:NASA

EuropeanAstronautCentre(Cologne(Germany),2013.09.17—TodayIhadachancetohelpthedevelopmentprocessofanexperimentthatIwillperformonISSduringmymission.

Manyastronautsreportthattheydon'tsleepaswellonISSastheydoonthe ground. Most tend to sleep a bit less than on Earth and feelsomewhatlessrested.

The experiment in question aims at studying the heart activity duringsleep.Thanks toaseriesofsensorsembedded ina tight-fittingT-shirt,anelectrocardiogramcanbe recordedwhile theastronautsleeps.Also,an3-axisaccelerometerplacedonthesternumcanrecorddatathatcangiveinsightintothecardiacmechanicsinmicrogravity.WhileIwastryingthe T-shirt on today, the Primary Investigator could show me on theaccelerometer traces the opening and closing of the different valves ofmyheart.Prettycool,ah?

Investigating these phenomena on healthy people in unique

environments(likemicrogravity)cangivescientists insight thatcanhelpsickpeopleonEarth.Forexamples,thesamemicro-awakeningsthatthisexperimentaims toobserve inastronauts (via theirheart ratevariance)havebeententativelyshowntoexistinnarcolepticpeople.Learnedalotagaintoday!

In the picture,my good friendCadyColeman peaking out of her crewquartersonISS!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-440: Quando il tuo sonnodiventaricercascientifica,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-439

AnastronautenterstheATV.Source:NASA

EuropeanAstronautCentre(Cologne(Germany),2013.09.18—IhavepickedupATVtrainingwithcrewmateSashatoday.

One of the classes dealtwith the operations related to ingressingATVafterdocking.Soundseasyenough,butingressoperationsactuallytakeseveralhours.

Foronething,beforeopeninganyhatchyouneedtomakesurethatyouhaveagoodsealbetweenStationand thevehicle itself.Wecall thesetype of procedures leak checks: you basically create a pressuredifferentialbetween twovolumes thataresealedoffandcheck that thepressure equalization across the seal over a certain time is within thelimits.

Oncetheleakcheckispassedandyouopenthehatch,it'stimetotakealong series of air samples, part for return to ground and part to testonboardfordifferentcontaminants.

Then you need to install an air filter and let it fully clean the ATVatmosphere formanyhours.Onlyafter the filtering iscompleteareyouallowed toenterATVwithoutprotectivemaskandgoggles. If you thinkaboutit,itmakessense:onEarth,smallparticlesfalltotheground,butinspacetheyfloat,sotheycaneasilyget intoyoureyesoryourlungs.Ofcourse,we don't expect that on space vehicles,which are prepared incleanrooms,butbetterbesafethansorry!

Youcansee in thepictureacrewmemberenteringATVwithprotectivegear. And what are those yellow things? Those are clamps that areinstalled on the hatch to increase the mechanic rigidity of the linkbetweenATVandStation.Afterall,anATVisamuchbiggerbeastthanaProgressoraSoyuz!

Thoseclampsareprettyinteresting.Sinceyouneedtobeabletocloseahatchquickly inanemergency,theyaredesignedsothatyoujustneedto pull on the string of one and they all come off. Justmake sure youdon'thaveyourfingersinthewaywhenthespringloadedleversnapstothereleaseposition!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-439:Perentrarenell’ATVnonbastaaprireilportello,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-438

Samantha Cristoforetti installed the air filter in the ATV mockup in atrainingsessionattheEACinCologne.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

EuropeanAstronautCentre(Cologne(Germany),2013.09.19—SomemoreATVtrainingwithSashatoday!

We starting delving into the world of rendez-vous and dockingmalfunctions:all thosescenariosthatwouldcauseustosendamanualcommandtointerrupttheapproachofATV.

WealsohadanevaluationsimulationonATVemergencies,inparticularthecasesof fire inATVandofaStationdepressurizationwith the leaklocatedinATV.

A lotof theemergencyproceduresarecommon togenericstation-wideresponsewetraininHouston,buttherearesomepeculiaritiesrelatedtoATV.Themainone is that it isavehicle thatcan,andmusteventuallyundock Station. If you're going to close the hatch of ATV in anemergency knowing that youwill never open it again, you bettermakesureyouleavethevehicleinaconfigurationinwhichitcansafelyundock

andflyautonomouslyuntilatmosphericreentry!

All theingressoperationsweworkedonyesterdaywereveryhelpfulfortoday'ssim,becausewewerefamiliarwiththelocationofequipment.Inthepicture,youcanseeusyesterdayworkingontheinstallationoftheairfilter.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-438: Addestramento alleemergenzediATV,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-437

Samantha Cristoforetti in the ATV mockup at the EAC in Cologne.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

EuropeanAstronautCentre(Cologne(Germany),2013.09.20—TodaySashaandIfinishedPart1ofATVtraining.

Firstwe got to see some In-Flight-Maintenance procedures concerningthereplacementofcabinfanandsmokedetectors.

Then we had a pretty long paper-based test aimed at assessing ourknowledgeandunderstandingof themalfunctionsthatcanoccurduringdockingandrendez-vous.WhenwecomebackforanotherweekofATVtraining in November we'll spend most of the time in the simulatorpracticingourreactionstothesemalfunctions.

Here's a picwith a good viewof ourATVmockupatEAC.Btw, if youcome and visit us on Sunday on our Open Day, you'll also get a tourinside!

Here'smoreinfo.

Italian translation of this logbookentry: L-437:Completata la settimanasuATV,esamesuperato,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-436

ThetentthatpreventstheatmosphereofATVfrommixingwiththatoftheISS installed in themockupat theEAC inCologne.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Cologne(Germany),2013.09.21—SharingacouplemorepicturesfromourATVtraininglastweek.

AsImentionedintheL-439Logbook,oneoftheinitialingressoperationsconsistsininstallinganairfilterthatcleanstheatmosphereofthenewlyarrivedvehicle.

Beforelettingthefilterdoitsjoboverthenextseveralhours,weinstallacurtain, as you can see in the picture. This little trick prevents ATVatmosphere from mixing with Station atmosphere while the filtering isongoing.

Youcanalsoseeourmockupofthefilteritselfintheotherpicture.Btw,intherealvehicleweinstallthefilterontheendcone:thatdoorofcoursedoesn't exist] But in our mockup getting through the hatch from theServiceModule is rather cumbersome, since unfortunately we can not

float:hencetheextradooronthe"vacuum"side!

InstallingtheATVairfilter.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

OnefinalreminderofourOpenDaytomorrowattheEuropeanAstronautCentre!Unfortunately, I have to take care of a personal issue that hasarisenlastminute,soIwillnotbeabletoparticipate.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-436: Una tenda in ATV, byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-434

SamanthaCristoforettiafteranEVAtrainingsessionwiththeOrlansuitattheStarCityHydrolab.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Francoforte (Germania),2013.09.23—Afteradayof recoveryathomeyesterday - sorry I missed our Open Day and SocialSpace! - and aShenaniganstagupwithmanagementandcolleaguesthismorningonavarietyoftopics-thanksThomasPesquetfororganizingthis!-it'stimetohittheroadagain.

I'mattheFrankfurtairportwaitingtobaordmyflighttoMoscowtopickuptraininginStarCitytomorrow.

ReallybusyweekintheHydrolabcomingup,firstwithsomepreparatoryscuba diving tomorrow and then two training runs in theOrlan suit onWednesday and Friday. Also on the training plan Soyuz sims withmyCommanderAntonandemergency trainingon theRussian segment ofISS.

I'msharingapicture fromOrlan trainingback inApril: judging frommyhair,I'dsayitwastakenaftertherun!

After a training session at the Star City Hydrolab. Source: GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-434:VersoStarCity,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-433

TheHydrolabofStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.09.24—BackinStarCity!

Sometimesgettingfromoneplacetoanotheronthesurfaceoftheplanetseemsmoredifficultthangoingtospace.SoithappenedthatIwasabitdelayedandonlymadeittoStarCityearlythisafternoon.

ToolateforscubadivingintheHydrolab,unfortunately,butearlyenoughtogetanextensivebriefingof thetasksSashaandIwillpracticeunderwatertomorrow.ThenicethingsabouttheHydrolabisthatyoucanraisetheplatformwith the ISSmockups, so you can takea close lookevenwithoutputtingyourscubagearon.

YoucanreadmuchmoreabouttheOrlantrainingintheattachedpostontheShenanigansblog.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-433:PrepararsiallasimulazioneOrlandidomani,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-432

Mockup of the Russian section of the ISS at the Star City Hydrolab.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.09.25—ChallengingdayintheOrlantoday!

WithcrewmateSashaweshowedupat theHydrolabat9:00and,afterseeingthedoctor,wechangedintoourcoolingundergarmentsandhadsometimetosetupourtoolsandbags.

Preparingtheequipment.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Thenwehadspentaboutfourhoursinthewaterpracticingtasksmainlyon the Mini Laboratory Module (MLM), a new Russian element thatshould be launched next year. You can see the MLM mockup in thepictureshowingtheplatformbeforeitwasloweredinthewater.

MLMMockupatStarCity'sHydrolab.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

LoweredinHydrolab.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

AtworkinHydrolab.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Ofcourseafterthetrainingwehadadebriefwithourinstructors.Iassureyou,wewerenotposinginthatdebriefpicture!

With Sasha at the debriefing after the Hydrolab simulation. Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Afteralatelunch,therewasstilltimetobrieftomorrow'sSoyuzsimwithmySoyuzcommanderAntonandour instructor.We'llhaveoursimfirstthing tomorrowmorning. Did Imention already that I love being in theSoyuzsimulator?

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-432: Addestramento in tutaOrlan,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-431

Paolo Nespoli and his crew in a fire simulation in the mockup of theRussian segment of the ISS in Star City. Source: Gagarin CosmonautTrainingCenter

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.09.26—FourhoursofSoyuzsimthismorningwithAnton.Andwedidn't haveanymajorengineor computerfailurestoday,notevenafireoradepressurization.

Butwe certainlywere not bored. The instructor threw at usmany littlemalfunctionsthatwedon'tseeveryoftenandarenotsoeasytodetect.Theymightnotkillyou,butforsuretheycaneasilyturnyour6-hourtriptoISSintoatwo-daytrip,ifnotdealtwithproperly.

Afterlunch,IhadatheoreticallessonwithTerryaboutfighingfiresintheRussian segment: how the smoke detectors work, what kind of gasmasksandfireextinguisherswehave,wheretheyarelocated,whatarethe rules of engagement. Next we'll have a practical session in themockups, similar to the one you can see in the picture with ESAastronautPaoloNespoli.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-431: Incendi emalfunzionamentiinsidiosi,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-430

SamanthaCristoforettiinOrlansuitafteranEVAsimulationinStarCity'sHydrolab.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.09.27—Anothergreattrainingdayinthe Orlan today with Sasha. We repeated Wednesday's tasks and ofcourse,afterhavingalreadyseentheprofileonce,weweremuchmoreefficient.Wealsooptimizedthetoolsetup,whichhelpedalot.

In thepicture, taken justafter thecranegotmeoutof thewaterat theendoftherun,youcanseeapeculiarityofthewaterversionoftheOrlan.Iftherewaseveraproblemwiththeairsupplyfromthesurface,flippingthatwhiteleverwouldswitchtotheemergencyairbottleslocatedinthebackup.

The other peculiarity is of course that the front control panel and thecomputeraremissing in theHydrolabversion.Theonly thingremainingistheanaloguepressuregauge(thegraycylindricbox),whichofcoursecomesinhandyinthewateraswell.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-430:LatutaOrlanperl’acqua,

byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-429

Samantha Cristoforetti in Orlan suit is lowered into the Star CityHydrolab.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.09.28—It'sacoldandgrayweekendinStarCity.

Good time to sit at home with a good cup of tea and jot down some"lessons learned" fromlastweek's trainingruns in theHydrolab. I'mnotsurewhenI'llbeintheOrlansuitagainandI'llbedoingsomanydifferentthingsbetweennowandthen,thattakingnotesisvital.Ofcourse,thereisstandard trainingmaterial,butyoualsohave to figureout thewayofdoingthingsthatworksbestforyou.Iguessthat'svalidforalotofthingsinlife!

Thetwothickbluetetherswith thebighooksyousee in thepicturearetheonesweuse to secureourselves to structure.Youmovealong thehandrails "via ferrata" style: take one hook off, attach it to the nexthandrail,taketheotheroneoff…andsoon.Ofcourse,neverhavebothonthesamehandrail,oratleasthaveastandoffinbetween:theideaisthat,ifahandrailwereevertocomeoff,youwouldhavetheothertether

tokeepyousafe.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-429: La “via ferrata” dellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-428

SamanthaCristoforettienterstheOrlansuitforasessionattheStarCityHydrolab.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia),2013.09.29—I'd like tosharesomemorethoughtsaboutOrlantraining.

I'vebeenasked if theOrlan isverydifferent fromNASA'sEMUsuit. I'dsay yes. For one thing it is very quick to don: as you can see in thepicture,youprettymuchclimbintothesuit,closethe"door"behindyouandyou'rereadytopressurizeandgetintothewater.

Theotherbigdifferenceisthatit'spressurizedathigherpressure,about1.5timeshigher.Thisgivesyouagreatermarginincaseofaleak,butitalso reducesdexterityabitandgreaterenergy is required towork inamorerigidsuit.

Asinsomanyotherthings,it'sabalanceofdifferentneeds!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-428: Altre riflessionisull’addestramentoOrlan,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-427

SamanthaCristoforettiand thecrewof theSoyuzTMA-15M in theStarCitysimulator.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.09.30—Somemore briefings todayabout Russian segment emergency response, in particular about thedepressurizationscenario.

First big action: calculate how fast the pressure inside the Station isdroppingandthenfigureouthowmuchtimeyouhavebeforeyouneedtoevacuate.Wecallthatreservetime.

Secondthing:makesurethatit'snotyourSoyuzthatisleaking.Atleastyouknowthatyouhaveasaferidehome.

After that: find the leakand isolate it.Wehaveprocedures that leadusthrougha systematic isolationof portionsof theStation: every timeweclose a hatch we can determine on which side the leak is, until wepinpointittoonespecificmodule.Wecanthenisolateitandpreservetherestofourpressurizedvolume.

Now,asyoucan imagine Iamnot talkinghereaboutmovie-style leakswiththingsandpeoplebeingdrawnouttospace.Thelocationoftheleakwould be quite obvious in that case and you would have differentprioritiesanyway!

After talkingStation leaks in themorning,AntonandIhada leak in theenginepipingduringourafternoonSoyuzsimandasweperformedtheemergencyreentrywegottofightvariouscomputerandenginefailures…The picture I'm sharingwas taken another time though: that day Terrywaswithusaswellandourcrewwascomplete!

Italiantranslationof this logbookentry:L-427:PerditeallaStazioneealmotoredellaSojuz,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-426

PreparationofthemoldfortheSoyuzcarseatbySamanthaCristoforetti.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.10.01—I'minthere,somewhere!

IttakesavillagetomakethemoldfortheSoyuzseatliner,asIfoundouttoday. A couple of peoplewere pouring liquid plaster onme, a couplemorewereholdingmedownsoIstayedingoodcontactwiththewallsofthe"bathtub"andsomeonewaskindlycoveringmy face,so Ididn'tgetplastersplashesonit.

Afterafirstroughmoldwasdone, it tooksomeiterationsofaddingandscrapingawayuntil Iwasconfident that Ihadnohotspotsandhadanevencontactallalongmyspineand,most importantly,myneck.A fewmoreiterationsintheactualSokolspacesuitandthemoldwasdone!

Theseatlinerisespeciallyimportantatreentry.Asyouknow,there'snosuchthingasasoftlandingintheSoyuz:impactwiththegroundcanbeviolent.Butifthelinerfitsproperly,itwilldistributetheimpactloadevenlyandpreventinjury.

Oh,andyes,dayslikethisdomakeitfeelsoreal!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-426: La “vasca da bagno”misteriosa,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-425

Firesimulation in theZaryaFGBmoduleof theISS.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.10.02—Today I spent a couple ofhours in the Soyuz sim practicing manual rendez-vous and docking.Always nice to sit at the controls of the Soyuz and certainly verybeneficialtorefreshmyskillsabit!

IntheafternoonIhadalonganddetailedoverviewofalltheequipmentoftheRussiansegmentthatmightbeusedincaseofanemergency:gasmasksandfireextinguishers,ofcourse,butalsopowerswitchesthatyoumight want to turn off, valves youmight want to actuate, hatches youmightwant toclose -and thereareseveraldifferenthatch types in theRussiansegment.

Actually,itseemsthatthecrewonISSisscheduledtodosuchareviewtomorrow: as a basis for my class today we used a Radiogram (aRussianoperationalmessagetothecrew)withtomorrow'sdate!

Wealsowentthroughacoupleofscenariostorefreshtheknowledgeof

theprocedures.Asyoucanseeinthepicture,atonepointwehadafireintheFGBmodule.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-425: Esaminarel’equipaggiamentod’emergenza,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-424

Samantha Cristoforetti examines the emergency equipment in themockup of the Russian segment of the ISS. Source: SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia),2013.10.03—Today IhadanexamabouttheemergencyproceduresandequipmentontheRussiansegmentthatIhavebeenlearningaboutsincelastweek.

Asyoumighthaveread,yesterdayIhadahardwarereviewclassinthemockup.Iattachapicture,inwhichyoucanseesomeofthathardware.

Foronething,hatches.Thereareseveraldifferentkinds in theRussiansegment and it's important to be able to close them quickly in anemergency. Next to every hatch there is always a valve to equalizepressurebetweenthemodulesandwealsoneedtobeabletolocateandactuateallof thosevalvesquickly.Youcanseeoneon theupper rightside of the picture. The modules that can be used as airlock for aspacewalk also have depressurization valves that connect them to thevacuumofspace.

Atthebottomofthehatch,alongtheyellowring,youcanalsoseetwoairflowsensors.TheyareinstalledonallRussiansegmenthatchesandareautomatically activated if the "rapid depressurization" alarm goes off.WhileallthefansareturnedoffandcrewmembersretreattotheirSoyuzto leakcheck their ridehomeand leave theair circulationunperturbed,withinafewminutestheflowsensorsmighthavearesolutionfortheleaklocationorpointgenericallytotheUSsegmentoftheStation.

Oh, Ialsogot to fly theSoyuz foracoupleofhours todayagain.Notabadday!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-424: Passato l’esame sulleprocedured’emergenza!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-423

Samantha Cristoforetti in the Star City centrifuge in a manual re-entrysimulation.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia), 2013.10.04—Today I got to spend sometimewithmygoodoldfriend,StarCity'scentrifuge.

Except that itwasn't turning. I reallygot thereprettymuchbychance. Iwasscheduled foraclass inmanualdescent,but thecontrolpanelwetrainonwasinstalledinthecentrifugecabin,becausethecurrentprimeandbackupcrewshadtheirmanualdescentexamsthisweek.

Infrontofmeinthepictureisthedescentformat,thatshowsthenominaldescentcurve.Thecurvestartsontopwiththemomentofentryintotheatmosphereandendsatthebottomwithparachutedeployment.Thegoalistogetascloseaspossibletothenominalpointofparachuteopening,but inourmanualcontrolscenarioswe'renotonthecurvetostartwith:we simulate that there is an error in the time in which we contact theatmosphere,whichistypicallysomewherebetween40secondsearlierto40secondslater.

As an example, if we entered the atmosphere later than planned, weneed to dive in steeper tomake the parachute deployment point. Thatcan be tricky, because a steeper trajectory means also higher Gs. Iguess that'swhy theymakeusdo theexam in thecentrifuge: thenwefeeltheconsequenceofourcontrolinputs!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-423:Ripidamanontroppo,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-422

Samantha Cristoforetti with the crew of the Soyuz TMA-15M duringsurvivaltraininginwater.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Cologne (Germany), 2013.10.05—A flashback logbook today, as I amspending a weekend in Cologne and I am taking some time to sortthroughamountainofphotosfromthepastmonths.

This isapicture from lastJune,whenAnton,TerryandmyselfhadourwatersurvivaltraininginalakenotfarfromStarCity.

Themostchallenging thingaboutwatersurvival is theheat - in the tinydescentmodule,thethreeofushadtodoffourSokolpressuresuits(thatyouseeinphoto),putonseverallayersofthermalclothingandadrysuit,before jumping into the water to evacuate a descent module that wesimulatedtobeslowlyleaking.

Intheconfinedspace,all thatchangingofclothestookusoveranhourandahalf inwhichweweredrenchedinsweat,takingturnstorestanduse the ventilation hoses to cool down. It was fine balance betweenworkingfast togetoutquickerandworkingslowlytoavoidoverheating.

Just in case, before the training we swallowed a wireless sensor viawhichthedoctorcouldmonitorourcoretemperatureduringtheexercise.

It'sunlikelywe'lleverhavetousetheseskills,butforsureitwasagreatexerciseinteambuilding!

Ifyou'reinterested,youcanfindmanymorepictureshere.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-422: Un flashback sullasopravvivenzainacqua,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-421

Samantha Cristoforetti in Orlan suit in the Star City Hydrolab. Source:Gagarincosmonauttrainingcenter

Cologne (Germany),2013.10.06—UnplannedSunday inCologne.Dueto the temporary "government shutdown" in the US, some non-criticaltraining inHouston has beenpostponed to a later time, therefore Iwillleavelaterintheweek.So,insteadofbeingonaplanerightnow,I'monmyway to see themovieGravity.Looking forward to that, afterhavingheardsomuchaboutit!

Also, I've sorted somemore pictures. Here's a set of photos of OrlantrainingintheHydrolabinStarCitythatIhopeyouwillenjoy.

YouwillnoticethatthereisnojetpackattachedtotheOrlansuits.That'strueonorbitaswell.OnlyNASA'sEMUsuithasajetpack,whichiscalledSAFER. And to answer a common question of folks who have seenGravity:no,wedon'tflyaroundusingtheSAFER.

IthasonlyenoughgastoflyyouquicklybacktostructureifyouweretobecomedetachedfromStation.Butthat'saveryunlikelysituationandit's

never happened before: the regular tether protocols should keep yousafeand, ifyouwere tomakeamistake, in theEMUwehaveasafetytetherthatprovidesanadditionallevelofprotection.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-421:No,nonsvolazziamoconijetpacknellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-420

LucaParmitano inEVA-22,stoppedprematurelydue toawater leak inhissuithelmet.Source:NASA

Cologne (Germany), 2013.10.07—I took advantage ofmy unexpectedfreeSundayandwenttoseeGravityyesterday.

Forwhatit’sworth,Ireallythinkyoushouldseeit,ifyouhaven’talready.Adisclaimerhere:myknowledgeofcinematographyisaboutequaltomyknowledgeofSanskritgrammar.ButIdaretosaythatyouwillinevitablybemovedby theaestheticbeautyof themovie, itsstunningvisuals, itscaptivatingmusic.Iwasn’ttoomuchsoldonthestoryline,butwhocares?It’sagreatexcusetotakeatriptospaceandwatchEarthfromtheorbitalperspective.Andtovisitsomeofhumanity’shardwareinspace,fromtheHubble to the International Space Station to the Soyuz spaceship, allreproducedwithpainstakingdetaildowntothelabelingofthebuttonsonthecontrolpanel.Gothemovietheater,putyour3Dglassesandgotakea look. Then go out, look up at the sky and think that all those thingsexistsforreal,rightnow,inEarthorbit.Letthatthoughtsinkin.

Ok,nowtowhatyoureallywanttoknow.Yes,thehardwarereproduction

is amazingly accurate, but how about what actually happens? Is itrealistic?

(Spoileralert!)

Well,sorry,no.Inmyopinion,notabit.Foronethingthere’saseriesofphysical impossibilities.FlyingfromHubbletoISSonajetpack?C’mon.Theyareincompletelydifferentorbits:differentaltitudes,differentorbitalvelocities,differentplanes.If it’snotyourdailywork,out-of-planeorbitaltransfers can give you a headache, they’re just not intuitive. And theytakealot,reallyalotoffuel.Notstuffforatinyjetpack.

Or let’s talk about the drama moment when the brave Commanderreleasesthehookthattieshimtohiscrewmate:itwascertainlyofgreatemotional impact to see him floating away under the spell of somemagical force, but, ehm, in reality notmuchwould havehappened.Hewouldhavejustkeptfloatingrightthere.

Anyway,enoughsaidabout thephysical impossibilities.Let’s talkaboutthe things Inoticed that inmyopinionmakenosense fromthepointofviewofrealspaceoperationsonISS.

1. Training—Dr.Stonesaidshetrainedsixmonthsforherflight.Well,Ihave trained for twoyearsand Ihaveonemore togo.And,no, Ican’tevenflyaChinesespacecraft.

2. Tethers—During theHubble repair scenes youseea lot of free-floating tools. In a real spacewalk, nothing is ever left untethered.Andcrewmembersareadditionallyattachedbyacoilingsafetytetherthatwouldpullthembacktostructureiftheycameoff.

3. Jetpack flying — Crewmembers really don’t fly around using ajetpack likethat.The jetpack(calledSAFER) is justanextrasafetymeasureandhas justenoughgas toquickly flyback tostructure ifonewasevertocomeoff.

4. Loss of communication — The communication satellites, calledTDRS, are geostationary satellites. They are in a 36.000 kmorbit.They can’t be taken down by debris “flying around” in Low EarthOrbit.

5. O2 in the suit running out— Actually, the first consumable that

wouldrunoutwouldbeCO2scrubbing.Dr.StonewouldhavediedofCO2intoxicationwellbeforeshe’drunoutofoxygen.

6. Airlockhatches—InthemovieDr.Stoneseemstobeeasilyableto“breakinto”anySpaceStationthatsohappenstobeinhersameorbit by turning a convenient external handle of the airlock hatch.Thehatches conveniently open to theoutsideand theairlocksareconvenientlyisolatedfromtherestoftheStation.Inreality,wedon’thave external handles on hatches and we don’t keep airlocksisolated–ifyouopenthehatch,youdepressurizethewholeStation.Also, hatches to vacuum open to the inside, not the outside,otherwise theywouldn’tbeverysafe, right?Thinkofall that insidepressurewanting topush themopenall the time.Of course, sincethey open to the inside you have to depressurize the airlock first,otherwiseyouwouldhaveaveryhardtimeopeningthem.

7. Extraships—OnthevariousStationsconvenientlylocatedonherorbit,Dr.StonealsofindsspaceshipsconvenientlyleftbehindbytheStationcrew.Inreality,wehavetwoSoyuzspaceshipsforsixpeopleof ISS. If we have to leave, we use them both. On an evacuatedSpaceStationtherewouldbenoSoyuzleftbehind.

Ok,I’llleavetherestfortomorrow.

In themeantime,gosee themovie,bringyour friendsand tell themallthat hardware really exists up there in orbit and it's a magnificentachievement.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-420: Alcune riflessioni suGravityL-420: Alcune riflessioni su Gravity, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-418

TheSoyuzTMA-7leavestheISS.Source:NASA

Cologne (Germany), 2013.10.09—This is a continuation of Monday’sLogbookabout themovieGravity. Ifyouhavemissed it,pleasereadL-420Logbookfirst!

PickingupwhereIleftoff,herearesomemoreaspectsofthemoviethattendtowardsthefictionsideofsciencefiction.Again,spoileralert!

The undersuit with the mesh of cooling tubes. Source: samanthaCristoforetti

8. Spacewalking — Spacewalks in the movie are impressiveperformancesworthofaCirqueduSoleilshow.Unfortunatelythat’snotveryrealistic.Actualspacewalkingsuitsareveryrigidandhavemetaljointsthatconstrainmovements:rangeofmotionanddexterityarelimitedandsoisone’sfieldofviewfrominsidethehelmet.Evenwithalltheextraboostfromabigadrenalinerush,sorry,there’sjustnowayyoucouldpulloffallthosenumbers.

9. Airlock ops — The ISS airlock that Dr. Stone breaks into is theRussianone,whichisusedforspacewalksontheRussiansegmentwith the Russian suit Orlan. The airlock is beautifully rendered inamazingdetail,sonevermindthattheblueknobturnedbyDr.Stonewould not initiate repressurization, that repressurization wouldanywaytakemuchlongerandthatgettingoutoftheEMUsuit,evenwithhelp,takesquitesometime.WhereIreallywouldliketosettherecordstraightistheunderweardepartment.Thetanktopandshortsthat Dr. Stone is wearing are, well, quite an astonishing fashionstatement as far as spacewalks go. In reality, spacewalkers wearvery unfashionable, but way more protective, long-sleevedunderwear and a cooling undergarment which is amesh of about100metersof tiny tubes (seepicture).Water is circulated in thosetubestoremoveheatfromthebodyanditwhichisthenrejectedintospaceviaasublimator.Intheworldofrealspacewalks,nocooling,noparty.

10. UndockingtheSoyuz—Yes,itisabitmorecomplicatedthanjustpushing the ‘ON’ button and sending the undock command. Youneedtoperformleakchecksandbringanumberofsystemsonlinebeforeyoucanleave.ThethoughtofjustjumpingintoaSoyuzandgowassoamusinglygrotesquetomethatit’soneofthosemomentswhen I burst out laughing. But, here’s a big but: thinking about itsomemore,Iactuallythinkyoucoulddoit.Imean,inprincipleyoucouldshowup inyourunderwear, turnon thecontrolpanel,powerup thedockingsystemandsend thecommand toopen thehooks.Aslongasthehatchisclosedthecommandwouldbeacceptedand

once thehooksopenup thespring loadedpusherswouldgiveyousomeseparationvelocity. Iguess ifyouwerereally inahurry,whynot?Youbetterhaveagoodplanofwhat todonext, though,andstartturningonvitalequipmentassoonasyouareonyourway.

11. Parachute — I won’t say this too loud, but… you can actuallyrelease the parachute from the descent module while comfortablysitting inside. It’s standard procedure to release one string afterlanding to avoid being dragged by the wind. In case of a waterlanding,youreleasebothstringstoavoidbeingdraggedunderwaterbytheparachuteweight.Thatsaid,doinganimprovisedspacewalkwascertainlymorespectacular.Butkeep inmind that in theactualSoyuz there is no provisionwhatsoever to do spacewalks and notevenahintofahandrail to translateon. I guess this scenewasatributetoearliertimesoftheSovietspaceprogram.

Enoughfortoday,tobecontinued!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-418: Altre riflessioni suGravityL-418: Altre riflessioni su Gravity, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-417

TheSoyuzTMA-7leavestheISS.Source:NASA

Houston(USA),2013.10.10—Justarrived inHoustonaftera long flightinwhichIhadtimetojotdownsomefinalwordsonGravity.Pleaseseeyesterday’s Logbook L-418 and especially Monday’s L-420 for mygeneral thoughtson themovie.Theshortstory is:gosee it, itwillbeagreat aesthetic experience and a close encounter with some amazingspacehardwarethatwereallyoperateinorbit.Rightnow.

Asmentionedbefore, hardware rendering is amazingly realistic, eventsand operations not as much. Here are some more thoughts on that(SpoilerAlert!)

How to remove your Sokol suit. Source: Gagarin Cosmonaut TrainingCenter

12. Flyingarendezvous—You’resitting inyour tinySoyuzandwantto fly to the International Space Station? That’s done four times ayear,bytheway–everytimeanewcrewislaunchedtoStation.It’scalled rendezvous and it’s technically what Dr. Stone tries to dowhensheaimsat theISSTiangongandattempts to fire theSoyuzmainengine.Exceptthatitdoesn’tworkthatway.Let’ssaythatyouaretrailingbehindtheStation.Inordertocatchup,youneedtobeinalowerorbit.Here’sthetrick:everyorbithasitsownspecificorbitalvelocity. The lower youare, the faster yougo.So, if youareonalowerorbitthanyourtarget,youcatchup:wecallthatphasing.Thenatsomepointyouneed tocomeup toyour target’sorbit.For that,you’ll give two posigrade burns (meaning forward) at two precisemoments.That,believeitornot,willendupmakingyouslower.Butitwillraiseyourorbit,soyou’llhaveachievedyourgoals:reachyourtargetandmatcheditsslowervelocity.Yougetthepoint:eveninthesimplest possible case that I have just described, a rendezvousinvolvesfiringtheenginemultipletimesinburnsofextremelypreciseorientationandduration.No“aimandfire”here!

13. Can’ttricktheSoyuz…—…intothinkingthatit’s3metersfromtheground.There is no control format tomanually input height-above-ground and the soft landing rockets are fired automatically bycommand of a radar altimeter.Moreover, to expose themnot onlyyouwould have to separate theSoyuzmodules (which they did, Iliked that!) but youwould also need to detach the heat shield thatprotectsthebottomofthedescentmoduleduringre-entry.And,youguessedit,thatalsohappensautomatically.

14. Riding the fire extinguisher—Nevermind thatwe don’t have asidehatchintheSoyuzdescentmodule(whywouldyouneedone?),butwhataretheoddsofmakingittoISSusingafireextinguisher?Irememberanoldtireadthatsaid“Powerisnothingwithoutcontrol”.InthiscaseIwouldsay“Thrustisnothingwithoutcontrol”.Let’ssayyouwanttomovestraightbackwards.Firstofall,youneedtomakesurethatyouorientyourbodysothatyourtarget isstraightbehind

you(how?).Thenthefiringdirectionoftheextinguisherneedstobeperfectlyalignedwiththecenterofmassofyourbody/suitsystem.Ifit’sonlyslightlymisaligned,youwill inevitablyspin.Assoonasyoustartspinning,yourtarget,thatweassumedyouweresomehowabletoput rightbehindyou,will notbebehindyouanymore…start toseeaproblemhere?

15. Reentry—WhenwepracticereentryintheSoyuzsimulatorinStarCitythereisonethingweneedtodonomatterwhat,inspiteoftheinstructors throwing at us combinations of malfunctions worth of,well, a movie: we absolutely have to give a braking burn in thecorrectorientationandwiththerequiredΔV.Inanutshellthatmeansthat we slow down just as much as needed to encounter theatmosphere at the proper angle.Why is that important?Well, thathappenstobethekeytoourgettinghomeinonepiece.I’llletyoubethejudgeofwhethertheapocalypse-daytypeofscenariodepictedinthemoviecouldhaveendedwellforDr.Stone.

16. Andfinally…—letitbeknownthattheRussiansarenofoolsandcertainly no newcomers in the spacefaring business. I guess onecould argue that they invented it. This space debris catastrophiccascadereactionisunrealisticasitis.ThattheRussians,whohavethreecrewmembersonISSallthetime,wouldcauseit,isnonsense!

There were of coursemanymore little things, from the drop of partialoxygenpressureinthedescentmodulewithoutoveralldropofpressuretogettingoutof theSokolsuitunderwater ina fewseconds (it’s reallynotaquick-doffsuit,asyoucanseeinthepicture),butI’llcallthisdonefrommyside.Gettingbacktomyowntrainingtomorrow!

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L-417:Riflessioni conclusive suGravity,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-416

SamanthaCristoforettiandTerryVirtsinasimulationofEVAattheNBLoftheJSCinspring2013.Source:NASA

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.10.11—BackinHoustonandstraighttotheNBLforanextensivepreparatoryclassformyrunintheEMUsuitnextTuesday.

TerryandIwillpracticeseveralrelativelyshorttasks,includingdeployingcables,replacingandrelocatinganexternalcamera,preparinganitrogentank for removal by the robotic arm and replacing an external powerconverterunit.

I also got to scuba dive in the pool withmy instructor Faruq, to get abetteroverviewofworksitesandtranslationpaths.Thecameraworksiteon the US Lab is especially challenging, because there are very fewhandrailstoholdontowhileworking.

Attached is a picture of a previous run with Terry last spring (Credit:NASA).

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-416: In piscina per preparareunapasseggiataspaziale,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-415

SamanthaCristoforettiinthesessionforthepreparationoftheseatlinershapenearSvesda.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Houston(USA),2013.10.12—I've just finishedsortingthepicturesfromtheseatlinermoldingsessionIhadinMoscowlastweek.

It tookplace in the facilitiesof thecompanyЗвезда (Svesda=Star) inthetownofТомилино(Tomilino)ontheoutskirtsofMoscow.Звездаhasmanufactured space suits and seat liners since the very beginning ofhumanspaceflight,so itmighthappen thatyou findyourselfonascalethathasbeenusedtoweighcosmonautssince1961!

Youcanseepicturesofthewholeprocesshere.

Basedon themoldand themeasurements they took, thegood folksatЗвездаwillmanufactureformeSokolsuitn.422andseatlinern.650.Idid ask the question:why don't the numbersmatch? It seems that thenumberingoftheseat linerswasfast-forwardedto500atsomepointtomarktheintroductionofanewmodel.

I'll be back at some point in the coming months to try the suit in thevacuumchamber.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-415: Inattesadella tutaSokolnumero422,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-414

SunitaWilliamsontheISStreadmill.Source:NASA

Houston (USA), 2013.10.13—Besides Sokol suits and seat liners, asexplained in yesterday's Logbook, ISS crewmembers also get customfittingearplugs.OnFridayIwasscheduledforafinalfitcheck,whereIcouldwearthemforsometimewhileIworkedonmycomputertomakesurethattheyarecomfortable.

ThereisasimplerpassiveversionandanactiveversionthatweusetotakeourperiodichearingassessmentonISS.Asyoumightknow,Stationispretty loud,mainlybecauseof thesignificantnumberof fans that runcontinuouslytoforceaircirculation,thusprovidingmixingofatmospherecomponent, smoke detection capability and, in some cases, cooling ofequipment.

AnotherveryloudpieceofmachineryistheT2treadmill,especiallyifyouarea fast runner likeSuni,whomyoucansee in thepicture. I'mnotafastrunneratall,but I'llstillmakesuretowearearprotectiononT2asrecommendedbyourflightsurgeons.

(Photocredit:NASA/Stafford-Image:jsc2012e238218)

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-414:LospazioèsilenziosomalaISSèrumorosa,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-413

TerryVirtsworksattheUIApanelintheairlockmockupfortheISSEMUsuits.Source:NASA/Stafford-Photo:jsc2012e238218

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.10.14—Today isColumbusDay,anationalholidayintheUS.I'mdoingsomeworktogetreadyfortomorrow'sunderwatertrainingintheNBLwithcrewmateTerry(seeL-416Logbook).

MosttrainingrunsintheNBLstartintheairlock,whichisofcoursewherereal spacewalks start. In the airlock we have a panel called UIA(UmbilicalInterfaceAssembly)thatactsasinterfacebetweentheStationandtheEMUsuitsprovidingpower,oxygenandwater.Wedon'thaveafunctioningUIAunderwaterofcourse,butwedohaveapassivemockupandperiodicallywegothroughthedepressurizationandrepressurizationchecklisttofamiliarizeourselveswiththemotions.

Mostofairlockoperationswepractice ina "dry"airlockmockup: in thepictureyoucanseeTerryworkingontheUIAduringatrainingevent.

PhotoCredit:NASA

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-413:Operazioninell’airlock,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-412

SamanthaCristoforettiandTerryVirts inanEVAtrainingsessionat theJBL'sNBL.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.10.15—Just got backfrom the Neutral Buoyancy Facility after another intense spacewalkingtrainingdayunderwaterwithTerry.

Training in the EMU suit always involves a very long day. Ascrewmembers,weshowuparound6:30amonthepooldecktosetupouttoolsandwegetdonewiththedebriefaround5pm.Buttherearepeoplewhoshowupalotearlierinthemorningtomakesurethatthefacility,thesuits,thetools,thecomandlifesupportequipmentarereadytosupportourtrainingandkeepussafeunderwater.

The professionalism and dedication of the NBL team never ceases toamazeme!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-412:Unagiornatasott’acquaalNeutralBuoyancyLaboratory,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-411

TerryVirtsontheAPFRandSamanthaCristoforettiinanEVAsimulatedatNBL.Source:NASA

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.10.16—OneofthetoolsweworkedwithyesterdayinthepoolwithTerryistheAPFR-ArticulatingPortableFootRestraint.

YoucantakealookatoneinthepictureIattached.Asyoucansee,youcanslideyourbootsinthere:ittakesadeliberaterotationoftheheelstomake or release the connection, so once you're in you have a rigidattachmentpointtostructure.That'sreallyusefulwhenyouneedtoworkforalongtimeataworksite,especially if theworksitedoesn'tprovidealotofhandrailsorifyouneedtoreactbigloads(likereleasingaboltthatwasfastenedatahightorque).

APFRshave threearticulating joints to adjust pitch, roll and yaw.Theyare attached to structures via WIFs, which are available on structurethroughoutStation.TheclockingoftheAPFRintheWIF(howitisrotatedwith respect to a reference line) gives you an extra adjustmentopportunityfortheorientation.

AndofcoursewhenacrewmemberneedstoworkontheroboticarmwecanattachanAPFRonthearmendeffector.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-411: Ancorati al bracciorobotico,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-410

SamanthaCristoforettiistrainedinthemaintenanceoftheT2treadmillattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter (Houston,USA),2013.10.17—Back toabusytrainingscheduletoday,fromtrainingontheARED(AdvancedResistiveExercise Device) to a class on setting up onboard cameras and videodownlinks from the Space Station to a refresher of power and thermalcontrol systems, which including running an external ammonia leakscenariotoreviewsomecriticalprocedures.

But thedaystartedat theground trainingmodelof theT2 treadmill,onwhichISScrewmembersarescheduledtorunseveral timesaweekfortheir cardiovascular conditioning. Running on the treadmill generatessignificant loadsand,asyoucan imagine,wedon'twant those loadstobe transmitted to the rest of Station. For this reason the treadmill isactually "suspended" on a vibration isolation system, that dampensouttheloadsimpartedbytherunningcrewmember.Tomakesurethisworkssatisfactorily, periodically we perform an alignment procedure, which iswhatIwaslearningtodointhephoto.

If you missed it and you're curious to see how we can run inweightlessness,takealookatLogbookL-414.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-410: Allineare il tapis roulantdellaISS,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-409

Samantha Cristoforetti shows a pair of EMU Class 1 suit gloves in aglovebox.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.10.18—Today I spentthe morning at the off-site facilities in which Class 1 EVA suits areproduced.

Thedesignation"Class1"meansthatapieceofhardwareismeanttoflyto space, as opposed to being used on the ground, for example fortraining.Today I got to tryonClass1EVAglovesand tomakeall thenecessaryadjustmentstohavethebestpossiblefit.

Ofcourseweneed to try thegloves in theirpressurizedstate,becausethe overpressure changes the fit completely. Mainly, as you wouldexpect, it inflates the gloves,making them larger. For that purposewehaveadedicatedglovebox:whenyouinsertthehands,theringsonthearm seal the volume and air can be pumped out until we get thenecessaryoverpressureof4.3PSIinthegloves.

Thefittingprocessisaniterativeoneinvolvingalotofpatientworkbythe

suittechnicians.Youputthegloveson,insertthearmsintheglovebox,pressurize,seehowit feels,discussthefitwiththesuitengineer,makethe changes that sounds reasonable and try again. Repeat as manytimesasnecessary.

Prettyexcitingtoworkwithglovesthatwillactuallyflytospaceforme!

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L-409:Lavorare conguanti chevolerannonellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-407

SamanthaCristoforetti trainstoreconfigureacoolingwatercircuit intheISSmockupattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Houston(USA),2013.10.20—Amongseveralotherclasses,onFridayIhadareviewoftheInternalThermalControlSystem,inpreparationofawater leak scenario that I will work onwith the rest of the crew in theupcomingweeks.

Water is themediumwithwhichexcessheat iscollectedon ISS,eitherviacoldplatesonwhichequipmentismountedorviatheairconditioningassemblies.

Ifadrop inwaterquantity in thecooling loopdetected, thecrewwillbeasked to try and pinpoint the leak. Unless there is an obvious loss ofwaterintothecabin,findingaleakinvolvesdisconnectingonebyonethevariousracksfromthewater linessoseeifremovingthatrackfromtheloopstopsthedecreaseofwaterquantityinthesystem…inwhichcasewewouldhavefoundtheculprit!

At somepoint, though, if enoughwater is lost, that cooling loopwill be

shut down. Fortunately we have two cooling loops andwe are able toensurecoolingtoatleastsomecriticalhardwareby"jumpering",meaninginsertingcriticalracksonthewaterlinesofthehealthyloop.

That involves a lot of manual reconfigurations, as you can see in thepicture!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-407: A caccia di perdited’acqua,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-406

Samantha Cristoforetti in a low-fidelity simulator from the ISS DestinylaboratoryattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.10.21—Just had aninteresting reviewclasson theCommandandDataHandlingsystemoftheSpaceStation.

Inparticular,wefocusedontheconsequencesofC&CMDMtransitions:thosearethecomputersthatcontroltheISS,meaningthattheareatthetopofthecomputerhierarchy.

Pretty important, as youcan imagine: that'swhywehave three, just incase. Depending on how many we loose and how functionality isrecovered, there might be a need to reconfigure the com system torecoverspace-to-groundaudiocapabilityandtalktomissioncontrol.

So, that'swhat Ipracticed today.Thefacilityyousee in thepicture isasimulator of theUS lab. Physically it's not very high-fidelity - there areother higher-fidelity mockups - but brain-wise it functions just like theStation.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-406:Seicomputerprincipalisiguastano…,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-405

SamanthaCristoforettiexaminesahigh-fidelityreplicaofacomponentoftheISSsolarpanelsattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.10.22—Today Terry,ButchandIhadafamiliarizationclasswithhigh-fidelityEVAhardware.

When we practice spacewalks in the pool we have replicas of thecomponentsweneed to repairor replace.These replicashavemostofthe elements that we work on: bolts, electrical connectors, fluid lines,etc…butinthepoolenvironmentnotallfeaturescanbereplicated.

Today,inadryenvironment,wehadachancetoputoureyesandhandsonhigh-fidelityequipment!Thepieceofhardwareyouseeinthepicture,for example, provides rotation capability of a single solar array wingaround itsaxis.Thiswaywecanalwaysoptimize theorientationof thearraywithrespecttotheSunandmaximizetheenergygeneration.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-405:Metteregliocchielemanisullevereattrezzature,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-404

Samantha Cristoforetti, Anton Shkaplerov and Terry Virts at an ISSattitudecontrolsimulationattheJSC.Source:JoshMatthew

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.10.23—Today Anton,TerryandIhadourfirsttrainingeventtogetherinHoustonastheSoyuz41Screw.TheoccasionwasasimulationinwhichwehadtodealwithaLossofAttitudeControlonISS.WecallthatLOACforshort.

Ifyouthinkaboutit,that'sprettybad.WeneedtohavetheSpaceStationinaknown,controllableattitudeinordertomakesurethatwehavegoodpointing for the antennas, the solar arrays, the radiators, etc.. withoutattitudecontrol theStationwill continuespinningwithwhatever (littleorbig)rotationrateithadwhenattitudecontrolwaslost.

Both the US Lab and the Russian segment Guidance and NavigationComputerscanprovideattitudecontrol,withonebigdifference: theUSsegment has Control Moment Gyroscopes, the Russian segment hasactual thrusters. In one of our scenarios today the Control MomentGyroscopessaturatedandthatcausedtheLOAC.Torecoverfromthat,wehadtotransfercontroloftheStationtotheRussiansegment,sothat

attitudecontrolcouldbereestablishedwiththehelpofthethrusters.

However,thrustersimpulsescanbesignificantandtheycouldpotentiallydamage thehugesolararrays thatprovidepower to theStation.That'swhywefirstneedtobringthesolararraystoasafeangleandlockthemthere.Onlythencanwesafelygotothrusterscontrol.

ThanksJoshMatthewforthephoto!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-404: Se perdete il controllod’assettodellastazione…,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-403

SamanthaCristoforetti replaces the toilet's solidwaste container in theISSmockupattheJSC.Source:NASA/Harnett

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.10.24—If you've beenfollowingthislogbook,you'llknowbynowthatintrainingwespendalotoftimepreparingforemergenciesandcontingenciesofallkinds.

It's vital to have the knowledge and skills necessary to resolve acontingency situation, but of coursewe have a reasonable expectationthatmostofourtimeonorbitwewillbeworkingnominaloperations.

Toprepareus for that, the trainingcommunityorganizesperiodicallysocalledroutine-opssimulations.InsuchsimswespendaboutfivehoursintheISSmockupsandwerunthroughatypicaltimeline,startingwiththemorning Daily Planning Conference (DPC). That's a tagup of the crewwithall thecontrolcenters,startingwithHouston, thenon toHuntsville,Munich, Tsukuba and finallyMoscow.At the end of the day there is asimilareveningDPCtowrapuptheday'swork.

ThisafternoonTerry,Antonand Iwillhavesucha routineopssim.My

lastonewasbackinMay.Asyoucanseeinthepicture,thattimeButchandIgottopracticesomeroutineworkonthetoilet,namelyreplacingthesolid waste container. That's definitely something we'll do for sure onorbit.

Photocredit:NASA/Harnett

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-403: Operazioni di routine,ancheconlatoilette,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-402

Samantha Cristoforetti trains at theMaterial Science Laboratory in theISSmockupattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.10.25—StartedthedaywithasimwithButchandTerryonrendez-vousoperations forvehicleslikeDragon,HTVorCygnus.NowofftoaclassonAREDmaintenance:that's the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device with which we simulateweight-liftingonorbit.

Inbetween I hadanoverviewclassof theMaterialScienceLaboratorypayload.Thecoreof this facility isahigh-temperaturefurnace,which isplaced inside a vacuum chamber. In the picture you can see mepracticingthechangeoutofasamplecartridge.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-402: Lavorare con il MaterialScienceLaboratory,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-401

Samantha Cristoforetti trains to apply lubricant to the end of the ISSroboticarm.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Houston(USA),2013.10.26—OneofthetrainingeventsIhadlastweekwasafamiliarizationclasswithhigh-fidelityEVAhardware(seeLogbookL-405).

Amongmanyotherthings,wehadachancetopracticeapplyinglubricantto the snares of the robotic end effector. You can check out this olderLogbook for somepicturesof theactualendeffectorand targetpins inspace.

Whenwesqueezethetriggertocapturethetargetpin,it'simportantthatthesnaresrotatefreelyat theirattachmentpointswhentheyclose.Andso periodically spacewalkers need to take a grease gun out and applysomelubricanttothesnarebearingsthemselves.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-401:Quandoilbraccioroboticohabisognodellubrificante,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-400

Samantha Cristoforetti examines the ISS toolbox at the JSC. Source:NASA

Houston(USA),2013.10.27—ThispastThursdayAnton,TerryandIhadafive-hourRoutingOpsSimintheISSmockups(seeLogbookL-403).

Anythingthatisnotscienceandisnotacontingencysituationisagoodcandidate for these simulations, including of course maintenanceactivities. As you can imagine, the Station is a complex machine thatrequiressomecare.Thegroundkeepstrackofpreventivemaintenancerequirementsoneverypieceofequipmentandschedulesthenecessarytaskswhenthey'rearedue.Ofcourse,once inawhilesomethingdoesbreak and in that case a corrective maintenance activity will bescheduled.

Tosavecrewtime,thegroundwilltrytotakecareasmuchaspossibleofallthestepsthatcanbeperformedremotely.Forexample,thefirststepsofaprocedureswilloftencontainactionslikeopeninganelectricswitchorcommandingavalveinaparticularpositiontoputtheequipmentinasafe configuration for hands-on work. Since the specialists sitting on

console at Mission Control can also send those commands, it's notunusual for thecrew to receiveacall that theyare "Go" tostartwithalaterstepintheprocedure.

Of course, only the crew can put hands on the equipment. And for allthosehands-onactivities,asyoucanseeinthepicture,wehaveatool-boxthatwouldmakeanyDIYenthusiastenvious!

YoucanseesomemorepicturesofourMayroutineopssim.

Photocredit:NASA

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-400: La più straordinariacassettadegliattrezzi,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-398

SamanthaCristoforetti inEMUsuit is lowered into theNBL foranEVAsimulation.Source:NASA/Stafford

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.10.29—Reallybusystartof the week! Lots of classes today, from the Spheres payload(ZeroRoboticsanyone?)toarefresherclassonroboticsupporttoEVA-that's when we use the Canadarm2 to "fly" spacewalkers or largecomponentsfromoneplacetoanotheraroundStation.

IalsohadaclassonEVAsuitmalfunctions,practicingwhatyoudowhenyougetanalarmmessageonyourcomputerdisplay,accompaniedbyanalarmsoundinyourheadset.Asyoucansee in thepicture,wecarryasmallbookletattached to the leftarm,whichwecallcuffchecklist.Thischecklist contains the responseactions tobe taken in casewe receiveone of those alarms. For example, it helps us clarify whether thesignaturewegetcorrespondstoarealproblemwiththesuitorasensormalfunction. And in case of a real problem, the checklist containsguidance on whether to terminate or abort an EVA, the second casebeingmoreseriousand requiringan immediate return to theairlock forbothcrewmembers.

Thepictureisfromyesterday,bytheway,whenIhadatrainingsessionin the pool with my Expedition 43 crewmate and 1-year crewmemberScottKelly.

PhotoCredit:NASA/Stafford

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-398: In caso dimalfunzionamento della tuta per EVA, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-397

SamanthaCristoforetti on the POGOweightlessness simulator at JSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.10.30—TodayIhadmyfirst encounter with the POGO - the Partial Gravity Simulator here atJohnsonSpaceCenter.

Simulating weightlessness in training is not easy and all the differentwaysweusehavetheirprosandcons.Ofcourse,wecannotjustswitchoffgravity.Andwedon't knowofanywayof shielding thegravitationalfield,likewecandowiththeelectromagneticfield.So,we'restuckwithit.

Inparabolicflightswecanhaveabout22secondsoffreefall insidetheairplane cabin and we typically repeat that for about 30 parabolas perflight.Asfarasahumanbeingisconcerned,that'strueweightlessness,since we can not perceive the residual acceleration that does exist.However, those22secondsarevery limitingwhenyou're trying to traincomplextasks.

Asyouknow,wetrainforspacewalksunderwaterbyestablishingneutral

buoyancyofthepressuresuit.Inmanyways,trainingunderwatercanbeharder thanworking on orbit, because the suit can not be neutral withrespecttorotationonallaxesandbecauseeverytimewemovewehavetodisplacethewater.However,watercanalsomakesomethingseasierbecauseofitsstabilizationeffect.

Let's say that you're driving a bolt.When you reach the hard stop youneed to be able to react the torque you're applying by having a solidattachmentpointtostructure,otherwiseyou'llgospinningtheotherway.Butit'shardtofeelthatfulleffectinthepoolbecauseofthestabilizationeffectofthewater.

So here's where the POGO (Partial Gravity Simulator) comes in. Thesuspensionsystemcompensates thebodyweightso thatwecanmoveup and down, rotate and, to a degree,move in the horizontal plane inconditionssimilartoactualweightlessness.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-397:È l’oradelPOGO!Comesimuliamol’assenzadipeso,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-396

Samantha Cristoforetti performs a blood test in training at the JSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.10.31—Learnedhowtodrawbloodtoday…doesn'titsuitHalloweensomehow?

Asyouknow,theInternationalSpaceStationisalaboratorywherewedoresearch in microgravity conditions. Crewmembers are important testsubjects for human physiology investigators who attempt to betterunderstandhowthehumanbodyworksbyobservingthewayitadaptstothespaceenvironment.

Blood of course contains important biochemical markers of thatadaptation.That'swhyperiodicallyweareallscheduledforblooddraws:how often and how many tubes we draw depends on the actualexperimentalprogramforwhichwearesubjects.

Blood-filled tubes are then stored in the Melfi freezer and returned toEarthatthefirstsuitabledownloadopportunity.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-396: Imparare a prelevare ilsangue…adHalloween,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-395

DaveWilliams in anSTA-118EVA for replacing an ISSCMG.Source:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.11.01—I've spent thedaysofarattheNeutralBuoyancyLaboratorytoprepareatrainingruninthepoolI'llhavenextFridaywithveteranspacewalkerPeggyWhitson.

First we had the so-called 1G class, wherewewere introduced to thehardware and the procedures. And then I had a chance to dive in thepooltotakealookatworksitesandtranslationpaths.

Wewill replace twocomponents: theS-Bandantenna (SASA)andonethe four Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMG). The CMGs are prettymassive:inthepictureyoucanseeastronautDaveWilliamsholdingoneduringaSTS-118spacewalk,whenafailedISSCMGwasreplaced.

Photocredit:NASA

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-395: I Control MomentGyroscopes,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-394

Samantha Cristoforetti is lowered into the NBL for an EVA simulationsession.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Houston(USA),2013.11.02—ThislastweekIspentquiteabitoftimeattheNeutralBuoyancyFacility.ThepictureI'msharingisfromlastweek'ssuitedrunwithcrew-mateScottKelly.

Asyoucanseeinthephoto,assoonasweareloweredintothewateratthe beginning of a training day, the safety divers take charge of us.Beforewestartoursixhoursofhardwork,it'stimefortheirshow!

Firsttheygiveashaketothesuittogetridoftheairbubblesthatmightbetrappedinthefoldsoftheexternalgarment.Afterthat,anyremainingstreamofairbubbleswouldindicatealeakofthesuit,sothisisagoodtime fora finalcheck.Afterago from thesuitengineerwho'swatchingfromthepooldeck,thediverstakeustothebottomofthepooltodoourinitialweigh-out.

Thepurposeoftheweigh-outistomakesurewe'reneutrallybuoyantinthewater.Inthefirstplace,ofcourse,thatwedon'thaveatendencyto

riseor fall.And then there is rotation.Whilewe runourcommunicationchecksandwelistentothesafetybriefs,thediversspinusaroundinalldirectionstodetectanytendenciesofthesuittorotatealongitsaxis.Toneutralize those tendencies, they can insert small blocs of weights orfoam of different densities into dedicated pouches located around thelegs,onthebackpackandonthechestarea.

It'sanart,ratherthanascience.Andadjustmentsareneededthroughoutthe run to compensate for changes in configuration, water depth at inwhich we are working and the tendency of the suit to expand afterseveralhoursinthewater.

Credit:NASA/Stafford

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-394: Come raggiungerel’assenzadipesoinacqua,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-393

SamanthaCristoforetti arranges the blue valve of thewater bag in theEMUsuitinasessionattheNBL.Source:NASA/Stafford

Houston (USA), 2013.11.03—You might have wondered ifcrewmembers have something to eat or drink during spacewalks, thatcaneasilylast7-8hours.

Ihaveheardthatsomekindoffoodbarswereavailableinthesuitinthepast,butexperiencehasshownthat theyweremoreanuisancethanahelp.Intermsofenergy,it'seasiertorelyonabigbreakfast.

Thereisawaterbaginthesuit,though.Wealsouseitinthepoolforour6-hoursruns. It'sadisposablerubberbladder thatcontainsup to32oz(almost1 liter)ofsimplewater.Whenwearriveonthepooldeck in themorningafterthebrief,thefirstthingwedoistoinsertthatbladderintoareusablerestraintbagandtoorientthebluebitvalvethewayweliketohaveinsidethehelmet.

PreparationforasessionintheNBLpool.Source:NASA/Stafford

Wethensecurethebaginsidethesuitwithvelcro,makingsurethatthebitevalveisattheproperheightforeasyreach.Justlikethewaterbagscommonlyusedbybikersandhikers,youneedbiteonthevalvetoopentheorificeanddrawwaterfromthebag.Onceyoureleaseit, theorificeclosestopreventmorewaterfromflowingout.

Photocredit:NASA/Stafford

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-393: Niente cibo nellepasseggiate spaziali, solo un po’ d’acqua, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-392

C-tracksinanISSmockupattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.11.04—After some"culturaltraining"lastnightorganizedbycrewmateTerry,whotookAntonandmetotheHoustonTexansfootballgameandwaspatientenoughtoexplain the rules to us, the training week has started full speed thismorning with a pretty long sim in which we practiced recovery from amajorpowerfailure:oneofthosenastysituationsinwhichyouloosecomwith mission control and, as a crew, you need to dig into long andconvolutedprocedurestobringtheStationtoasafeconfiguration.

Later in theday, on to somepreparationworkwithPeggy for ourEVAtrainingrunonFridayandthenareviewofhabitationaspectsonStation.That includes obvious things like crew quarters, housekeeping tasks,food,…butalsosome fun littledetails, likeall thedifferentdevices thatwecanusetopositionandsecurethingsonorbit.

Mostof theracksonStationhavesocalledC-tracksseat tracks: in thepictureyoucanseetwosuchtracksrunningtoptobottomnext toeachotherintheISSmockup.Andyoucanalsoseesomeofthedevicesthat

wecansecureat anypoint onaC-track seat trackandcan in turnbeused tomount and orient laptops, foot restraints, cameras, extra lightsandmore.

Littletricksaboutlivingonhumanity'soutpostinspace.

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L-392:Piccoli trucchi del viverenellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-391

Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts in the ISS mockup at the JSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.11.05—Reallyfulldayattheairlockmockup.It'saPrep&PostdayformeandTerry:aspacewalkday,minustheactualspacewalk.

Ifyoumissedit,takealookattheL-470LogbookformoreinfoaboutaPrep&Postclass.

That time I was the IV crewmember, meaning that I was the "inside"support person.Today,Terry and Iwill actually be in the suit.Wehadsomebriefsandpracticethismorningaboutpreparingtheairlockandthesuitsand ina fewminutes,afteraveryearly lunchbreak,we'llget intoourthermalcoolingundergarmentstostartthesuitingupandpre-breathprotocols.

Italiantranslationof this logbookentry:L-391:UnagiornataPre&Post,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-390

Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts in the airlock mockup for asimulationofpre&postEVAprocedures.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2013.11.06—Asmentionedinyesterday's logbook,Terryand Ispent theday in theairlockmockup torehearsepre-andpost-EVAprocedures.

Themostimportanttopicofthedaywasthepre-breathprotocol.Beforedepressing the airlock to vacuum and opening the hatch to go on aspacewalk, we need to pre-breath pure oxygen to purge nitrogen fromour bloodstream and prevent decompression sickness symptomswhileoutonanEVA.Yes,it'sthesameproblemthatdiversmighthavewhentheyresurface:goingfromahigherpressuretoalowerone.Thesuit,infact, is only pressurized to about a third of atmospheric pressure:otherwiseitwouldbetoorigidanditwouldbeimpossibletodocomplexworkinit.

Medical equipment for the control of a pre & post EVA simulation.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Therearedifferentpre-breathprotocols.TheonethatiscommonlyusednowistheIn-SuitLightExercise.Afterbreathingpure-oxygenthroughamask for about an hour while performing initial preparatory work, EVAcrewmembersdonthesuits,purgethemforafewminutestogetapureoxygenatmosphere insideand thendo littlemovementswitharmsandlegsforabout50minutes.Thatincreasesthemetabolicrateslightlyandspeedsupthenitrogenpurging.

Medical staff follow a pre & post EVA simulation. Source: SamanthaCristoforetti

Oneofthegoalsofyesterday'sPrep&PostclasswasforTerryandmetounderstandhowintense(oractually little intense)that in-suitexercise

has to be to hit the target metabolic rate. Medical personnel gave usfeedbackreal-timebasedonourCO2productionsothatwecouldadjustthe intensity of thework and, hopefully, develop somememory for theideallevelofexertionthatisrequired.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-390: Il protocollo diprebreathing,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-389

Houston,texas-SamanthaCristoforettiAstronautoftheEuropeanSpaceAgency (ESA), together with the US astronaut Mark Vande, in thereproduction of the International Space Station, during a phase of histraining at the NASA Johnson Space Center which foresees themanagementofscenariosemergency,inthiscasefire,whichcouldoccurontheISSspacestationduringitsfuturespacemission.Source:©MiloSciaky

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.11.07—Today Terry,Anton and I had a 5-hour sim in which we practiced emergencyresponses:firecases,depressurizationscenariosandaninstanceofthedreadedammonialeak.

For thisoccasion I thought I'd reshare thisolderpost (below) fromwaybeforetheLogbooktime.AndifyoureallywanttoknowmoreaboutfireonISS,youcanalsotakealookatthisblogpost.

Inafewminutesthethreeofuswillbebackinthemockupsforanothertype of emergency training. We call it Megacode and it's a chance topracticeourresponseincaseoflife-threateningmedicalconditionslikea

cardiacarrest.

Earth’ssafestworkplaceisofftheplanet…mostofthetime

Seriously,fromthepointofviewofoccupationalsafety,theInternationalSpace Station is pretty hard to beat. Not only you cannot possibly fallfromaladder inspace,but it’salsoveryunlikelyyouwillgetanelectricshock. You will hardly find any sharp objects to cut yourself with orexposedsurfaceshotenoughtoburnyouandalltoxicmaterialisisolatedfromtheStation’satmospherebymultiplelayersofcontainment.Therareflammable objects present on-board are dutifully stowed in non-flammableNomexpouches. If youractivityexposesyou toanyhazard,bigwarningblocsinyourprocedurewillremindyouoftheproperstepstobetakentoensureyoudon’tgethurt.SafetyteamsonthegroundreviewthoseproceduresaswellasallequipmentandtheygooutoftheirwaytomakesuretheISSisassafeaworkplaceasitcanpossiblybe.

And it makes a lot of sense to make this effort! We can only providelimitedmedicalcaretothecrewonorbitanditwouldbeahugedealtoreturn an injured crewmember to Earth – in fact,most likely the entireSoyuzcrew,threepeopleoutofsix,wouldhavetoreturn.

Still,assafeastheStationis,thingscanstillgowrongandmostofourtraining as crewmembers is aimed at teaching us how to deal withproblems. We need to know what to do when equipment breaks andsome of us are also trained to provide basic medical assistance to acrewmateincaseofanaccident.Mostofallweneedtobeabletoreactquicklyandtoworkefficientlyasacrewifonedayoneofthreedreadedlights on the Caution andWarning Panels installed throughout Stationlightup,accompaniedbyawell-knownintermittentsiren:theemergencytone.

Eachlightisassociatedwithoneofthreeveryserioussituations,thatcanendanger the life of the crewand the survival of theStation itself: fire,rapiddepressurizationand toxicatmosphere.Wegetextensive trainingon this and no crew goes to orbit without having demonstrated

proficiencyinemergencyresponseinmultiplesimulations.

I participated in several suchsimulations last yearand I’d like to sharesome pictures of a fire scenario with you. More details are in thecaptions.PicturesarecourtesyofMilan-basedphotographerMiloSciaky.

Letmeknowifyouhaveanyquestions!

An emergency simulation begins with a quick briefing. Since mostemergencyscenarios requirecrewmembers to takeupseveralpossibleroles,theserolesareassignedinthepre-brief.Anactualcrewpreparingforflightwillestablishfixedrolesduringtrainingandsticktothoseincaseof an actual emergency onboard. Since I did this training before beingassignedtoacrew,instructorshadusrotatethroughthedifferentroles.TrainingwithmeforthissimulationswereJapaneseastronautNorishigeKanai(Nemo)andUSastronautMarkVandeHei.Source:©MiloSciaky

The first response toanemergencyannunciation ismostof the time togather in aSafeHaven, a placewith clean atmosphere and access tocommunicationequipmentandcommanding laptops. Inmostcases thedefaultSafeHavenistheServiceModuleintheRussiansegmentoftheStation.TheSoyuzvehicles,whichare thecrew's lifeboats,aredockedto theRussiansegment.FromtheServiceModule thecrewwillassessthesituationandtakeproperactionworkingtheemergencyprocedures.On the way to the Service Module it's a good idea to grab somebreathingprotection.Also,NemorememberedtograbtheCSA-CPsthatarevelcroedtotheaftwallinNode2-theseportabledevicesareusedinanemergency tomeasurecombustionproducts in theatmosphereanddetermine whether it's safe to breath without a mask. Source: © MiloSciaky

This was a fire scenario and in this case I was staying behind in theServiceModulewhileNemoandMarkbuiltthe"forwardresponseteam"that was looking for the fire. Coordination here is key. Sometimes thequickestway to locatea firebehindarack isvia the informationon thecomputer - for examples on tripped electrical switches - and thisinformationmustbefoundandpassedtotheforwardteam.Also,whenitcomes to powering down equipment or even an entiremodule, it's thepersonstayingbehindintheServiceModulewhoisincharge.Source:©MiloSciaky

InthisscenarioIwaspartofthe"forwardresponse"team.TheCSA-CPsays the atmosphere in Node 2 is still safe to breath, so no breathingprotectionrequired.Source:©MiloSciaky

HereMarkandIarelookingforafirehiddenbehindracksintheUSLab.Wearewearing fire respirators, that filter toxiccombustionproducts forabout90minutes.TheCSA-CPinmyhandhasalongprobethatcanbeinsertedthroughfireportstosampletheatmospherebehindarackpanel.Source:©MiloSciaky

Oncethefireislocatedbehindarack,procedureswillcallforequipmentpower-down or even for power-down of an entire module. If readingsindicatedthefireisstillburning,itmightbenecessarytodischargeafireextinguisher.Onthenon-RussianpartoftheStationwehaveCO2basedextinguishers.Beforedischargingthem,weneedtoswitchfromwearingrespirators (whichdon't filterCO2) towearingoxygenmasks inpositivepressuremode.Source:©MiloSciaky

Participatinginafireemergencyscenario.Source:©MiloSciaky

Participatinginafireemergencyscenario.Source:©MiloSciaky

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-389:Unagiornatadisimulazionidiemergenze,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-387

Phases of an EVA simulation at NBL by Samantha Cristoforetti andPeggyWhitson.Source:LionelFerra

Houston(USA),2013.11.09—OnemorefulldayoftrainingattheNeutralBuoyancy Laboratory (NBL) yesterday, together with veteranspacewalkerPeggyWhitson..

FirstwepracticedthereplacementofafailedSASAantennaonthetopof the truss. That's our S-Band antenna, that provides themain audio,telemetryandcommanding linkto theground.SincethespareSASAistuckedbehindthetruss,thisisnotataskthatwecandowiththesupportoftheroboticarm.Instead,wepracticedaleapfroggingtechniquemakinguse ofmultiple APFRs (that's the Articulating Portable Foot Restraint -seeL-411Logbookifyoumissed

>

Forthistechnique,onecrewmemberisintheAPFRholdingtheantenna,theothercrewmemberrollstheAPFRplateovertowardsthedirectionweneedtomoveandthengoessetupanotherAPFRfurtheralongthepath

toreceivetheantenna.Andsoonforafewrelaysteps.

After that we practiced removing one of the four Control MomentGyroscopes,thecomponentsthatareusedmostofthetimetomaintainStationattitude.

In the picture composition (courtesy of Lionel Ferra) you can see thebriefing, the moment when we were lowered into the water and ourhelmetcameraviews.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-387: Un’altra giornatasott’acqua!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-386

ThelandingoftheSoyuzTMA-08M.Source:NASA/BillIngalls

JohnsonSpaceCenter (Houston,USA),2013.11.10—Boy,does timefly! It seems like yesterday that I was commenting live images of thelaunchofSoyuzTMA-09Mfromthe ItalianSpaceAgencyheadquartersinRomeandhereweare:tonightLuca,KarenandFyodorwillreturntothe planet after having the ride of their lives as they reenter theatmosphere. I'mluckythat I'llhavethechancetofollowthereentryandthelandingfromMissionControlHouston.

Howdoesareentryhappen?At23:26:00GMTtheundockcommandwillbesent.Thesystemisverysimple:withinabout2.5minutesthedockingsystem hooks will open and the spring loaded pushers at the dockinginterface will give the Soyuz a small separation velocity of about 12cm/sec.

Once at a safe distance, after ca. 3moreminutes, the Soyuz attitudecontrol thrusterswill fire for about 15 seconds.We call that separationburn.

Onlyafter thatwill theguidanceandnavigationsystemof theSoyuzbeturnedon.Firstthing,itwillspintheshiptofindtheEarthwithitsinfraredsensors.Once thesensorscapture theEarth's infraredemissions, theywill start feeding the attitude control system the information needed toorient the Soyuz along the local vertical, with the periscope towardsEarth, so that theCommander canvisually verify that theorientation iscorrect.TheSoyuzwillalsobeflying"backwards",withthenozzleofthemain engine facing in the direction of flight. That's called "brakingattitude".

Thebraking burn is scheduled for tonight at 1:55:33GMTandwill lastabout4.5minutes.Herearesomeprettyamazingnumbers.TheorbitalvelocityoftheStationissomewherebetween7and8kmpersecond,orbetween 7000 to 8000 meters/second. The deorbit burn is "only" 128meters/seconds.That'sall it takes tobehitting theground less thananhourlater!

But before that module separation will have occurred at about 02:23GMT: remember that only the central, bell-shapeddescentmodule cansurviveatmosphericreentryintact!

At about 10 km the active reentry guidance will terminate and theparachutewillbeopened.Expectthatatabout02:35GMT.Itwillthenbeabout15minutesuntilimpact,duringwhichtheheatshieldwillbeejectedto expose the retrorockets and the seatswill extend up to the "armed"position to give the shock absorbers the travel they need to workeffectively. Even with the retrorockets firing, that you can see in thepicture,it'scertainlynotasoftlanding!

EnjoytherideandbesafeLuca,KarenandFyodor.Lookingforwardtoseeingyousoon!

Photocredit:NASA

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-386:Aspettandol’atterraggiodiLuca,KareneFyodor!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-385

Karen Nyberg, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Luca Parmitano shortly afterlandingtheSoyuzTMA-09M.Source:NASA/CarlaCioffi

Houston(USA),2013.11.11—It'safederalholidaytodayhereintheUS,sonotraining.

HappyVeterans'Day,especiallytothosewhohaveserved!

WhileIenjoyapleasantsunnydayinTexas-oneofmylastdaysatthislatitudebeforeflyingtoEuropeonFriday-LucaandKarenareontheirway toHoustonafter theirsafe landing lastnight.Reentering fromorbittakesonlyafewhours,butthetripfromKazakhstanisquiteabitlonger.Theywillarrivelatetonightandwillspendafewdaysindedicatedcrewquartersat JohnsonSpaceCenter, before the flight surgeonswill clearthemtogohome.Theirschedulesinthecomingweekswillbebusywithrehabilitation,collectionofscientificdataanddebriefs.Andofcoursewithcatchingupwithfamilyandfriends,who'lllikelyhavealotquestions!

Video:Soyuzundocking,reentryandlandingexplained(20:24)

How does an astronaut return to Earth from the International SpaceStation?Whatdoesitfeelliketore-entertheatmosphere?HowdoestheSoyuzcapsulefunction?

Ifyou'reinterestinginlearningmoreabouttheSoyuzreentryandlanding,Irecommendthisbrand-newvideoproducedbytheEuropeanAstronautCenter. It's a mix of real footage - including from inside the descentmodule - great 3D animations and interviews with veteran astronautswho'vebeenonthatrollercoasterridebefore.Ithinkyou'llenjoyit!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-385: Un bel video ESA sulrientrodellaSojuz,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-384

SamanthaCristoforetti at the JSCwithbiomedical sensors for theESAexperimentCircadianrhythms.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.11.12—Two longsimulationstoday.

In themorning it wasCygnus rendez-vous and capture daywith Terryand Butch at the robotic workstation, mainly working through differentmalfunctionscenariosrelatedtotheroboticarmorthevisitingvehicle.

Biomedical sensors for the Circadian Rhythms experiment. Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

In the afternoon I was solo in the ISSmockups practicing proceduresrelated to water: collection of water samples, on-board microbiologytestingandTotalCarbonAnalyzeroperationsandiodinetestingwiththespectrophotometer.Weput iodine in the potablewater lines to preventbacterial growth, but we also remove that iodine before the water isdispensed forconsumption.That'swhyweperiodically test for iodine tomakesuretheremovalprocessisworkingwell.

TodayI'malsostartingmyveryfirstBaselineDataCollectionasahumansubject.ThismorningIhadanintroductiontotheinstrumentationandinacoupleofhours Iwill starta36-hourmonitoringperiod inwhich Iwillwear temperature sensors onmy foreheadand sternum.Theaim is torecord daily fluctuations as part of the ESA experiment "CircadianRhythms". As you can see in the picture, tomorrowwill be a bandanaday.Theinvestigatorskindlyprovidedonewiththeexperimentkit!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-384: Bandana day in nomedellascienza,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-383

Samantha Cristoforetti in a photography simulation of Cygnus at JSC.Source:NASA/Harnett

JohnsonSpaceCenter (Houston,USA),2013.11.13—As Imentionedinyesterday'sLogbook,IhadachanceyesterdaytopracticerendezvousandcaptureopswithcrewmatesTerryandButch,probablythelasttimewegettodoathree-personsimintheCupoladome.

The work can actually be performed by two people, namely a primeVisiting Vehicle Officer (VV1) with the support of a second trainedcrewmember (VV2). The roles are swapped at the 10-meter capturepoint.VV2becomesM1andisprimeforthecapture,meaninghe/sheisactuallyflyingthearm.VV1becomesM2,asupportingroleinthecaptureoperations: while M1 is focused on the target to bring the arm endeffector into the grapple envelope, M2 is in charge of cameras,communication with the ground and calling out the distance to thegrapplefixture.

If there isa third trainedcrewmembersonboard,wehave the luxuryofhavingaVV3:athirdsetofeyesandsomeonewhocanbespecificallyin

chargeofourmalfunctioncuecard.

In thepictureattachedyoucanseeoursimulatedCygnusapproachingthe 10-meters capture point and the Canadarm2 ready in the captureinitialposition.

Photocredit:NASA/Harnett

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-383:Chifacosanelgiornodelrendezvousecattura,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-382

Expedition42/43crewmembersSamanthaCristoforetti,BarryWilmore,TerryVirtsduringFFT&C/RMiniSim1intheSESAlphaCupolatrainer.Credit:LaurenHarnett

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2013.11.14—When wemonitor theapproachofavisitingvehicle, likeDragon,CygnusorHTV,wetypicallyhavethreecameraviewssetupattheroboticworkstation..

SinceweusetheCupolaastheprimeworkstation(thereisabackupintheLab),youmightwonderwhyweneedcameraviewsatall,sincewehave a direct view through the windows. The reason is that we needoverlays, i.e. extra information that is generated by the software andsuperimposedon thecamera image.Onebigelement is thecorridor inwhichthevehicleissupposedtobeduringtheapproach.Wealsohaveagrapple volume overlay in which the grapple fixture needs to be forcaptureandalotoftelemetrydata.

The centralmonitor has the endeffector camera viewwith the grappleenvelopeoverlay: thecrossand thebarsyoucansee in thepicture. Inthe picture the vehicle is still too far, but when it holds position at the

capturepoint,thetargetlocatednexttothegrapplefixtureisinview.

The overlay allows us then to understand what translational androtationalcorrectionsweneedtomaketoaligntheendeffectorwiththepin,aswellaswhenweareat therightdistance topress the trigger toclosethesnares.

Herearesomemorepicturesofthistrainingsession.

Photocredit:NASA/Harnett

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-382: Perché servono letelecamere anche con le finestre grandi, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-380

ATV-4AlbertEinsteinleavestheISS.Source:NASA/ESA

Cologne(Germany),2013.11.16—NicetobebackhomeinEuropeafteran intense six-week training trip to Johnson Space Center. Although Icertainlydidn'tmindat all themildTexas temperatures this timeof theyear!

Ihaveanon-trainingweekcomingup -acoupleof freedaysand thenseveral briefings, meetings and administrative work at the EuropeanAstronautCentre.

I'll pick up training again on Nov 25th with my second ATV week,togetherwithcrewmateSasha.Scheduleisnotfinalyet,butImightwellbe on ISS when our final ATV, Georges Lemaître, will depart. In thepictureyoucanseetherecentdepartureofATV4AlbertEinstein.

UntilIresumetraining,thisLogbookwillbeLOS*.Seeyouontheotherside!

*IfLOSdoesn'tringabell,seehere.

Picturecredit:NASA/ESA

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-380:Di ritorno inEuropaeunbreveLOSprimadiATV,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-365

The launch of Expedition 38with theSoyuz TMA-11M onNovember,72013.Source:NASA

Cologne (Germany), 2013.11.24—It's a big day! According to thecurrent plan, the launch of our Soyuz TMA-15M will be on November24th,2014.

Yes, if you noticed that I adjusted the math of the countdown, you'reright:whenIstartedtheLogbooklastsummerthelaunchwasscheduledforDecember1st.Andthenewlaunchdateisnotcarvedinstoneeither:adjustmentsofthelaunchmanifestarestilllikelytooccur.

Butfornow,celebratewithme:it'sL-1year!

Photo:launchofExp38onNov7th,2013.Credit:NASA

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-365:Oggimanca un anno allancio,checicrediateono!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-364

ATV-2JohannesKepler.Source:NASA

EuropeanAstronautCentre (Cologne (Germany), 2013.11.25—BackintotheATV*worldwithSashaattheEuropeanAstronautCentrehereinCologne.

AsthebackupofExpedition40,whowillbeonISSforthemostpartofATV5mission, Sasha and I are receiving full training on ATV rendez-vous and docking monitoring and all attached phase operations, likewaterandgastransfer.

However,unlesswereallyneedto flysixmonthsearlier -which isveryunlikely!-orthelaunchofATV5slipssignificantly,myfellowShenaniganAlexandhiscrewmateswilltakecareofallthoseoperations.

However,itiswellpossiblethatSashaandIwillbetheonesclosingthehatchandsending thevery lastATVon itsdestructive ride through theatmosphereand into theocean.So, todaywehadour introduction intodeparture operations.Much simpler than rendez-vous ops, as you canimagine: after all, when the general trajectory is "away" from you, as

opposedto"towards"you,thingsareinevitablylesscomplex.

Can you recognize ATV in the picture? That's ATV2 Johannes Keplerafterundocking,courtesyofExp28(credit:NASA).

* In case you're not familiar with ATV, this older Logbook has somegeneralwords.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-364: Se siamo quelli chefaranno tornare a “casa” l’ultimo ATV, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-363

AnATVcargoapproachingtheISS.Source:NASA

EuropeanAstronautCentre(Cologne(Germany),2013.11.26—SashaandIhadanotherfulldayofATVtrainingtoday,startingwithalessonondockingsystemmalfunctions.

ATVusesaslightlymodifiedversionoftheRussiandockingsystem,theoneoftheSoyuzandoftheProgress.It'saveryrobustsystemthathasproven itself time and again. However, we do have a few contingencyplansincasesomethinggoeswrong.

Themainthingthatneedstoworkistheretractionofthedockingprobe.Asyoucanseeinthepicture,onceATVisonorbitthedockingprobeisextended. It's the head of the docking probe that makes the firstmechanical connection to Station. Then the probe is slowly retracted,pulling in ATV until the full docking interfaces can be mated and thehookscanbeclosed.

If the probe can not be retracted for whatever reason, we have aproblem.Theprobehead iscaptured,butwehaveno rigidmechanical

connection between ATV and Station.With ATV attached only via theprobe, we can not apply control torques to the Station to keep it in adesiredattitude.Untilwesolvetheproblem,wehavetostayinfreedrift.

That'swhy,ifwereallycouldnotretracttheprobe,neitherautomaticallynor via manual commands, pretty soon we would have to send ATVaway. For a really bad day, we even have to option to pyrotechnicallyseparate the docking mechanism. That would be really the last resortoption, though,because ifwouldendATV'smissionforgoodandmakethedockingportunavailable.

Photocredit:NASA

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-363:Gestireimalfunzionamentidelsistemadidockingdell’ATV,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-362

A water tank with transfer pump in the ATV mockup at the EAC inCologne.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2013.11.27—Another day of ATV training for Sasha and myself at the EuropeanAstronautCentre.

In the morning we had more practice with rendez-vous and dockingmalfunction. In the afternoon we'll have a long simulation of attachedphase operations: that's all that occurs when ATV is docked to theInternationalSpaceStation.

ATVisaresupplyshipanditcanbring,amongmanyotherthings,water(fromTorino, Italy,bytheway).AllATVssofarhavebrought"Russian"water,whichissupplementedwithsilverionstopreventmicrobialgrowth."American"waterusesiodineinsteadandthetwoshouldnotbemixed.

"Russian" water can be transfered into the big tanks in the servicemodule, or into portable water tanks, like the one you can see in thepicture.Oneofthesetanksisalsoalwaysinstalledinthetoiletstocollect

urine, although the US toilet is now nominally connected to the UrineProcessingAssemblyandtheportableurinetankisabackupoption.

Managingwaterandwastefluidsonboardisacomplextasksthatistheresponsibilityofdedicatedspecialistsontheground. If it isdecidedthatsomeurinemustbedisposedofaswaste,wecantransferitintotheATVtanks oncewe have offloaded the freshwater to Station. The portabletanks have a soft bladder inside that actually contains the fluid: byapplyingpressureinthevolumeoutsideofthebladder,wecan"squeeze"thefluidoutandintotheATVtanks.

This is what the setup you see in the picture is for: once we haveestablished the connection to the water control panel and opened thevalves, we can transfer the water by pressurizing the bladder via acompressoror,asinthecaseofthepicture,withamanualpump-intheunlikelyeventthatallcompressorsonboardfailed.

As you can imagine, once we have transferred some urine, we reallydon'twantanyconfusionaboutwhatkindoffluidisintheATVtanks.Justtobesure,weswapthebluewater label for theorangeoneyouseeinthepicture!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-362:Lacosapiùimportanteinquesti casi: non mischiare fluidi diversi, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-361

TheATV-3EdoardoAmaldi dockingmechanismseen from theZvezdamoduleoftheISS.Source:NASA

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2013.11.28—Howdoesit lookwhenyouopenthehatchoftheServiceModulehatchafterATV docking? Take a look at this picture from ISSExpedition 30: youhaveafront-seatviewoftheATVdockingsystem!

Sasha and I have had to do this operation several times during oursimulationsthispastweek.Whenyoureleaseservicemodulethehatchandmove itoutof theway, thecone that isnormallyexposed toouterspace becomes visible. That cone is the passive part of the dockingmechanism: when the docking probe makes contact with the conicsurface,thewallguidesitinuntilit'scapturedbythelatches.

If you missed it, you can take a look at L-363 Logbook for more infoabout the docking system. In this picture, of course, the dockingsequence is completed and the docking probe is fully retracted. Also,beforeopening thecone-shapedhatchof theServiceModule, thecrewwouldhaveleak-checkedthevestibule,whichisthelittlevolumebetween

thetwohatchesthatisformedatdocking.Andfinally,itwouldbetimetoactuallyopentheATVhatchandingress.

Youcanfindmoreinfoaboutingressoperationsinthisolderlogbook!

Italiantranslationof this logbookentry:L-361:Unposto inprimafilasulmeccanismodidockingdell’ATV,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-360

ThefinalphaseoftheATV-4AlbertEinsteinapproach.Source:NASA

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2013.11.29—Acoupleofsuccessfulevaluationsimulations today forSashaandmyselfattheEuropeanAstronautCentre,dealingwithallkindsofmalfunctionsduringrendez-vousanddocking,aswellasundockinganddepartureofATV.

Somemoretrainingiscomingupearlynextyearandthenwe'llhaveourfinalATVrendez-vousexaminStarCity,justbeforeSashawillleaveforBaikonourasbackupcrewmemberofExpedition39.

In the picture, courtesy of Exp 36, you can see the final approach ofATV4 "Albert Einstein" last summer. You can probably make out theilluminated target: that's what we use to visually monitor distance,corridor and relative attitude to Station, to make sure the vehicle isproperlyalignedwhenitmakescontact.

SomemoreinfoontheATVblog!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-360:Passate lesimulazionidivalutazionesull’ATV!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-358

Verification of acceptance of a Soyuz at the RSC Energia plants inKorolev,Russia.Source:RSCEnergia

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.02—Pretty exciting start of mythree-week trainingsession inStarCity!TogetherwithmyCommanderAnton,IgottodoanacceptanceverificationoftheSoyuz713.That'sthespaceshipoffellowShenaniganAlexonhisSoyuzTMA-13MflighttoISSinMaynextyear,togetherwithMaxandReid.

VerificationofacceptanceofaSoyuz.Source:RSCEnergia

It was an unexpected treat to be able to go!More often than not onlyRussiancosmonautsgettogo,becausethemanufacturingscheduleandourtrainingtripscheduledon'tnecessarilyharmonize.

ButtheydidinthiscaseandsoAntonandIspentthemorninginsidetheorbitalmoduleandthedescentmodule,whicharestackedontopofeachotherattheEnergiafacilitiesinKorolev,ontheoutskirtsofMoscow.Withthehelpofthespecialists,weworkedourwaythroughalongchecklistofthingstoverify,fromcargostrapstovalvecontrolstoaccessibilityoftheCO2 scrubbing cartridges under the right seat. Anton is of course aveteranSoyuzcommander,butformeitwasthefirstchanceto"feel"areal,brand-new,space-boundSoyuz!

Later in themorningwewere joinedbyspecialists forSvezda, theseatmanufacturer.Theysecuredthepyrochargesoftheseatsandconnectedan external supply of pressurized air, so that we could experience theextension of the seat from the usual lowposition to the upper "armed"position.Onanactualflightprofile,seatsareextendedbeforelandingtoprovidedampeningoftheimpact.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos, but on the Energiawebsite I found these two pictures from a similar verification last year.

Noticethefashionableheadwear!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-358: Ho passato la mattinanell’astronavediAlex,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-357

The docking hatches of the Russian segment of the ISS. Source:NASA/SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia), 2013.12.03—Back at the Soyuz controlstodaytoflysomemanualdocking.Alwaysagreatwaytoendatrainingday!

As you probably know, the Soyuz docks to the Space Stationautomatically if everything is nominal. Our manual docking trainingcovers for two typesofcontingency:a failureof theon-boardcomputerandafailureoftheKurs,whichisthesystemsofantennas(bothontheSoyuzandonStation)thatgivesthecomputerthenecessaryinformationabouttherelativepositionandspeedwithrespecttoISS.

Afailureof theKurs isaslightly lighterscenario,becausea functioningcomputercananywaymakelifeeasierinsomeways.Forexample,whenwemakeacorrectionof theorientation, theattitude thrusters inevitablygive the Soyuz also a forward impulse: the computer automaticallycompensatesforthiswithaburnintheaftdirection,sothatwedon'tgetforwardspeedthatweneverintendedtoacquire.Ifthecomputerfails,we

havetodothosecompensationsmanually.

Wealsohavedifferentscenarios in termsof illumination (dayornight),attitudemodeoftheStation(inertiallystabilizedorrotatingwiththelocalverticalasitmovesaroundtheEarth)andinitialconditions(howfarfromStation? with a safe speed or with excessive speed that requiresimmediateactions toavoidcollisionwithStation?already in frontof thedockingportornot?)

Also, different docking ports have slightly different challenges, mainlybecause of the different target alignment. In the pictures I have shownthe four dockingports that aSoyuz can fly to: theServiceModulesaft(yellow,anATV isdocked in thepicture);DockingCompartment1andMRM2(green,SoyuzorProgressdockedinthepicture);andMRM1(red,portisfreeinthepicture).

WealsopracticerelocatingtheSoyuzfromonedockingporttoanother.That'sbythewaynotacontingencymode:relocationscanonlybeflownmanually.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-357: Dove parcheggiare lavostraSojuz,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-356

TheSoyuzmedicinebox.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia), 2013.12.04—A four-hourSoyuz simwithAnton today, practicing pre-launch ops, launch, post-orbital insertionchecksandinitialcorrectionburnstogetonourwaytoISS.

We didn't get any major computer or engine failures, because thosewouldforceustorevertbacktothetwo-dayrendez-vousprofileandthepointtodaywastosticktothequickscheme.Butwedidgetourshareoflittle malfunctions, like a failure of the radio transmitter, a loss of O2partial pressure readings or a broken fan in the CO2 scrubbingequipment.

I also had a class on themedical supplies that will fly with us on theSoyuz.AlittlemedicineboxisstowedbetweentheCommander'sandtheFlight Engineer's seat. As you can see in the picture, tablets areorganized in booklets, so nothing floats away: practical inweightlessness!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-356:L’armadiettodeimedicinali

dellaSojuz,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-355

TomMarshburn uses the bodymassmeasurement device on the ISS.Source:NASA

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.05—Somemore Soyuz manualflyingtodayandthenaclassdedicatedtoRussianmedicalequipmentonSoyuzandonStation.

WhenweflyontheSoyuzwewearamedicaltelemetrybeltwithsensorsthatcanmeasureourelectrocardiogramandourfrequencyofbreathing:it'sactuallythesamebeltthatI'vewornseveraltimesduringunderwaterOrlantrainingintheHydrolab.

As for the Station, the one item in the Russian segment that I will beusingregularlyisthebodymassmeasurementdevice.Sincewecannotuseregularscalestomeasureourbodymassinweightlessness,wehadto get creative and dig into the physics books to find a physicalrelationshipthatisstillvalidinzero-Gandallowsustomeasuremass.

Here'swhereyouroscillator formulascome inhandy. It'sactuallyprettystraightforward: if youoscillateamassattachedat theendofaspring,

the frequencyof theoscillation is related to themassviaawell knownequation.So ifYOUare themass that isoscillating, there yougo: youmeasurethefrequencyofoscillationandyou'llknowifyou'vebeeneatingtoomanyofthosedeliciousspacefoodpouches!

In the photo you can see Tom Marshburn using the mass measuringdevice(photo:NASA).

Here'salsoaneatvideodemowithdetailedexplanationbyJeffWilliams.

Video:MassMeasurement(2:54)

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-355:Come“pesare”uncorpoinassenzadipeso,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-354

AstronautCarlWalzcatalogswatercontainers in theZvezdamoduleoftheISS.Source:NASA

StarCity (Moscow,Russia), 2013.12.06—Today I got to spend sometime in the ISSmockups here in Star City, in particular in the ServiceModule. I haveattachedapanoramaof the interior, so youcan takeatour!

Asanon-RussiancrewmemberIwillnotbeexpectedtoperformcomplexworkintheServiceModule:infact,Iamnottrainedforanykindofworkon the systems, except for the interaction with emergency responseitemsandwithbasiclifesupportequipment.

These include the toilet,ofcourse,which ishoweververysimilar to theoneinNode3thatwewouldtypicallyuseasnon-Russiancrew.Actually,it's pretty much exactly the same toilet, except that the Node3 unit isnominally connected to the Urine Processing Assembly to recover theurinetopotablewater.

Waterdelivery isanotherbasic lifesupport function.Just like in theUS

Lab, theServiceModulehasawaterdeliveryunit (on the "wall" abovethe table) to rehydrate food packages. It has two separate outlets for"hot" and "warm" water and the possibility to set the quantity of waterneededaccordingtotheinstructionsonthefoodpackage.

Ontheotherside,oppositetothetable,isanotherwaterdeliverysystem,typicallyusedtosimplydrinkambienttemperaturewater.

AndinthetableitselfisthefoodwarmerfortheRussianfoodcans.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-354:Usarel’acquanelModulodiServizio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-353

TheSoyuzdockingsimulatorinStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.07—When I'm in Star City,manualdockingsessionsareregularlyputonmytrainingschedule,soIcanmaintainandpossiblyimprovemyskillsbeforeservingasabackupcrewmembernextMay.

I have attached a picture of the simulator we use to practice manualflying.Asyoucansee, themanualcontrolsand theperiscopeviewareonlyavailable in thecenterseat,where thecommandersits.Asa flightengineersittingintheleftseat,Idon'thaveaccesstothosecommands.

Still,asaflightengineerIamrequiredtoshowthesameproficiencyasthe Soyuz commander. In spaceflight we like to plan for all possiblecontingencies: justaswedesignvehiclestohavefullredundancyonallcritical systems, we also plan to have more than one crewmembercapable of fulfilling critical tasks. And getting successfully to Station,you'llprobablyagree,isprettycriticaltomissionsuccess!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-353:Perchéquestoèspessoil

mioufficioaStarCity,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-352

ASoyuzdockedattheISSwiththeperiscopehighlighted.Source:NASA

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.08—I mentioned in yesterday'sLogbookthattheSoyuzcommanderhasaperiscopeviewavailable.Youcanseetheactualperiscopeintheattachedpicture.

As you might have noticed, it has two circular openings offering twoviewsthatareoffsetby90degrees.Tochangebetweenviewsamirrorinsidetheperiscopeisrotated.

Mostof the time theviewof interest is theone "straightout"along theaxisof theperiscope.Wheneverthere isaneedtofiretheengines,thereference orientation in which the Soyuz puts itself is along the localvertical:inthisorientationtheperiscopefacestowardsEarth.Theopticalsetup issuch that thecommandersitting in thecenterseatwillsee theentire globe symmetrically in the field of view if the Soyuz is properlyoriented. Also, any feature on the surface of the Earth will be runningfromtoptobottom(orfrombottomtotopifit'sabrakingattitude).

Whenwe approach theStation for rendez-vous themirror is turned so

that thecommandercannowhavea forwardview.This is theviewwewouldusetoaligntheSoyuzmanuallyifwehadtoflyamanualdocking.

Shouldthemirrorremainstuckontheinitialposition-youguessedit-wehave backup option.We can use a camera view and a second targetwhichisalignedwiththecamera:that'sthecirculartargetonyesterday'spicture!

Picturecredit:NASA

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-352: Cos’è questa storia delperiscopio?,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-351

Samantha Cristoforetti trains to lift from the rescue helicopter. Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.09—Wet start of the week forTerryandmyselftoday.ForourfirstclassthismorningweheadedtotheHydrolab,wherewepracticedoperationsthatwewouldhavetoperformto attach ourselves safely in case we had to be airlifted by rescuehelicopters.

In Forel suit, ready for lifting. Source: Gagarin Cosmonaut TrainingCenter

Onyourusuallandingday,ofcourse,helicopterssimplylandnexttothedescend module and rescue personnel helps the crew to get out.However, therecouldbesituations(andtherehavebeeninthepast) inwhich the helicopter can not land. And for sure there could be watersplashdowns,especiallyinthecaseofarocketfailureinthelaterportionofthe8-minridetoorbit,whenthedescentmodulewouldendupinthePacific.

Liftingbegins.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Terryand I got topracticeboth in theSokol, our regularpressure suit,andintheForeldrysuit,whichispartofoursurvivalequipment.Wehadacraneinsteadofanactualhelicopter,whichmakesthingsabiteasier.Butwe'vebothexperienced realhelicopterairlifts in thepastaspartofourtrainingasmilitarypilots.

PreparationforliftinginSokolsuit.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

All operations leading up to the helo reascue- getting into the Forel,leavingthedescentmodule,usingsignalingequipmentandothersurvivalitems-wepracticedlastsummer.Youcanseesomepictureshere.

Oh, and the Hydrolab of course is usually dedicated to spacewalkingtraining.Herearesomepicturesofthat,ifyoumissedthem.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-351:Quandogliamiciarrivanoasollevarvi,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-350

TheSoyuzTMA-15Mcrew inaSokol suit fora simulation inStarCity.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.12.10—TodaywefinallyhadourfirstrealSoyuzsimwithourcompletecrew!TerryjoinedAntonandmyselffora pretty adventurous afternoon inwhichwe had to practice fighting forour life when smoke started to fill up the small volume of our descentmodulejustafteroursimulatedinjectionintoorbit.

Insituations like this, yourbest friendsaregoodcrewcoordinationandyourpressuresuit!

Normally air from the cabin is circulated through the suit. In case ofsmoke, however,wewould immediately close the helmets, turn off theventilation and start instead pure oxygen flow into the suit from theoxygen tanks.Thecontinuous flowof freshoxygenprevents foggingofthehelmet,butitalsomeansthatwe'reintroducingoxygenintothecabinviathesuitreliefvalve.

As theoxygenconcentration in thedescentmodulegrows,sodoes the

flammabilityoftheatmosphere.Latestataconcentrationof40%wewantto fullydepressurize, ventingall theatmosphere tospace.At thatpointwerelyfullyonthesuitstokeepusalive:theyaredesignedtomaintainan internal pressure of 0,4 atm, enough to avoid symptoms ofdecompressionsickness,butalsotomakethesuitveryrigid.

Inafirescenarioweneedtoactveryquickly:beforewecandepressurizeweneed to leak check the suits tomake surewe're not going to kill acrewmemberwhenwevent theatmosphere.And inparallelweneedtoinitiatethesequencethatwillleadustoatimelydeorbitburnandasafereentry.Itwasaverybusyandveryfunsim!Andalso,asweliketojoke,a free sauna: with the helmet closed, the ventilation off and only the(smaller)oxygenflow,itgetsquicklywarmintheSokol!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-350:Come la tutaSokol puòsalvarvilavita,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-349

The controls of theSoyuzStarCitymanual docking simulator.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.11—Some more manualapproachanddockingpracticetoday!

Here'sacloserlookattheinstrumentsweuse.IhavetalkedintheL-352Logbook about the periscope view,which is oriented forwardwhenweapproach the Station. In the picture you can see the view when theSoyuzhasdocked:theromboidaltargetisalignedwiththeperiscopeandweneedtokeepitinthecenterwiththecrossesaligned.Inthisparticulardocking,ifyoulookcarefully,youcanseeaminormisalignmentinpitch(thehorizontallineisabitlow),whichisstillfullyacceptable.

Thebigchallengeinflyingmanuallyisthatwedon'thavemeasurementsof distance and speed.We assess the distance visually using the gridandaconversiontablebasedontheapparentdimensionoftheServiceModule, the docking port and the target. For example, we know thatwhentheServiceModulediameterisaswideas1griddivisionweareat200meters;ifthediameterofthedockingportis2divisions,weareat70

meters; and if the target is 3 divisions,we are at about 3meters fromcontact.

Speed assessment is a bit trickier and is based on the knownaccelerationof thethrusters. Ifwestart fromaclosingspeedofroughlyzeroandgivea forward impulseof10seconds,weknow thatwehaveaccelerated to about 0,4 meters per second. It gets more difficult incomputer failure scenarios, because any time we use the orientationcontrolontherighttoadjustpitchoryaw,wealsogiveasignificantburnforwardwhich is not compensated and needs to be accounted for. It'sespecially important when we make contact with Station: we want thespeedtobebetween0.06m/sand0,15m/s.Especiallynothigherthanthat!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-349:Comevalutarevelocitàedistanza quando tutto il resto non funziona, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-348

FiresimulationintheZvezdamodulewithSamanthaCristoforettiandthecrew of theSoyuz TMA-15M inStarCity. Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.12—A Service Module full ofsmokesothickwecouldhardlyseeeachotherandafirehiddenbehindapanel tobe foundandputout.All thatwhilewearinggasmasks thatcangetverywarm.

Thatwas thebeginningof theday formyselfandmycrewmatesAntonandTerry.AssoonastheServiceModulefilledupwithsimulatedsmoke,we grabbed our gasmasks.We took a deep breath, put them on andthenexhaled into thechemicalcartridge tostart thereaction thatwouldgiveusoxygentobreathforthenexthourorso.It'sanisolatedsystem:the reaction uses the CO2 and water vapor we exhale to generateoxygen. It's also an exothermic reaction, meaning it generates heat: ittakesawhiletogetusedtobreathingthewarm,drygassupplyfromthecartridgeandweallhadourshareofcoughing,butcertainlybetterthanbeingexposedtocombustionssmokesonarealdayonorbit!

Wedidfindandputoutthefireinourfirstscenarioandalsowentthroughtheprocedurestostartthecleaningprocessoftheatmosphere.

Onoursecondscenariowesimulatedthatwecouldnotputoutthefire.Since our Soyuz was docked to the "burning" module, we had toevacuate.TheideawasforustopracticegettingintoourSokolsuitswithour masks on and going through quick undocking procedures for anarbitraryorientationoftheStation.Astoryforanotherday!

Photocredit:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-348: Addestramentoantincendio con fumo e maschere antigas, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-345

Samantha Cristoforetti and the crew of the Soyuz TMA-15M in asimulation of evacuation of the ISS with the Soyuz for fire. Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.15—This Sunday night I'mpreparingforanothertriptoEnergia,theSoyuzmanufacturer:departurefromStarCityearlytomorrowmorningwithTerry!

Inthemeantime,pickingupthelogbookwhereI leftoff, I'd liketofinishthe story of our fire evacuation training last week. As you mightremember, we practiced fire scenarios in the Russian segment of theSpaceStationandeventuallywewereconfrontedwithafirethat, inoursimulation,wecouldnotputout.

Tomake thingsworse, the fireaffected themodule towhichourSoyuzwas docked, leaving us with no choice but to leave the Station. Now,puttingonthepressuresuitsSokolwhilewearingthegasmaskisabitofachallenge.InitiallyyouputontheSokollikeyounormallywould,uptothearms.The funcomesnext:you takeadeepbreath,hold it, takeoffthemask,slideyourheadthroughtheneckringandputthemaskback

on, the ideaherebeingthatyouneedtoavoidbreakingyourprotectionfromsmokeandtoxiccombustionsproducts.

Foroursimulation,weactuallyhadtomovefromthebuildingthathousesthe Station mockups to the one across the street with the Soyuzsimulator.Duringthewarmmonthscrewsactuallywalkacrossthestreetwiththemaskon,butwithsnowandiceonthegroundit'spreferredthatwe take themaskoff.Sowegotanon-functioningmask for thesuitingup,makingitabiteasier:inreallifewewouldhavetopaygreatattentionat not collapsing the black soft bag - after an exhalation, that bagcontainsthesupplyofgasforthenextbreath!

Aftersuitingup,we tookourseats in thedescentmoduleof theSoyuzsimulator,whichourinstructorshadalreadyfilledwithprettythicksmoke.AttimesIcouldhardlyseethecontrolpanel!Afterconnectingoursuitstothe Soyuz oxygen supply, we took another deep breath, took the gasmaskoffandclosedthehelmet,isolatingourselvesfromthesmoke.

For the next couple of hours we then proceeded to perform anemergencyundocking fromStationaswellas the fire-relatedactions. Ifyoumissedit,youcanreadaboutthelatterintheL-350Logbook!

Youcanalsofindmorepictureshere!(Photocredits:GCTC)

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-345:Prepararsiaunagiornatastorta:un’evacuazionesimulatadopoun incendio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-344

ThedockingmechanismofaSoyuz.Source:NASA

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.12.16—TodayTerryandIspent thedayatthefacilitiesofSoyuzmanufacturerEnergiainthetownofKorolevintheMoscowmetropolitanarea.ThenameKorolevsoundsfamiliar?

We had a number of different classes with high-fidelity hardware,including one on the docking system in which we could see themechanismactuallywork,fromthefirstcaptureoftheprobeheadallthewaytofullproberetractionandclosingofthehooks.

UnfortunatelytakingpicturesisnotallowedatEnergia,butIhavefoundthisphotoofthedockinginterfaceofanactualSoyuzorProgress.

Inthegreencircleyoucanseethedockingprobe,whichisfullyretractedhere. There are four petals on the probe: when any of these petals ispressedagainstthereceivingconeoftheStationduringdockingwegetthe"Contact"signal,theverybeginningofthedockingsequence.

Sometimeandseveralsensorsignalslater,thedockinginterfaceshave

madefullcontactandthehookscanbeclosed:youcanseetheminthepicture,Ihavehighlightedonepairintheyellowcircle.Ineachpair,onehook is fixed and one is movable. The corresponding hooks on theStation sides are reversed, to that themovable hook of the SoyuzwillgrabthefixedhookoftheStationandviceversa.Wedon'talwaysclosehooksonbothsides.

Ihavealsohighlighted inredoneof thetwospringpushers.Duringthedocking sequence they are compressed as the interfaces are joined,therebystoringenergyinthesprings.Atundocking,assoonasweopenthehooksthatenergyisreleasedandtheSoyuzisliterallypushedaway.Asimple,cleversystem!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-344: Ecco a voi il sistema didockingdellaSojuz!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-343

TheRussianChibis-Mequipment tore-adapt thecardiovascularsystemtogravityafterweightlessness.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2013.12.17—IgotanoverviewofRussiancountermeasures today. In the ISS world, under the name'countermeasures' wemean all that we do to minimize the debilitatingeffect of weightlessness on muscles, bones and the cardiovascularsystem.

Inthecountermeasuresfamily,theChibis-MwinsthetrophyforthemostbizarrepieceofequipmentI'veseensofar!

Here's the problem it's meant to counteract: in weightlessness bodyfluids, in particular blood, are not pulled towards the legsbygravity astheyareonEarth.Wecallthisphenomenonfluidshiftandit'sthecauseof the puffy face and the chicken legs that astronauts typically displaywhentheyareonorbit.

Whenastronauts return toEarth, theeffect of gravity canwreakhavocwith theircardiovascularsystem.Here'swhereChibis-Mcomes in.Don

it, make a tight seal around your waist and then reduce the pressurearound your lower body, causing some reverse blood shift towards thelegs.Doitrepeatedlyintheweeksbeforelandingand,thethoughtgoes,you'll have trained your cardiovascular system to better withstand thereturntotheEarth,wherethingshaveaweight.

And if it doesn'twork,nobodywill beable to say that youdidn't give ityourbesttry!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-343:Ecco ilbizzarroChibis-Mpervoi!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-342

SamanthaCristoforetti inSokolsuit in theSoyuzsimulator inStarCity.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.18—One final Soyuz sim todaywithTerryandAntonbeforeTerryandI leaveRussia for theChristmasholidays.

Our scenario started today just prior to undocking for reentry to Earth.BeforewecouldopenthehooksandreleasetheSoyuzfromStation,wehad to performa suit leak check, tomake sure that our pressure suitswouldsaveourlivesincaseofdepressurization.

In the picture, just left of my left elbow, you can see our pneumaticconnections toStation.Thebig line is ventilation,meaning that it's justcabin air circulated in our suits. The smaller one is the supply of pureoxygen.

Fora leakcheckweclose theblueregulator justbelowthehelmetandstart supplying oxygen into the suit by opening the valve next to thewindow.On thearmwehaveapressuregauge: if thesuit reaches0.1

atmandthenfromthere0.35atmofoverpressurewithin90seconds,theleak check is passed! We reopen the regulator and relief the extrapressureintothecabin.

Theregulatorthenremainsatthesetting0,4atmthroughouttheflight.Inanormalday,thesuitissimplyconnectedtotheoutside,butshouldthepressureinthecabindrop,theregulatorwillnotallowthepressureinthesuittodecreasebelow0.4atm.

It'snoteasy towork in thesuitat thatpressure: freedomofmovementanddexterityareverylimited.That'swhyforamaximumof5minweareallowed to change the setting to 0,27 atm if there's a need to workdemanding procedures. This pressure makes the suit softer and lessbulky, but it's also unfortunately too low to ensure that we'll have noissueswithdecompressionsickness,hencethetimelimit.

Asalwaysinspaceflight,andmaybeinlifeingeneral,it'sacompromise!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-342:Abbiatefiducianellavostratutaspaziale,mafatelostessouncontrolloditenuta,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-340

Vistadell'artistadellasondacometariaRosettadell'ESA.Credito:ESA-J.Huart

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2013.12.20—Early wakeup call thismorningat 5am to drive to airport and catchmy flight fromMoscow toFrankfurt. Training is done and dusted for this year, I'll resume onJanuary13th.

Talking about wakeup calls: in exactly onemonth ESA colleagues willsendawakeupcallhundredsofmillionsofkmintodeepspace.Wakingupfromathree-yearlongnapwillbeRosetta,thecometchasingprobe.No kidding: Rosetta will catch up with comet Churyumov-GerasimenkoandthePhilaelanderwillhoponthecomet.Whatadayitwillbeforourhumanquestforknowledge!

It'sbeenanamazingspaceadventureso far: checkouta fun recapofRosetta'sjourneyuptonow:

Video:#WakeUpRosetta--Onceuponatime…(2:13)

YesterdayTerry,AntonandIhadamanualdockingsimtogether.UsuallyAntonandIpracticethatseparately,sothiswasanoccasiontoseehowwewouldapproachthissituationasacrew.Butwealsotooksometimefora shout-out toRosetta - granted,myVineskillsneedsomehoning,butitwasingoodspirit.

I'm sure you candobetter, though.Upload your #wakeuprosetta videohere-it'scoolandit'sachancetowinsomecoolprizes!

That's all from thisLogbook for this year.Catchupwith you in2014…wait,didIsay2014?That'stheyearI'mgoingtospace!

Thankyouallforyourinterestandsupportsofar.MerryChristmas!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-340:AlzarsiprestoperlasciareStar City e svegliare Rosetta fra un mese!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-302

SamanthaCristoforetti'sFuturamissionlogo.Source:ESA/ASI

Cologne (Germany), 2014.01.26—Time to hit the road again and getbacktotraining.Thebreakinthislogbookwasabitlongerthanplanned,sorry!Trainingschedulefor theyearwasreshuffledandsoI’mheadingtoStarCityonlytoday.

Just took a look at my train ticket to the airport. Return home: March28th.InbetweenIwillgooncearoundtheworld:fourweeksinMoscow,thenEastwardtoJapanfortwoweeks,thenontoHoustoninMarch.EndofMarchbackherefortrainingattheEuropeanAstronautCentre.

Andthiswon’tbemylastround-the-worldtripthisyear.Onlytenmonthslefttolaunchanditwillbeamarathon:niceandsteadyallthewaytothelaunchpad.

InbetweenTerry,AntonandIwillserveasbackupcrewforMaxim,Reidand fellow Shenanigan Alex. Full sequence of qualification exams,quarantine inBaikonurand then, ifallgoeswell,we'llwatch themblastoffonMay29th.Sixmonthslater,ourturn!Anexcitingjourneywithlots

ofmarvelouspeopleandIhopeyou’llcomealong.

Asyouknow,themissionnowhasaname,Futura:abeautifulreminderthatwe’rebuildingtogetherafutureforushumanbeingsinspace.AsofWednesdaylastweek,Futuraalsohasalogo,thatIwillproudlywearonmy flight suit. Thanks to Valerio Papeti for submitting the winningconcept.

Training logbook officially restarts tomorrow. Today Iwant to thank thepeople who volunteer their time to make this logbook accessible tofriendswhodon’t readEnglishquiteyet: thanks toPaoloAmorosoandthe good folks of the AstronautiNEWS community for the Italiantranslation.ThankstoAnneCpamoaand@IntervidiafortheFrenchandSpanishtranslations!

There is no special agreement with these friends: they see the postswhen they’re published and sometimes translations appear so quicklythatIwonderiftheyreadmymindremotelyandknowinadvancewhatIwillwrite.

Thankyou,youguysrock!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-302: Un viaggio intorno almondo, una prova generale e un ringraziamento, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-301

Samantha Cristoforetti in the manual simulator of Soyuz with herinstructorDima.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.01.27—AneasyfirstdayhereinStarCity. Thanks to my scheduler for the start at 11:00, which gaveme achancetosleep inafter the latenightarrival fromEuropeandgraduallyadjusttothethree-hoursleepshift.Threehoursisnotmuch,granted.Butsince I'magoodcandidate forhaving themost rigid internalclockeverobservedinahuman,I'lltakeanyhelpIget.

Fun day, also. Four hours at the controls of the Soyuz, first for somemanualrendez-vouspracticeandthenforsomemanualdescenttraining.Inthepictureyoucanseewherewepracticemanuallyflyingthedescentprofile: thecontrolpaneland thebluishhandcontrollerare just like theoneswehaveintheactualSoyuz.

Dima is the super awesome instructor assigned to our crew. He's notonly responsible forourmanual reentryskills,butalso forpreparingusfor the overall Soyuz qualification exams.He's the onewho comes upwiththecraziestfailurescenariostomakeusgrowasacrewandmake

surethatwetakegoodcareoftheSoyuz-TMA15Mlaterthisyear.

Aboutmanualreentry:incaseyoumissedit,thisolderlogbookhassomegeneralwords.Butdon'thesitatetoaskanyquestions!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-301: Il rientro manuale dellaSojuz e il nostro magnifico istruttore Dima!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-300

SamanthaCristoforettitrainstotheATVrendezvousinStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.01.28—Sasha and I had a chancetodaytodivebackintotheATV*worldtoday.

There'sadedicatedsimulatorhereinStarCityinwhichwecanpracticerendez-vous scenarios and keep up our proficiency, after the initialcoursewe had at theEuropeanAstronautCentre back inCologne.Asthe backup crew assigned to the rendez-vous of ATV5 this comingsummer,weneed tobeasgoodat itas theprimeguys, theother twoSashas(onebeingmyfellowshenaniganAlexanderGerst).

TheRussianPenguinsuit.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

IalsohadanoverviewclassonthePenguinsuit.Here'sapicture.

Russian doctors recommend that we wear it for several hours a dayduring the last month on ISS. It has a number of chords that apply acompression load between shoulders and pelvis: the purpose is to re-compress the spine, after the long exposure to weighlessness hascaused it to elongate. In addition, you can adjust the tensions on thedifferent chords in such a way that, in order to maintain posture, youneedtowork"againstthesuit"andtrainthoselittlestabilizationmusclesthat we use unconsciously on Earth but get quickly deconditioned onorbit.

NowtimeforsomeSoyuzmanualdockingpractice!

*Ifyou'renotfamiliarwithATVatall,herearesomegeneralwordsfromanolderlogbook.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-300:Prepararsiall’ATV-5giustoincasoelatutaPenguin,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-299

SamanthaCristoforettiandAlexanderGerstinOrlansuitforEVAtraininginStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia), 2014.01.29—My fellowShenanigan AlexandIhadthepleasureofmeetingoneofourOrlaninstructorsagain.It'sincredible,but it'sbeenalmostalmostayearandahalfsincehetaughtusabouttheRussianspacewalkssuit!

This time itwasn'taboutpreparingus todoanOrlanspacewalk(EVA),butrathertoteachushowtobetheso-called"thirdoperator",thepersonassisting the spacewalking crewmembers with pre-EVA and post-EVAprocedures.

You may wonder why we would be fulfilling that role, since there isalways a third Russian crewmember on-board and he/she is bound tohavealotmoretrainingintheRussianprocedures.Well,thethingisthatthispersonwouldmostlikelybeisolatedinhis/herSoyuz.

IfyoutakealookatthepictureI'veattached,itwillallmakesense.

TheRussiansectionoftheISS.Source:NASA

In the yellow circle I've indicated themodule which is used as airlock,meaning themodule that is isolated from the rest of theSpaceStationanddepressurized,beforespacewalkersopenthehatchandexit.Whenspacewalkers come back inside and close the hatch again, beforeconnectingtheairlockagaintotherestoftheStationweverifythatthereis no leak to the outside. Imagine, for example, that we damaged thehatch and could not close it properly anymore: if we reconnected theairlocktotherestoftheISS,wewoulddepressurizetheentireStation!

So,RussianEVAproceduresforeseeasolutionforthiscontingency:thetwospacewalkerswouldgetintothesmallmodulethatIhavehighlightedin red, called Transfer Section (переходный отсек) and basically usethatasacontingencyairlock.

Toprotectforthispossibility,allfourhatchesoftheTransferSectionareclosedandleakchecksareperformedbeforetheEVA-oneofthetasksofthethirdoperator,bytheway.

Now, of the six ISS crewmembers, three have their Soyuz docked toMRM2andthreetoMRM1(thislatterwilllikelybethecaseforAlexandmyself).

As you can easily see, the Soyuz that is docked to MRM2 remainsisolatedfromtherestofStation.So,crewmemersofthatSoyuzwhoarenot outside doing the spacewalk need to wait in the MRM2/Soyuzvolume, because they can not remain separated from their spaceship.And because of the way crews are composed and docking ports areutilized,mostlikelythethirdRussiancrewmemberwouldbeoneofthoseisolatedinthere.

Hence the need to ask a non-Russian to serve as third operator. Alexand I are an obvious choice, since we've already been certified inperformingOrlanspacewalksandweonlyneededaquickrefresher.

Bytheway,youcanseesomepicturesofourOrlantrainingawhilebackhere.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-299:IsolatinellaSojuzduranteuna passeggiata spaziale russa? Ecco perché, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-298

The Soyuz manual flight simulator in Star City. Source: SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.01.30—A chilly day in Star Citytoday.WhenIleftthismorningonmybikeitwasabout-30°С.Luckilyit'sniceandwarm in theSoyuzsimulator,where I got somemoremanualflyingpractice.Inthepictureyoucanseethededicatedsimulatorweusefor this purpose. Inside it looks just like our regular descent modulesimulator,but it'sreallyspecificallydesignedtopresentuswithallkindsof manual approach and docking scenarios and to project accurateimagesontheperiscopeviewaswefly.Ifyoumissedit,youcanseeourviewandourcontrolshere.

Please,don'tthinkthatwecanfirethebigmainengineoftheSoyuzwiththosecontrollersthough.Wecanonlyfirethesmallattitudethrusters:wehave twosetsof themandwenominallyonlyuseoneata time. If themainenginecangiveanaccelerationofca.0.4m/s2,onesetofattitudethrusters only provides about one tenth of that acceleration. But that'splenty, because by the timewearewithin 400meters fromStationwe

shouldn'tnominallyhavemorethan2m/sofclosingvelocity:tocometoa full stop from that speed, if needed, we would only need to fire thesmallthrustersfor50seconds.

Wedopracticescenariosinwhichtheautomaticcontrolfailsandweareway faster than we should be. If we recognize such a dangeroussituation,we'rerequiredtoselectbothsetsofthrusterssimultaneouslysothatwecanslowdowntwiceasfast.Atthatpoint,it'snotaboutrendez-vousanymore,butit'saboutavoidingapossiblecollisionwithStation!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-298: Quanto rapidamentepotete rallentare una Sojuz in volo manuale?, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-297

SamanthaCristoforetti andAntonShkaplerov in theSoyuz simulator inStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.01.31—Anton and I spent theafternoon in theSoyuz simulator today,warmingupaswewait for ourthirdcrewmemberTerrytojoinusinthesimnextweek.

First we practiced the nominal undocking sequence and a nominalreentryburn,ofcoursewithanumberofmalfunctions.Thenwemovedontopracticingaballisticreentry.Ihaveexplainedinthisearlierlogbookthatit'snotaverycomfortablewayofreturningtotheplanet.

Toaddalittlebitofdetail,let'stakealookattoday'ssecondscenario:wehad just left ISS and discovered that wewere loosing our atmosphereintospace.Pressureinourdescentmodulewasdecreasingwitharateof1mmHgevery10seconds. (Yes, theRussianspacecommunity lovesmmofmercury!)

Our computer was programmed with all the data for a comfortablenominalreentry,butthatwouldhavemeantturningontheenginetogive

the braking impulse and reenter the atmosphere only about two hourslater!Notagoodideainourscenariotowaitthatlong.

That's where the so-called Program 5 comes in: a predeterminedsequence of commands stored in the computer with very genericparameters for the reentry burn. Certainly not enough for a controlledreentry,butenoughforaballisticridethroughtheatmosphere.ThekeyofcourseistostartProgram5attherighttime.WehaveaprintedtablecalledForm23-14which contains the "magic time" for eachandeveryorbit: Russian cosmonauts print it out every single day on Station andmake surea copy is in everySoyuz, to beprepared in the caseof anemergencyevacuation!

Of course, in our case things were not so easy. We got a computerfailurebeforetheengineburnandweendeduphavingtodoeverythingmanually.Buteven in thatcase,Form23-14 isyourbest friend: it tellsyouatwhattimeyouneedtopressthebuttonandmanuallyturnontheengine.

Whyisthatsoimportant?Well,it'syouonlyguaranteethatyouwilllandin a relatively safe area, rather than, for example, in themiddle of theoceanoronaHimalayanmountainpeak!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-297: Come evitare di fareatterrare la Sojuz su una vetta himalaiana, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-295

Samantha Cristoforetti's winter survival training. Source: GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.02.02—HappySundayeveryone!

Here inStarCity these past fewweeks several crews have done theirwintersurvival training.Somehave faced temperaturesas lowas30°Castheyspenttwonightsoutdoorsinthewoods!

Thishasbroughtbackmemoriesofmyownwintersurvival training twoyearsago.AtthattimeIwasn'tassignedtoanISSexpeditionyet,butIwas undergoing training as the ESA reserve astronaut. My "crew"includedmy fellow Shenanigan Thomas Pesquet and one of the 2009cosmonaut candidates - now a fully qualified cosmonaut - Sergey, thelatterservingasourCommander for the threedayswespentoutdoors.Wehadagreattimetogetherandwewereveryluckywiththeweather:there wasn't too much snow on the ground and temperatures onlydroppedto-15°Cinthenights!

Ihave takensome time today toselectanduploadsomepictures, that

youcanfindhere.

Andifyouwanttoknowmoreabouthowwespentthosetwodays,here'smyaccountfromtwoyearsago.

(Italiantranslationby@disinformaticohere).

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-295: Quella volta che siamosopravvissutiall’invernorusso,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-294

SamanthaCristoforetti at aRussian space food tasting session inStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.02.03—Iwasinvitedtolunchtoday!

Between morning and afternoon classes Anton and I had had a foodtastingsessionofRussianspacefoodhereinStarCity.Wewerejoinedbyourbackupcrew:Oleg,KimyaandKjell.OnlyourcrewmateTerrywasmissing!

AtastingsessionofRussianspacefoodinStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Thisisthefirstofeight"spacelunches"inwhichwe'llbeinvitedtotryandevaluatetheRussianmenu.AsaEuropeanastronautIwilleatprimarilytheNASAmenuandtheESAbonusfoodonboard,butit'sgoodtoknowwhattheRussiancolleagueshavetooffer.I'msurethere'salotoffoodtradinggoingononboard!

AtastingsessionofRussianspacefoodinStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Some of the food rations will be dehydraded, others will bethermostabilized and only need to be heated. Unlike NASA and ESAthermostabilized items,which come in pouches,Russian ones typicallycome in cans not dissimilar from your typical tuna can from thesupermarket.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-294:Unassaggiodiquellocheoffreilmenurusso,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-293

SamanthaCristoforettiandTerryVirtsinSokolsuitinfrontoftheSoyuzsimulatorinStarCity.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.02.04—TerryisbackinStarCityandwilljoinAntonandmeforalongSoyuzsimintheSokolsuittomorrow.Inthe picture, you can see Terry and myself before a similar sim lastDecember.

Wehadour two-hourbrief todaywithour instructorDima.Theplan fortomorrow is tohavea longer-than-usualsim(fivehours insteadof four)andgothroughthefullsequenceofeventsfromthemomentweenterthedescentmoduleonthelaunchpadtodockingattheInternationalSpaceStation.

Sure,inreallifeitwouldstilltakealittlebitlonger,butinthesimulatorwecan cut away the time in which not much would be happening, sincewaitingdoesn'thavealotoftrainingvalue.

Afterascentandseparationfromtherocket,thingsgoprettyfastwiththenew six-hour rendezvous profile. While I conduct the leak checks and

verify that all systems are nominal (in the sim they never are!) Antongoesstraightintomonitoringofthedynamicmode:infact,theautomaticcyclestartsacoupleofminutesafterinjectionintoorbit,notimetowaste.

Ifall goeswell, theonboardcomputerbuilds itsbasicLVLHorientation(belly to the Earth and "nose" in the direction of flight), tests the Kurssystemandgives two initialburns that raiseandcorrect theorbit.Thenthereissometimeforustotestthemanualcontrols,beforewemoveontothesecondsequenceoftwoorbitalcorrectionburns.

Thenwetransitionimmediatelytotherendezvousmodeandonwegoallthewaytodocking.

ThismorningAntonandIalreadyhadsimilar four-hoursim,except thatwe had an engine failure during the second burn. If that happens, theautomaticcyclestopsand thequick6-hours-launch-to-dockingprofile isnotpossibleanymore.TimetotakeiteasyandgetreadytospendtwodaysinthelittleSoyuz,likeintheoldtimes!

Photocredit:GCTC

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-293:BentornatonelsimulatoreSojuz,Terry!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-292

SamanthaCristoforetti inSokolsuit in theSoyuzsimulator inStarCity.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.02.05—TodaywehadlongsimwithTerryandAntonpracticingalloperations from themomentwe takeourseatsonthelaunchpadtodocking…well,actuallywedidn'tquitemakeittodocking,weranoutoftimeafewkmfromStation.Butitwasanywayanintensetrainingdaywithlotsoflearningpoints!

This is, by the way, how our first exam day will look in a couple ofmonths,whenwewillbedoourofficialqualificationsimsasthebackupcrew of the Exp40 folks. On this type of sims, since the exam doesforesee thatwe get to ISS somehow,wewould never get catastrophicmalfunctions like a fire, a depressurization or a leak in the propellantlines: those scenarios would force us to an immediate emergencyreentry.

Instead we will get a number of smaller malfunctions, which todayincludedforexamplealackofventilationinTerry'ssuit,aleakinoneofthe oxygen lines, a failure of the main radio receiver, a broken gas

analyzerforcingustomanuallykeepinternalpressurewithinacceptablelimitsbyopeningandclosing theoxygensupplyvalve,aseriesofKursfailures of both the prime and the backup unit, which would haveeventually forced us to a manual rendezvous and docking, if we hadgottenthatfar.

TheSokolsuitandkneestraps.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

We don't always wear our Sokol during Soyuz training, but these socalled"suited"simsareveryusefultogetususedtoproperlystrappinginandorganizingouractions.Asyoumighthavenoticed,wedon'texactlyhavealotofspacetomovearoundinthedescentmodule,soit'sareallygoodthingtopracticedealingwiththesuitinthecrampedspace.

I've attached a couple of pictures in which you can see knee straps.Because at reentry the impact with the ground is pretty violent, it'simportantthat legsaretieddowntotheseat: if theywerefreetomove,legsmightviolentlyimpactthecontrolpaneljustaboveandcauseprettyseriousharm.Nothavinglegstrapsproperlyinplacehasbeenaserious

debrief item inoneofourprevioussims,sonowweare in thehabitofcheckingeachothercarefully.

Italian translation of this logbookentry: L-292:Per evitare di farvimalealle gambe quando atterra la Sojuz, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-291

André Kuipers in front of the ATV control panel on the ISS. Source:NASA

StarCity (Moscow,Russia), 2014.02.06—TodaySasha and I passedour ATV rendezvous exam and were officially certified to perform themonitoringoftheATVdocking.

As you probably know, the Automated Transfer Vehicle is totallyautonomous in its approach and docking to the International SpaceStation.Infact,thereisnowaytotakemanualcontrolofATVandbringitinfordocking,asourRussiancrewmatescandowiththeProgresscargoship.

Butwedohavehumans in the loop:with thehelpof thecameraandanumberofvisualcuesandoverlays,plusextensivetelemetryinformationfromthevehicle,thecrewcanmonitortheapproachandmakesurethatATVremainswithinthenominalapproachparametersintermsofspeed,corridor,orientation.

We are expected to recognize and react within a few seconds to a

numberofpossibledeviationsthatcanrequireustocommandtheATVtoretreat,escapeorabort.AretreatisalesssevereinterventionthatjustsendsATVbacktothepreviousholdpoint.AnescapeandanabortareinsteadseriousdisengagemaneuversthatbringATVtoasafedistanceand position with respect to Station for troubleshooting and a possiblereattemptinthenextdays.

In thepictureyoucanseeESAastronautAndréKuipers in frontof theATVcontrolpanel-yes,thebigredbuttonsendstheabortcommand.

Hereyoucanseeafewpicturesfromtoday'sexam.

Theprimecrew,includingmyfellowShenaniganAlex,alsopassedtheirexamtoday!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-291: Oggi passato l’esamesull’ATV!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-288

TheRussiandeviceBraslet.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.02.09—TheweekendisalmostoverhereinStarCityandit'stimetogetreadyforanothertrainingweek.

Lookingbackat lastweek,wewrappedupthetrainingonFridaywithalongsimulationsessionintheRussiansegmentmockupreviewingcrewresponse incaseofadepressurization.This reviewwill come inhandynextweek,whenwe'lldothistraininginthevacuumchamber,withactual"leaks" and real pressure drops across closed hatches. I'm verymuchlookingforwardtoexperiencingthis!

Last week I also had an interesting session on the tilt table with thepurpose of conducting a fit check for the Braslet (Браслет). This itemwas first introduced to me last summer, together with a number ofRussian clothing and personal hygiene products. It was then that mythighmeasurementsweretakeninordertoproducemypersonalBraslet,thatwillflywithmeontheSoyuz.

The idea is pretty simple: you have an anatomically shaped strap that

you can tighten around your upper thigh to restrict venous blood flowfrom the legs to the upper body. This is used in the first days ofspaceflight to help in the adaptation to weightlessness conditions, inwhichthereisanuncomfortablefluidshifttowardsthehead.

Thebignumbersyoucanseeinthepictureareascalethatallowsyoutotighten the Braslet to a specified value, which is determined pre-flight.That'swhenthetilttablecomesin:bytiltingapersonheaddownyoucansimulatetheweightlessness-inducedeffectofbloodrushingtothehead.

To have an objective measurements of the effect of the tilting on mycirculatory system, sensors were applied around my head. First I wastiltedafewtimesbetween50°head-upand50°head-down.Then,oncethespecialistsweresatisfiedwiththebaselinedata,theyhelpedmeputon theBraslet.Wewent through a couple of iteration steps to find outhowmuchIshouldtightenit tohavetheexpectedeffect.Andtheeffectwasquitesignificant. I realized itwhen theBrasletwas removed: Iwasstill tilted back 50° and, as soon as the strap was released, I couldimmediatelyfeelthebloodrushingtothehead.

ThetiltbedisalsousedinBaikonourforpre-launchconditioning,asyoucanseeinthispicturewithESAastronautPaoloNespoli.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-288: Braslet, ovvero perchéstringersi una cinghia attorno alla coscia, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-287

SamanthaCristoforettiandAlexanderGerstintheOrlanairlocksimulatorinStarCity.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.02.10—Today I have spent themorning in the Orlan airlock ops simulator in Star City with fellowShenaniganAlex,putting intopracticewhatwe learned lastweekaboutsupportingaRussianEVA in theroleof thirdoperator. Ifyoumissed it,youcanreadabitaboutthatonthislogbook.

Our Soyuz commanders, Anton and Maksim, were in the Orlan. Theairlockopssimulatorisonebigroom,itdoesn'thaveseparatesectionstoreproducethedifferentmodulesof theStation.But itdoeshaveregularhatches, valves and pressure indicators, which is what wewouldworkwithduringpre-andpost-EVAoperations.Thereisofcoursenochangeinpressure in the room,butallpressuregauges reactaccording toourmanipulationofthevalves.

Hereyoucanseeapanoramaofthesimulatorroom.

And here's Anton closing the hatch "to space", the beginning of our

repressurizationandpost-EVAprocedures.

Also, here you can see pictures from some time agowhenAlex and IwentthroughtheairlocktrainingintheOrlan.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-287: Operazioni nell’airlockOrlanconAlexeAnton,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-286

Mockup of modules of the Russian segment of the ISS in Star City.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.02.11—Atriptothevacuumchambertoday!Abig vacuumchamber that containsa replicaof a fewRussiansegmentmodules, including theServiceModuleand theSoyuz.Aswewereinsidethesemodule,pressurewasdroppedinthechamberaroundus: the chamber technicians had then the possibility of opening one ofseveralvalvesconnectedtheatmosphereofourmoduletotherestofthechamber,thuscreating"leak"conditionsinvariousmodules.

Allthehatchesarejustliketheonesinspaceandtheideaistopracticeresponse procedures for the case of a leak, a so called rapiddepressurization scenario. We have practiced those procedures manytimesbothinHoustonandinRussia,soweknowverywellhowtoreactifthe pressure starts dropping inside the Station, which we could noticebecause the alarm goes off or simply because our ears start to pop,whichevercomesfirst-unlessofcourseyouhappenedtobestaringatapressuregauge,inwhichcaseyouwouldseetheneedlemoving.

Themainpointoftheresponseprocedureistodeterminewhichmoduleisleaking,whichinvolvesclosinghatchesinaspecifiedorder.Onceyouclose a hatch you check your pressure gauge: if the needle stopsmoving, the leak is on the other side and viceversa. And you keep ongoinguntilyou'vefoundtheculprit,whichthenyouhavetoisolate.

Todaywepracticedagain thiskindofwork,with thedifference thatweactuallyhadapressuredifferentialbuildingacrossthehatcheswhenwehadthemclosed.Itwasveryinterestingtoseethateffectandtorealizehowharditcanbecometoopenahatchthat,say,swingsopentowardsyou,whenthereisaleakontheothersideandyouhavetopullagainstapressure differential. To avoid problems reopening a hatch, we areinstructedtoleaveahatchclosedatmostforhalfthetimeittakesforthepressuretodrop1mm.

Unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures in this facility. I haveattachedapictureoftheregularRussiansegmentmockupwepracticeinStar City. Progress, Service Module, FGB, DC1 are all in place. TheMRM1 andMRM2 are off to the right and to the left you can see thefuturemodulesMLMandUM.

Hereyoucannavigatethepanoramaifyoulike.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-286:Oggicalodipressione!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-285

Samantha Cristoforetti and the crew of the Soyuz TMA-15M at thedebrief with the instructor after a Soyuz simulation. Source: SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.02.12—Today Anton, Terry and IwerebackintheSoyuzsimulatorforaprettydensetrainingday.

WestartedoutwiththeapproachprofiletoISSandlosttheKurssystem-theantennas thatorientus toStation - justbefore the lastburnon themain engine. If that happens, the compuer will still give you that burnbasedonthelastgoodstatevectorithadfromtheKurs.Basically,sinceitknowsthepositionandvelocityatthemomentoftheKursfailure,itcanpropagatethestatevectortothefutureandstillcalculatetheburn.

However,propagatingthestatevectorwithoutthepossibilityofcorrectingitwiththeantennameasurementleadstoerrorsthataccumulateastimepasses.That'swhy, after that final burnandwithin 3 km from ISS, thecomputerstopsworkingtheapproachprofileandwe,asthecrew,areonour own. No big deal, since we're trained for manual approach anddocking.

AsAntonwasbringingus inmanually, justa fewminutes fromcontact,the computer also failed completely. Not that it matteredmuch at thatpoint,soclosetoarrival,exceptthat…

justafterdockingwerealizedwehadaleakintheSoyuz!weendeduprushing to undock again and then we had to organize an emergencydescentfullymanually:Program5dieswiththecomputer!Bytheway,ifyoumissedit,youcanreadaboutProgram5inthispreviouslogbook.

Atrainingsessionneverendswhenweleavethesim,ofcourse.Afteraquickbreak,it'sdebrieftime,asyoucanseeinthepicture.Togetherwithour instructor Dimawe go over the events, especially anymistakes oractionsthatcouldhavebeendonebetterordifferently,sothatwecantrytoperformbetternexttime!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-285:Unadiquellegiornate incuisiguastatutto,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-282

SamanthaCristoforettiteststheSokolflightsuitatanoverpressureof0.4atmattheSvesdafacilities.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.02.15—Remember when I went toSvesdalastOctobertotakethemeasurementsformySokolsuitandtomake the mold of my seat liner? [If you don't, you can check theLogbooksL-426andL-415].

Neckpressurecontrol.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Well, lastweekitwastimetogoandcheckoutthecustom-madeitemsthatwillflytospacewithme!

It's been pretty special. Of course, being in training to fly to space issomethingextraordinaryeveryday.But thereare things thatmakeyoufeelcloser to theactualspaceflight, thatmake itallmorereal: tryingonthespacesuitthatIwillwearonmywaytoISSandbackwasdefinitelyoneofthosemoments.

Westartedthedaywithaninitialevaluationoftheseatliner,bothwithoutthesuitandwiththesuit.Inthepictureyoucanseethespecialistsfeelingbehind my neck, to make sure I had continuous contact. It's veryimportant at landing impact to distribute the load evenly all along thespineandtheneck.

Then the specialists had me sit in a special suspended seat anddeterminedmyexactcenterofmasswhencurledupinthepositionthatIwillassumeintheSoyuz.That informationispassedontotheballisticsgroup, so that they can calculate the overall center of gravity of thevehicle.

Thedeterminationofthecenterofmass.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Thenwemoved on to evaluating the Sokol at the overpressure of 0,4atm, meaning in the condition that we would have in case of adepressurization of the Soyuz. Bear inmind that this is an emergencysituation.Other thanaspacewalkingsuit, theSokol isnotdesigned foryoutoworkinthiscondition:it'sdesignedtogiveyoumaximumdexterityandfreedomofmovementwhennotinflatedandtosaveyourlifeincaseofadepressurization.

Neckpressurecontrol.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Sinceit'sasoftshell,itgainssignificantvolumeat0,4atmoverpressure:itbecomebulky,rigidandwaybiggerthanyoursize,sothatforexampleyou need to lift your spine up if you want to keep your hands in thegloves. The expansion also leads to your lower torse hanging off yourknees.Infact, thebackofthekneesistypicallythemostcriticalspot intermsofpossiblepainandcirculation issue.But if thesuit iswellsized,thereisenoughspacetoactivelyoffloadsomeofthatweight,alternatingthetwolegs.

Theopeningoftheregulatorattheendoftheoverpressuretest.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Wetestthesuitinthisconditionfortwohours:thatisthemaximumtimethat thecrewwouldneed to return toEarthwithanemergency reentryafterdetermining that theSoyuz is leaking. Ididn'thaveanysignificantissueswiththesuit-mostsmallpeople likemedon't.Still, IwashappywhenthetestwasoverandIcouldreopenthatregulator!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-282:Sottopressione!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-280

Sokol suitswaiting tobeworn foraSoyuzsimulation.Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.02.17—Somemoremanualflyingofthe Soyuz today and then a preparatory session for tomorrow's SoyuzsimwiththeSokolsuit.

Oncomments from lastweek'sposts, I havebeenaskedhowyoudontheSokol.Indeed,whenyouseeallzippedup,it'snotsoobviouswheretheentryis!

So, here it is: a step by step pictorial guide on how to put on yourspacesuit! See the captions of each photograph for the correspondingexplanations.

Thesuitsbeforebeingworn.

Here ishow theSokolsuits lookwhen they're "empty"and ready tobedonned. As you can already see, the entire front part of the torso isopenedandthat'showyougetiton.

Wearthelowerpart.

Firstyouslideyourfeetthroughtheopeninganddonthelowerpartofthesuit.

Threadyourarms.

Thenyouslideyourarmsin.

Passtheheadthroughtheneckring.

Then comes the tricky part, passing the head through the neck ring. Ihavebeenabitspoiledduringmytrainingsessions,becausetheSokolsuits I got were typically a bit big for my size and that makes thismaneuveraloteasier.WhenIputonmycustom-madesuit lastweek,Ihadtoworkalotharder.Youneedtomakesurethatthebacksideofthesuit isasstretchedaspossibleandthenyouneedto tuck inyourheadwhile you push the neck ring forward. Tricky at first, but after somepracticeit'snotsohard.

Thefrontisstillopen.

Afterpassingtheheadthroughttheneckring,thisisthestatus.Youstillhavethefrontpartcompletelyopenandtheinternalmembraneisloose.

Connectthecommunicationheadsetcable.

After donning your comcap, you pass the cable through the neck ringandthenconnectitinsideofthesuit.

Foldtheinnermembrane.

Thenyoucarefully fold the internalmembraneof thesuitandwrap twoelasticbandsverytightlyaroundit.

Closetheabdomenpart.

Youcloseuptheabdomenpartofthesuit.

Closethezipperonthetop.

Thenyouzipclosetheupperpart.

Ready!

Andreadyyouare! If it'sawarmday,youmightconnect theventilationhose to a portable ventilator to keep cool before you connect to theventilationsystemintheSoyuz(or,moreoften,theSoyuzsimulator).

Photocredit:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter,SamanthaCristoforetti

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-280:Manualedi istruzioniperindossareunatutaspaziale,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-279

SamanthaCristoforettiperformsatightnesscheckof theSokolsuit inaSoyuzsimulation.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.02.18—QuiteintenseSoyuzsimthismorningwithAntonandTerry,dealingwitha fire in theSoyuzdescentmodule.

OurscenariostartedjustbeforeundockingfromISS.Firstweperformed,asusual,aleakcheckofthehatch,followedbyaleakcheckofourSokolsuits.That'swhatweweredoing in thepicture,bytheway,asyoucanmaybetellbytheinflatedsuits.Ifyoumissedit,youcanreadmoreaboutleak-checkingtheSokolsinthislogbookentry.

Just after we detached fromStation, we started seeing smoke comingfromthecontrolpanel.Weimmediatelyclosedthehelmetsandturnedoffventilationinthesuits,toavoidcirculatingtoxiccombustionproducts.Atthesametimeweopenedtheappropriatevalvetosupplyoxygentothesuitsfromouroxygentanks.

Weturnedoffallelectricequipment,butofcourseinoursimulationthat

didn'tkillthefire:wehadtopreparetoventallouratmospheretospace.And ratherquickly:withoxygen flowing intoour suitsand thenout intothe cabin via the regulator valve, the oxygen percentage increasedquickly, getting close to that 40% that is considered a flammabilityhazard.

When times are rushed like this, Anton and I work in parallel differentprocedures.Inthiscase,Iwouldworkthedepressurizationofthecabin,whilehewouldstartProgram5toget theSoyuzorientedandreadyforthe reentry burn. However, the day had another surprise for us: mycontrol display failed. Having only one display left forced us to workproceduresinsequence,insteadofinparallel.Needlesstosay,wewererushed.

Our infrared sensors also failed,whichmeans thatAntonhad to orientthe Soyuz manually and, having his hands busy, could not send anycommands or change format on his display. That'swhen I tried a littletoolIhadneverusedbefore:asmall"remotecontrol",withwhichIcouldmovethecursoronAnton'sdisplayandsendthe"Enter"command.Notthefastestway,butitworkedforustoday!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-279:Quandoaveteunincendioe vi è rimasto un solo display di controllo, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-278

Samantha Cristoforetti in a Soyuz manual docking simulation. Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.02.19—Oneofthegoodthingsaboutbeinganastronautisthatyoucanliedownonyourbackalldayandcallittraining.TodayIspenteighthourslyingdowninaSoyuzseat:firstforafour-hour sim, then formanual docking and finally formanual descent.This latter we usually train in a regular seat, but this week the controlpanel is installed in the centrifuge for the exams of the next departingcrew,justlikeithappenedbackonL-423.

ForourlastsimulatorsessiononthistrainingtriptoStarCityAnton,TerryandIflewacoupleoftimestherendezvouswithISS:onetimebasedonthe four-orbitquick rendezvousandoneon theold two-dayprofile.Thefirstcrewsthatflewthenew,fastschemelastyearactuallyhadtopassexams in both. Now the quick rendezvous has officially become thenominalmode,sowewillhaveonlyoneexamonascentandrendezvousandwewillplay it just likeonarealday:wewillstartoutwiththefour-orbitprofileandwe'llbereadytotransitiontothetwo-daybackupplanifa malfunction forces us to do so. That could be an issue with the

computer,with burnsorwith thedeterminationof the state vector fromtheground-orreallyanyissue,bigorsmall,thatMoscowwantstohavesometimetoworkonbeforesendingusonatrajectorytowardsStation.

So,thatwrapsupthistriptoStarCity.Incrediblyenough,nexttimeI'llbeinRussiaitwillbeforsomefinaltrainingandthenthecertificationexamsas the backup of Maksim, Reid and Alex. And after that I'll go toKazakhstantoseethoseguyslaunch-andtobereadyfortheextremelyunlikely event that we have to launch in their place. I can't believe it'scomingsosoon.

I'll miss flying the Soyuz in the next six weeks, but I'll have otherinterestingtrainingkeepingmebusy inTsukuba,HoustonandCologne.NextlogbookfromJapanonMonday!

Photocredit:GCTC(Manualdocking)

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-278: Vita da astronauta:passare la giornata sdraiati e chiamarlo addestramento!, by PaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-273

TheKibolaboratoryoftheISS.Source:NASA

Tsukuba Space Center (Tsukuba, Japan), 2014.02.24—I'm in Japanthis week for training at the Japanese Space and Exploration Agency(JAXA),inparticularatthefacilitieslocatedinTsukuba,auniversityandsciencecitynotfarfromTokyo.

Asyoucertainlyknow,JAXAisanimportantpartneroftheISSprogram.InthepictureyoucanseeJAXA'ssignificantcontributiontoStation:theJapaneselaboratoryJEM,alsoknownasKibo,withthesmallerstowagemoduleJLPattachedtoit.JEMalsohasamagnificentbalcony,theJEMExposedFacility(JEF)andevenitsownroboticarm,theJEMRMS(JEMRoboticManipulatorSystem).

Terryand Iarehere tocompleteour training flowonJEMsystemsandJEMRMSand toprepareasbackupsofExpedition40/41, i.e.AlexandReid. That includes training on their experiment complement, but doesnot include HTV training, since the Japanese cargo vehicle is notscheduledtobeonISSduringtheirincrement.Whoknows,wemightstillgetanHTVinourprimeincrement.Inthatcasewe'llgetthetrainingnext

summer,whenwe'llbebackforafinalJapanesetrip.

Today's training day was mainly dedicated to a review of the JEMsystems, which I badly needed, since I got my initial JEM training inAugust2012.IalsohadsomeadditionalclassesECLSStasks-that'stheEnvironmentalControlandLifeSupportSystem.

Some of those tasks might sound trivial, but it's vital to perform themaccuratelyifwewanttohaveagoodlivingenvironmentonStation.Oneofthetasksthatyoureallydon'twanttomessuponorbit,forexample,ismeasuring the velocity of air flowing through inlet/outlet grids in theventilation system. We do that periodically with a dedicated air flowmeasurement tool. Why? Well, flight controllers on the ground havemodels of how that velocity field should look like. If the flow velocitybecomessignificantlysmaller,thereisacloggingissueintheventilationductsanditisnecessaryto…well…vacuumclean.Vacuumcleaningoftheexposedgridsisaweeklyhousekeepingtask.Butbasedonvelocitymeasurements the ground might schedule a vacuum cleaning activitythatrequiresyoutoopenpanelsortiltracks.Dependingonthelocationaffected, that can become a labor-intensive task, and certainly not aglamorousone.But that'showwekeepproperairflow in theventilationductsonStation.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-273: Capire quando è ilmomento di passare l’aspirapolvere, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-271

Kibo's robotic arm working with the Canadarm2 of the ISS. Source:NASA

Tsukuba Space Center (Tsukuba, Japan), 2014.02.26—Training inJapancontinues,inparalleltoplentyofculturalexperiencesforTerryandmyself. For example, yesterday our Japanese colleagues Soichi andKimiya took us out during the lunch break to try the traditional savorypancake"okonomiyaki".Verytasty!

We'vehadmoreJEMtraining,inparticularonthethermalcontrolsystemandonsomemaintenancetasks.Topracticeoneof those,thechange-outof theHEPAfilter in theventilationducts,wegot togo to thecleanroom.ThisisonereallyuniquefeatureinTsukuba:classroom,JEMandairlockmockups, robotic simulator and evenmission control and cleanroomareveryclosetoeachother!

TodaywegotarefresherclassontheJEMRMS,theroboticarmthatisinstalled on the JEM Exposed Facility and is controlled by astronautsfromtheJEM.YoucanseeitinthepictureinacollaborativetaskwiththeSSRMS, which is the bigger Station robotic arm, also known as

Canadarm2.

WegetalotoftraininginflyingtheSSMRS.SincetheJEMRMSisquitesimilaranditsoperationalenvelopelimitedtotheExposedFacilityarea,we don't need a lot of extra training on it. But we do have to becomefamiliarwithallthespecificitiesinnomenclature,proceduresandcontrolinterfaces,aswellaswith thephysicalenvironment inwhichJEMRMSoperates and with the camera views that are available to monitormovementandclearancestostructure.

PicturebyExpedition20.Credit:NASA

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-271:Okonomiyakie il braccioroboticogiapponese,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-270

TheExposedFacilityofkibo.Source:NASA

Tsukuba Space Center (Tsukuba, Japan), 2014.02.27—Today TerryandIhadsome introductoryclasseson theJAXApayloadracks,whichprovideresourcestorundifferenttypesofexperimentinthemicrogravityenvironmentofISS.

OneoftheracksisSaibo,whichmeans"livingcell"inJapanese.Justlikethe Biolab rack in ESA's Columbus laboratory, Saibo provides anenvironmenttorunlifescienceexperiments,forexampleinvolvingplantsorcellcultures.

The temperature, humidity and CO2 content of the atmosphere arecontrolled and continuously monitored. Saibo, just like Biolab, alsoincludesacentrifuge:inthisway,whilepartofthesamplesareexposedtoweighlessness,a1Gcontrolgroupcanbeputinthecentrifuge,whichrecreatesthe"weight"conditionsofEarth.

In the afternoon Terry and I had a very interesting robotic simulator inwhichwepracticedthe interactionwithTsukubamissioncontrolwithan

actual J-COM, the Japanese capcom. Tami, our J-COM today, couldcountonthehelpofaJEMflightcontroller(J-Flight)andaJEMroboticcontroller (KIBOTT). That was especially important when we ran intomalfunctionsthatcausedthearmtostop.

Inoursimulationtodaywepracticedtherelocationofanexternalpayloadfromone location toanotheron theExposedFacility. In thepictureyoucanseehowatypicalpayload looks: it's theelementstickingout to theleftandtowardsthesolararray(althoughthearrayisreallyfarbehind).

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-270:Operazioniroboticheconicontrolloridivolo,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-269

ThereleaseofaCubeSatgroupfromKiboontheISS.Source:NASA

Tsukuba Space Center (Tsukuba, Japan), 2014.02.28—Very timelyclasstodayforTerryandmyselfatJAXA.JustafewhoursagoonISSalastgroupofCubeSatswasdeployedbytheJapaneseroboticarm(JEMRMS)andwegottrainedtodayjustonthat:crewoperationsinsupportofsuchdeployments.

Infact,itseemsthattheJEMRMSwillbebusylaunchingnanosatellitesin the coming years. It's a great way to put small, relatively simplehardwareonorbitatanaffordableprice!

So,howarethenanosatellitesdeployed?TheyarrivetoISSonacargovehicle,mountedinanassemblythatincludesnotonlythesatelliteitself,butalso thedeploymentsystem:as faras Iunderstand, that'sasimplespring-loadedmechanism.

The task of the astronauts is tomount the satellite/deployment systemcombinationonadedicatedplatform,thatcanbegrappledbytheroboticarm.Asyoucansee in thepicture, thearm thenmoves intoa release

position-onethatmakessensefromanorbitalmechanicspointofview-andthereleasesystemisactivated.Inaninstant,thenanosatellitesareontheirwaytodowhateverjobthedesignersconstructedthemfor.

Youmightbeaskingyourselfnowhowtheplatformwiththesatellitesgetoutsideof ISS tobegrabbedby theJEMRMS.Well, theJEMhas thisreallycoolpieceofhardware:anactualairlock.Crewmembersattachtheplatformwith the satellite to an interface, which ismounted on a slidetable.Slidethetableintotheairlock,closetheinternalhatch,depresstheairlock,slidethetableoutontotheJEMExposedfacility;thenreleasetheplatformfromtheslidetable,butonlyaftertheJEMRMShasgrappledit.

Afterthesatellitesareontheirway,theJEMRMSbringsthenowemptyplatform back to the slide table, so that it can be brought back inside,readyforthenextbatchofnanosatellites.

Picture:NASA

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-269: Come gli astronautisupportanoilrilasciodeiCubeSat,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-266

Moving theKiboDeck1 rack to inspecta faultycoolingpump.Source:NASA

Tsukuba Space Center (Tsukuba, Japan), 2014.03.03—Today TerryandIwerejoinedbymyfellowShenaniganAlexinaclassonplannedin-flightmaintenancetasks.

Actually,althoughAlexjustarrivedinJapan,Iguessyoucouldsaythatit'sthetwoofuswhojoinedhim:ashisbackupcrew,welearnedaboutthe maintenance activities that are planned for Alex' increment thissummer.

One of themost important ones is the likely replacement of a coolingpumpinsidetheJapaneselaboratoryJEM.Liketheothermodules,JEMhas two cooling loops set at different temperatures: the LTL (LowTemperatureLoop)andtheMTL(MediumTemperatureLoop).Eachloophasitsownpumptocirculatethecoolingwaterandnominallytheloopsareseparate.

However, the JEM LTL pump has been misbehaving lately.

Troubleshooting isongoingand the loopsarecurrently connected,withwaterbeingcirculatedbytheMTLpumponly.AlthoughalloperationsintheJEMcanberunnominally,thisisaratheruncomfortableconditiontobein,becausethereisnoredundancy.AreplacementoftheLTLpumpwithasparemightbecomenecessary.

Aswelearnedtoday,themostcomplicatedthinginthisoperationistherotation of the Deck1 rack to gain access to the pump. In the recentsnapshotfromtheonboardcamerayoucanseetherackrotatedtoallowtheongoingtroubleshootingefforts.Whatmakesitquitetime-consumingis that a number of ventilationducts runningbetween the rackand theendconeneedtobedisconnectedatsomewhathard-to-reach locations.Sometimes being a good astronaut is about finding the right bodypositiontoreachaboltinatightspace!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-266: Quando le cose sirompono:lapossibilemanutenzionediunapompa,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-265

SamanthaCristoforetti andTerryVirts examine a trainingmodel of theProtein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) of Kibo. Source:ESA/Corvaja

Tsukuba Space Center (Tsukuba, Japan), 2014.03.04—Last day oftrainingattheJapaneseSpaceAgencyJAXAformeandTerry.Amongmany other things, we were trained on the Protein CrystallizationResearchFacility(PCRF)intheJEMlaboratory.

The purpose of the PCRF is to take advantage of the microgravityconditionsonISStoproducelarge,high-qualityproteincrystals,thatarethenreturnedtoEarthforx-raydiffractionanalysis.

Unlessyou're familiarwith the topic,you'reprobablywonderingwhywecareaboutproteincrystals.Icertainlydid,beforeitwasexplainedtometoday.So,here'swhatIunderstood.

We care a lot about proteins. Everything that happens in our body isregulated by proteins - about 100.000 different ones, continuouslyassembledinourcellsaccordingtotheinstructionscodedinourgenes.

So, when researchers on Earth try to develop a drug that will cure acertain disease, one approach is to find outwhat relevant proteins areinvolved and how they function: drugs can then be developed thatspecificallytargetthoseproteins.

Thegoodthingaboutproteinsisthattheirfunctionandtheirstructureareclosely related: figure out their structure and you'll have learned a lotabouttheirfunction.Theothergoodthingaboutproteinsisthatweknowhow tomake them grow into a crystal structure, in other words into ahighlyorderedarrangementofmolecules.Andthenextgoodthingisthatwehaveagreat technique,X-raydiffraction, toanalyze thestructureofthosecrystals.

Now bring the ISS into the equation, a facility that provides long-termexposuretomicrogravityconditions.TheproteincrystalswecangrowonISSare largerandbetterquality thancrystals thatcanbegrownontheground: subsequent X-ray diffraction analysis yields a much betterunderstandingof theprotein structure.Again, know thestructure, knowthefunction-whichinturnisthenecessarysteptodevelopnewdrugstocuredisease.

Inthepicture(Credit:ESA/Corvaja)youcanseeusworkingonthePCGFtrainingmodel.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-265: Struttura e funzione:perché facciamo crescere i cristalli di proteine sulla ISS, by PaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-263

SamanthaCristoforettiinJEM'sSSIPCcontrolroomJAXA.Source:ESA/Corvaja

Houston(USA),2014.03.06—YesterdayIflewfromTokyotoHouston-a very longWednesday, 39 hours long. As I traveled East across theInternationalDateLine,I"gained"afullday.

My time in Japan has been just lovely. Yes, ISS training is verystandardizedand in theend there isnobigdifference in learningaboutcoolingloopsoftheJEMinJapan,ofColumbusinEuropeoroftheUSmodules in Houston. But a training trip to Japan is also an almostoverwhelming cultural experience. Unfortunately I don't speak anyJapanese, so I can not even begin to scratch the surface of this richculture. But even without understanding much, it's fascinating : it'simpossible not to be touched by Japan's hospitality or enthralled by itssophisticated cuisine,with the variety of its ingredients and dishes andtheeleganceofserviceandpresentation.Youarebound toadmire thestrivetoperfection,theattentiontoeveryminutedetailinallthings.Andthekindness,politeness,readinesstohelp,whichpeoplemeetyouwitharehardtomatch.AbigthankyoutoourJAXAcolleaguesformakingus

feel sowelcome. In thepictures youcanseesomeof themduringourvisitat theJEMmissioncontrol roomSSIPC(SpaceStation IntegrationandPromotionCenter).

Nowit'stimetoresumetraininghereinHouston!Afterafreemorningtorest from the flight, I'll have a training tagup and a photo/TV ops thisafternoon.

Picture:ESA/Corvaja

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-263: Un’esperienzastraordinariainGiappone.GrazieamicidellaJAXA!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-261

SamanthaCristoforettiinafiresimulationintheISSmockupattheJSC.Source:NASA

Houston(USA),2014.03.08—YesterdayIhadmyfirstfulldayoftrainingatJohnsonSpaceCenteronthistrip.

First I had a workout on the ARED to practice "weightlifting" on thispeculiarmachine.AREDstandsforAdvancedResistiveExerciseDevice-Italkedaboutithere,ifyoumissedit.

A typicalAREDworkoutconsistsofsixexercisesandcrewmembersonISS rotate through different routines. Yesterday, for example, we didsquat, deadlift, romenian deadlift, heel raise, shoulder press and bentoverrow.

LateronthedayIwasintroducedtoWordMapsoftware,whichisloadedonmanyISSlaptopsinsupportofEarthphotography.Let'ssayyouwanttotakeapictureofaparticularlocationonEarth,forexampleavolcano:either by picking it on the map or by geographic coordinates you cancreate a "target" in World Map. The software can then calculate pass

predictionsforyou:whenwillthattargetcomeinyourfieldofview?howlongwillbethepass?willitbedayornight?atwhatanglewillyouseeit?Asyoucanimagine,this is invaluable informationforEarthObservationops!

FinallyIhadareviewclassonfireemergencyresponse,inpreparationofa simulation scheduled for the upcoming weeks for Terry, Anton andmyself.Thefocuswasarelativelynewsoftwareapplicationsthathelpsinlocatinga firehidden insidea rack, in identifyingequipment thatshouldbe turned off and, if necessary,what fire portwe should insert the fireextinguisherin.

The picturewas taken during a previous fire emergency sim last year.Thetoolisameasurementdeviceforcombustionproductconcentration.(Picture:NASA)

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-261:SollevamentopesiinstileISS,fotografiadellaTerraeoperazioniantincendio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-259

SamanthaCristoforettiworkingonaMelfi trainingspecimenattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.03.10—Many differentthingsgoingontodayformeatJohnsonSpaceCenter.

Firstthinginthemorningacoupleofhoursofeyeexaminations:partlyanannual requirement and partly related to the additional set of medicaltests we have to undergo before a long-duration spaceflight. Not myfavorite exam,because it requires inducingadilationof thepupilswithspecial eye drops. For a few hours afterwards the eyes are quitesensitivetolightandit'shardtoread.

Fortunately my vision was almost back to normal by the time I had aphlebotomy practice class: thanks tomy countryman Luca, who workshereatJSCandvolunteeredtohavemedrawhisbloodtwicetoday!

Ihadtousemyeyesandmovethemveryquicklybetweencameraviewsalso in my last class, a refresher in flying the arm in support of aspacewalk.We flewpart of theprocedure thatKoichi usedon ISS last

December in support of the pump module replacement contingencyEVAs. If you missed it, here you can read some words about roboticsupportforEVAs,inparticularwhatwecallGCA.

InbetweenIalsohadaclassoncoldstowageoperations.Wehavealotof cold stowageneedson ISS, both for scienceaswell as formedicalexams,sinceweroutinelytakebloodandurinesamplesthatneedtobeconservedandthenreturnedtoEarthforanalysis.Inthepictureyoucansee me practicing working with the Melfi - actually only onerepresentative unit. The actualMelfi has several of those freezer unitsandwehavethreeMelfiracksonboard.Weusethemtostowcoldpacksaswell,whichinturnweusewhensampleshavetobereturnedtoEarthtopreventbreakingthecoldchain.

Italiantranslationof this logbookentry:L-259:Pupilledilatate, lacatenadelfreddoeprelievidisangue,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-258

SamanthaCristoforettiintraininginEMUsuitattheJSC.Source:NASA

Johnson SpaceCenter (Houston, USA), 2014.03.11—Today I got totryaflightspacesuit!

I went to the facility that produces the EMU spacewalking suit for a fitcheckinClass1hardware-componentsthatarenotmeantfortraininginthepool,butratherforspace.ThepurposewastogettheconfigurationofthesuitthatIwoulduseonorbit,whichcandiffersomewhatfromtheone in theNBL, since in thepoolwedon't actually float inside the suititself.Alotofthepaddingthat,beingasmallperson,Iuseinthewatertopreventmefromshifting"down"insidetheEMUwheneverIchangebodyorientationisnotneededinweightlessness.

It was also a chance to work with Class 1 gloves inside the suit andevaluatethefit.Asyoumightremember,Ihadaseparateglovefitcheckinthegloveboxinthepast.

Once the fitcheckwascompleted,weverified that Icouldreachall theswitches,leversandcontrolsonthetheDisplayandControlUnit(DCM)

infrontofthesuit,thatIcouldattachtheumbilicalsandthatIcouldraiseand lower the visor, turn on and off lights and cameras and open thepurgevalve,whichbasicallyopensahole in thehelmet toventoxygenoutside-butnoworries,thesuitregulatoriscapableofcompensatingforthat, so internalpressure inmaintained.Maynotbeso importantwhenit's just overpressure with respect to ambient pressure, but certainlyimportantinvacuum!

Asyoucansee in thepicture (fromapastevent)weoftenoperate thecontrolswithonehand,whileweholduptheotherhandtousethemirrorthatwehaveatthewrist.

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L-258:Ancora in tutaEMU,maunapiuttostodiversa,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-257

AscreenofaSAFERtrainingsessionattheJSC.Source:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.03.12—Another veryvariedday,splitbetweentrainingandmedicalexams.

First thing in themorningashort introductory lessononperforming theCardio Ox experiment, a study on the cardiovascular effects of long-duration spaceflight and the correlation between changes in the heartandinthearterieswithoxidativeandinflammatorystress.Whilethelatterismeasured through biomarkers in blood and urine, heart and arteriesare observed via ultrasound. Of course we're not expected to becomeproficientatperformingultrasoundscans:we'llberemotelyguided fromthegroundasweexamineourownbrachialandcarotidarteriesandourheart.

Inanother class I hada chance toworkwithHi-FidelityEVAhardwareand some of the units that could potentially be replaced during aspacewalk,iftheyfailed.Frombigbattery"boxes"thatstorepowerfromthesolararraysduring insulation to thebig tanks thatcontainammoniafor the external cooling loops to the tanks that contain the nitrogen to

pressurize those same cooling loops to units that provide ventingcapabilityof thatammonia tospace from the radiator lines incaseofamalfunction…and that's just a tiny selectionof thedozensof units outtherethatcanbereplacedonanEVA.

Ialsohadaverysophisticatedtestofmyvestibularsystem-basicallyabalance test, but one in which visual and proprioceptive cues arecarefully controlled to isolate as much as possible the effect of thevestibular system itself on balance. I will repeat this test once morebefore flight and then again after returning to Earth: everybody'svestibularsystemisinprettybadshapeafteralong-durationspaceflight.

Finally,IhadapracticeclassontheSAFER,thejetpackunitattachedtothebackoftheEMUsuitthatisintendedtoprovideself-rescuecapabilityto a crewmemberwho should come detached fromStation. Just to beclear-itwasneveractuallyused(exceptfortestingpurposes).OtherthatGeorgeCloney's jetpack inGravity, theSAFERhasonlyvery littlegas.That's why we train to fly back to structure in the most fuel-efficientmannerpossibleinavirtualrealityenvironmentthatreplicatestheISS.Inthepictureyoucanseeapictureofavirtualrealityrun:theyellowlineisthe trajectory flown away from Station and then, with the help of theSAFER,backtoit.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-257:Testdiequilibrio,voloconil jetpack e controllo del battito cardiaco, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-254

Samantha Cristoforetti performs a measure of muscle strength at theJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Houston(USA),2014.03.15—Medicalrequirementsandpayloadtrainingare popping up more and more frequently in my schedule. Payloadtraining,by theyway, that'showwecallexperiments training.ScientificresearchandtechnologicaldevelopmentarethereasonwhyISSexists,hencethat'sourpayload!

For example, on Thursday I've had a briefing on the experiment"Microbiome".Didyouknow thatabout9outof10cellson thehumanbodyareactually…nothuman?Theybelongtothemicroorganismsthatlive inside our body and on our skin and make up what we call themicrobiome.Most of themarebeneficial to us: they facilitate digestion,provide Vitamin K, enhance the immune function and more. Howchangesinthemicrobiomeaffectourhealthisactuallyaprettyhottopicright now inmedical research. This ISS experiment will study how themicrobiomeisaffectedbylong-durationspaceflight.

The "microbiome" protocol involves taking samples of urine, feces and

saliva at certain intervals before, during and after the mission. Bodyswabsarealsocollectedtoinvestigatethemicroorganismpopulationontheskinsurface.

Sample collection is often shared between experiments. For example,this week I'm doing a saliva collection every morning not only for"Microbiome",butalsofor"SalivaryMarkers",whichinvestigatesimmunesystemdysregulationduringspaceflight.

Changes in muscle strength are instead the object of a medicalrequirement.Wetakemeasurementofmaximumstrengthacrossseveraljointsa few timesbeforeandafterspaceflight tohavequantitativedataonthelossofstrengthandtherecoverytime.Inthepictureyoucanseethesetuptomeasurestrengthacrosstheknee.

Nowtoa interruptionnotice: lookingatmytrainingschedule in thenextcoupleofweeks,itlookslikeIwillbesobusythatIwon'tbeabletowritetheLogbook.ButI'llbebacksoon!Inthemeantime,I'lltrytopostshorterupdates on Twitter. If you are on Twitter, you'll find me as@AstroSamantha.Sorry for theunplannedLossOfSignal.Seeyouontheotherside!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-254:Sapevatecheil90%dellecellule del nostro corpo non sono umane?, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-242

SamanthaCristoforettiexaminesthewiringdiagramsoftheEMUsuitattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.03.27—I'm back! I'mreally sorry for the interruption of the logbook, but these last couple ofweekshavebeen really very busyhereat JohnsonSpaceCenter - anintenseschedulefilledwithmanykindsofevents:robotics,experiments,systemsreviews,photo/TVops,emergencysimulations, leakscenarios,medicalexams,baselinedatacollectionsforhumanphysiologyresearchI'llparticipatein.

In addition, a lot of EVA classes: familiarization with high-fidelityhardware, decompression sickness response, ammonia contaminationresponseandsometimeunderwater.TerryandIhadtwosuitedrunsattheNeutralBuoyancyFacility.Inthefirstonewesimulatedreplacingtheend-effectoroftheroboticarm,inthesecondoneweworkedontheFlexHoseRotaryCoupler(FHRC),aunitthatallowstransferofammoniafromthestationarytrusstotherotatingradiators.TheFHRCisoneofthemostchallenging units to replace during a spacewalk. In fact, the fullreplacementwould likely take fourEVAs. In thepoolweonlypracticed

EVAnumber3, the retrievalof thespareunitand its installation,whichinvolvesmatingmany challenging electrical and fluid connectors insidethe truss. This was also our official EVA evaluation run and we bothpassed!

InthepictureyoucanseeaclassIhadtoday.It'spartofseriesofeventsin which we review the schematics of the EMU suit and then we gothroughanumberofmalfunctionscenarios.Theinstructorcaninputanyfailure in thesimulatorandweget thecorrespondingsignatureson thedisplayoftheDisplayandControlUnit(DCM),whichisattachedonthechestareaoftherealsuit.DuringanominalEVAyouwouldhardlyhaveanyneed to touch theDCMwhileoutsideof theairlock,but thatwouldchange quickly if the suit had any kind of failure, hence theseopportunitiestoreallygetfamiliarwiththemalfunctionresponsesandallthedisplaysandcontrolsontheDCM.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-242:Affrontare le emergenzedella tuta in una passeggiata spaziale, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-241

SamanthaCristoforetti is trained in themaintenanceof theEMUsuitattheJSC.Source:SamanthaCristoforetti

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.03.28—Last day oftraining here at Johnson Space Center, before I travel back home toEuropethisafternoon.

In the morning I had an extensive EMU class in which I learned toperformseveralmaintenancetasksandtestsontheEVAsuit.

In the picture I'm working on removing the Water Line Vent TubeAdapter,whichinterfacesononesidewiththetubinginthePLSS(thelifesupport "backpack") and on the other side with the LCVG (the LiquidCoolingandVentilationGarment).Ithasthreeflexibletubes.Onecentraltubeisthereturnlineoftheventilationloop,whichbringsthegasbacktothePLSS forcoolingand for removalofCO2andcondensate.The twoothertubesarethesupplyandreturncoolinglines:waterfromthePLSSiscirculatedinthelittletubesintheLCVGtocollectheatfromthebodyandisthensentbacktothePLSStobecooledagain.

The excess heat is rejected to space via a sublimator, which was thefocusofmynexttask.Usingdemonstrationvideos,Ilearnedtoinsertteststripsinspecificlocationstoputthemincontactwithcertainsurfacesofthesublimatorandtestforpresenceofwater.

OthertestsIlearnedtoperformaretheleakcheckoftheventilationloopandthemeasurementofthewaterflowrateinthecoolinglines.Allthesetests allow the specialists on the ground to make sure the suits stayhealthy,aswedomoreandmoremaintenancetasksonorbit.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-241:Attivitàperassicurarsichela tuta spaziale rimanga in buono stato, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-239

Samantha Cristoforetti with a mask with a respirator in training at theJSC.Source:NASA

Cologne(Germany),2014.03.30—Oneof themost importantevents inour training flow for the Space Station are emergency simulations,because they concern situations that potentially put the crew inimmediatedangerandrequirethereforpreciseresponseactions.Anton,Terryandmyselfhadanemergencysimacoupleofweeksago(duringmylogbookinterruption).Itwasourlastthree-personsessionbeforeourtwosix-personsimsnextsummer:onewiththeSoyuz40ScrewthatwewilljoinonISSuponarrivalandonewiththeSoyuz42Sthatwilljoinusfourmonthsintoourincrement.

An emergency sim typically spans 5 hours and includes a numbers ofscenarioscoveringthethreeemergencytypeswe'reconcernedabout:afire, a rapid depressurization (we're losing atmosphere into space) andan ammonia leak from the external cooling lines into the cabin (highlytoxic!).

So,whatequipmentdowehaveonboardtodealwiththesesituations?

WehaveCaution&WarningpanelsthroughoutStation:iftheemergencytonegoesoff,aquick lookat thepanel lightswill telluswhichsituationwe're in.On thosepanelswecanalsomanually triggeranalarm, ifwenoticeanemergencyconditionbefore the ISScomputersor thegroundpickitup.

Ineachmodulewealsohaveoxygenmasksandfireextinguishers,whilein specific locations in theRussian segmentwe have respiratormasksand filter cartridges to allow us to survive and operate in a toxicatmosphere:pinkcartridgesforammonia,redcartridgesforfire.

WealsohaveseveralCSA-CPs,portable instruments thatmeasure theconcentrationofcombustionproducts.Theyhelpuslocatefiresthatarehidden behind racks and they tell us if we need to wear breathingprotectiontoavoidintoxication.Similarly,wehaveportableinstrumentstomeasureammoniaconcentration.

Our best friend in case of a rapid depressurization is the Russianportablemanovacumeter,whichmeasuresatmosphericpressure.Asweclose hatches in sequence trying to isolate a leak, the needle of themanovacumeterwill hopefullystopmovingbeforeweneed toevacuatestation, indicating that we have put a closed hatch between ourselvesandaholetospace.

Youcanseesomemorepicturesofanemergencysimlastyearhere.

Also, if youwant to readmoreabout the fire response,here'sanolderblogentryaboutit.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-239: L’equipaggiamentod’emergenza sulla Stazione Spaziale, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-238

Samantha Cristoforetti trains in the Skin-B experiment at the EAC inCologne.Credit:ESA/Grotheus

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2014.03.31—Afterflyinga "sloworbit" around theworld for the last coupleofmonths, I'mnowbackattheEuropeanAstronautCentreinCologneforsometrainingonexperimentsandsomemedicalexams.

TodayIhadan introductiontotheportablePulmonaryFunctionSystem(PFS),an interestingpieceofequipment thatallowstheanalysisofgasexhaledbyasubject. Insomeconfigurationsthesubjectsbreathscabinair, in others he/she breaths a known gas mixture that includes ametabolically inert tracking gas. PFS is required for the new ESAexperiment"AirwayMonitoring",whichshouldstartduringmyincrementon ISS. The protocol uses Nitric Oxide (exhaled or diffused into theblood) as a biomarker for inflammation of the airways and aims atobserving the effect produced bymicrogravity and partial pressure: forthelatter,inparticular,twosubjectswillbeisolatedintheairlockandthepressurewillbe reduced toabout10PSI. It'saverynew fieldofstudyandonethatpromisesgreat insight intothegasexchangeprocessesin

the lung and the effects of the space environment on the respiratorysystem.

Ialsohada lessonon theexperimentSkin-B,which is focused insteadontheagingprocessoftheskin.GenerallyspeakingtheSpaceStationisa great place to learn about aging, because unfortunately many bodysystems,includingtheskin,undergoanacceleratedaginginspace.Skin-B will observe that with a quick protocol involving pictures andmeasurementsofhydrationlevelandwaterdiffusionfrominsidetheskin(whichpoints toadeteriorationof theskin'sbarrier function).Tomorrowthe principal investigators will be here for a baseline data collectionsession: I guess I will learn the actual "age" of my skin - at least theportiononmyforearm.

Picture:Skin-BtrainingwithLaura(Credit:ESA/Grotheus)

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L-238:Dopo “un’orbita lenta” dinuovo a Colonia per un po’ di scienza, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-237

AnEVAastronautnexttotheAISantennaonColumbus.Credit:NASA

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2014.04.01—Anotherscience-intensedayhereattheEuropeanAstronautCentre!

First a baselinedata collection for theSkin-Bexperiments, that Iwroteaboutyesterday:notonlytherelativelyquickmeasurementsIwilldoonorbit, but also some additional ground-only ones, including a layer-by-layerimagingoftheskininintervalsof5microns.

ThenIhadalessonontheESAexperimentCircadianRythms-actuallysomethingthatIwasalreadyfamiliarwithfromapreviousbaselinedatacollection. If you've been following this logbook for a while, you mightrememberittoo.

ThenafitcheckfortheveryspecialshirtIwillbewearingonISSduringseveralnightsfor theASIexperimentWearableMonitoring.Viasensorsembeddedintheshirt,anelectronicboxwillrecordtheelectrocardiogramand thecardiacmechanicsof theheart, like theopeningandclosingofthedifferentcardiacvalves.Theaimistogain insight intothequalityof

sleepinmicrogravity,whichformostastronautsisnotasgoodasontheground. And, as you can imagine, acquire knowledge that will helppeoplewithsleepdisturbancesonEarth.

Finally,anfamiliarizationbriefingwiththeVesselIDSystem,whichtracksfromISStheshipsequippedwithAIS(AutomatedIdentificationSystem).Vessel US is a technology demonstrator to assess the feasibility of aspace-based tracking system for global maritime traffic. You can learnmoreaboutithere.

Picture:spacewalkingastronautnexttotheAISantennaonColumbus.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-237:Iritmicircadiani,ilsonno,eil monitoraggio del traffico marittimo, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-235

ThomasReiter performs a Periodic Fitness Assessment on theCEVIScycleergometeroftheISS.Credit:NASA

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2014.04.03—Yesterday I had a day of outreach activities, especially dedicated tomedia interviews.Thebest partwas talking remotely to a fewhundredkidsatthefinalMissionXItalianeventinRome.Inthepastweekstheyhave learned toeathealthyand train likeanastronaut. Ihope theywillkeepupthosegoodhabits!

Todaywasadayofmedicalactivities, includingseveralexamsrequiredformymedicalcertification.

That included a treadmill stress test in which the speed is increasedprogressively tomaximumexertion,while the cardiovascular function ismonitored.During this testwealsomeasureVO2max,or themaximumoxygen uptake, a indicator of aerobic fitness. Here in Cologne wemeasureVO2maxonthetreadmill.InHoustonIhaveadditionalsessionsto measure it on the bike, so that it directly correlates to what we

measure on orbit during the monthly PFE sessions (Periodic FitnessAssessment).

In the picture you can see former ISS crewmember Thomas Reiterperforming a PFE on the CEVIS cycloergometer. To measure oxygenuptakeweusetheportablePulmonaryFunctionSystem-Ilearnedafewdaysagohowtosetupalltheconnectionsandhoses.

Finally, today I also had a briefingwithmy flight surgeon, Brigitte.Wecovered a number of topics, including for example the PrivateMedicalConferences (PMC) between surgeon and crewmember. PMCs arescheduled for15mineveryweekendandareanopportunity todiscussanymedicalissueonaprivatizedchannel.Or,ifeverythingisgood,theyareagoodtimeforachatwithafriend!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-235: I test sotto sforzo e levalutazioni periodiche della forma fisica, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-233

SamanthaCristoforetti in COL-CCwith the IncrementOperations Leadfor Increment42 (Simon, right) and Increment43 (Caesar, left).Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

Cologne (Germany), 2014.04.05—Yesterday I took a very early flightfrom Cologne to Munich for a one-day visit at the Columbus ControlCentre,short:COL-CC.

COL-CC is responsible for planning and real-time ground control of alloperations in the European laboratory Columbus on the InternationalSpaceStation,bothconcerningthesystemsandthescience(payloads).

Ihadashortbriefbytheincrementleadsofalltheteams,whointroducedtheir teams and provided an overview of the major activities foreseenduringmytimeonboard,aswellasanyissuestheyarecurrentlytracking.Of course, thepicture is still abit blurredandsubject to change:we'restill7monthsfromIncrement42andsomeactivitiesdependonthenot-yet-finalized launchmanifestof thecargovehicles,bringingforexampletheequipmentfornewscienceexperiments.

Whateverthedetailswillturnouttobe,it'sclearthatthere'sachallengingyear ahead for Columbus, with a lot of new, complex experimenthardware to be launched, assembled and commissioned by my fellowShenanigan Alex, first, and then by myself. But the COL-CC team iscommittedtomakeitallhappenandIcertainlywilldomybesttodomypartright!

Oneof thekey figuresbehindamission to ISS is theMissionDirector,thepersonwhoknowseverythingand coordinates theefforts of all theteamstomakesurethatthingsgosmoothlyandonschedule.It'sreallyasmall world: my Mission Director Alex is an aerospace engineeringgraduate of the Technical University of Munich. Just like me, just oneyearapart!

Another key figure is the Increment Operations Lead, who is the leadflightdirector (COL-Flight) for the increment. In thepictureyoucanseemewith Simon (right) andCesare in the Control Room. Simonwill beresponsible for the firstpartofmymision, Inc42,andCesarewill takeoverforInc43.

Therewasalsosometimeforlittletraditions,likeputtingamissionstickerattheentranceofthecontrolroomandsigningit.

By the way, COL-CC also has a blog: especially exciting with theupcomingmissionofmyfellowshenaniganAlex!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-233:Unagiornatacon il teamdelColumbusControlCentre!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-228

Samantha Cristoforetti in an exercise in Sokol suit in the vacuumchamber.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.04.10—Acaseoflowpressuretoday!

I went to the facilities of the company Svesda (Звезда), whichmanufacturesourSokolpressuresuitsandourseatliners.Asyoumightremember,mypersonalcustom-madeSokolsuit,sequentialnumber422,hasbeenreadyforawhile.LastFebruaryIworeit fortwohourswitha0,4atmofoverpressuretomakesureitfitproperlyinaninflatedstate.Ifyoumissedit,thatstoryisinL-280Logbook.

TodayItestedthenominalfunctionsofmySokolinthevacuumchamber,where I spent a couple of hours lying in a Soyuz-type seat and inmycustom-fitseat liner.Firstwe leak-checked thesuit, just likewe'lldoonthelaunchpadbeforethestart:Imanuallyclosedtheblueregulatorvalveandverifiedthatthenominaloverpressurewasreachedwithinaspecifiedtime limit.Then I reopened the regulatorandput itback to thenominalsettingof0,4:shouldthepressurearoundmedropsbelow0,4atm(andobviouslythat'stheplanoftheday),theregulatormaintainstheinternal

pressureconstantatthatvalue.

After a successful leak check, the chamber door was closed and westartedtheexercise.Firstthepressurewasloweredto5km.Itmightbeconfusingtousekmasaunitwhenwe'reactuallytalkingaboutpressure,butit'sprettytypicalinahypobaricchamber.ThepressureisreferredtothestandardEarthatmosphere:whenwesaythatweare5km,wemeanthatthepressureinthechamberisequivalenttowhatyouwouldhaveonEarthat5kmaltitude(whichisabouthalfofthepressureatsealevel).

At5kmwestoppedmomentarily,theventilationwasinterruptedandthesupplyofpureoxygenwasturnedoninstead.That'samuchsmallerflow-justlikeitwouldbeintheSoyuz-andfromthispointonitstartedtogetabitwarmerinsidethesuit,asweresumedour"climb"tohigheraltitudesand lower pressures. At 7km I felt the suit starting to inflate and theneedle of the gauge showing the suit's overpressure starting to movefromthezeroposition:theregulatorhadkickedin,preventingtheinternalpressurefromdroppingbelow0,4atm.

Eventuallywearrivedat30km,wherethepressureisabout1/100ofthesea level value - forall practicalpurposes today: vacuum.At thatpointthe suit, still at constant internal pressure, was quite inflated and veryrigid.Wouldbequiteachallenge tooperate in thisstate,buthey…I'mcertainlynotcomplaining.Onareallybadday,itmightsavemylife-justlikeitprotectedmefromvacuumtoday!

Photo:YuriP.Kargapolov

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-228: Oggi un caso di bassapressione!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-226

Samantha Cristoforetti with the crew of the Soyuz TMA-15M in thesimulatorinStarCity.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.04.12—First of all, happyCosmonauticsDay!Ican't imagineamoresuitableplacetobeintodaythanhereinStarCity,whereitallstarted.Well,Iguessnextyearwillbeevenbetter,asIwillbeonISS!

But there's still a lot of training to be completed before that and thecomingweekspromisetobeanexcitingtime.Thisisformethe"back-uptrip"toRussia:Reid,AlexandMaksimwilllaunchonMay28thandTerry,AntonandIwillbetheirshadowsuntilthen.Justlikethemwe'lltakethequalificationexams,we'llparticipateinallthepre-launchceremoniesandtraditionsandwe'llflytoBaikonourforatwo-weekquarantinetime.Andthenwe'llwatchthemblastofftospace!

IntheSoyuzsimulatorwithAnton.Credit:TerryVirts

SothispastweekI'veresumedmySoyuz"routine".Ihadseveralmanualflyingsims(rendez-vous&dockingaswellasdescent),whileyesterdayAntonandIwerebacktogetherintheSoyuzsimulator.

Firstwepracticedthetransitionfromthenominalquickprofile(launch-to-dockinginsixhours)tothetwo-dayprofile.IfyouhavefollowedthelastSoyuzlaunch,youknowthatthisisaveryrealpossibility:Soyuz38Shadaminorissuewithoneoftheburnsandtheyhadtointerruptthenominalprofiletoeventuallydocktwodayslater.

In our sim, however, after the transition we also got a leak in thepressurization lines of the propellant tanks: basically we were loosingpressureintheheliumtanksthatpressurizeourfuelandouroxidizer,sothat they flow to the combustion chamberwhen the appropriate valvesare opened. No pressure, no engine firing! So we had to immediatelyinitiateanemergencydescent,beforethepressurebecametoolow.

Anicerefreshersim,aswewaitforTerrytojoinusnexttime.Iattachapicture of Anton andmyself that Terry took a while back…with someartisticliberty.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-226: Di nuovo nel simulatoreSojuz! In vista di un periodo emozionante, by Paolo Amoroso—

AstronautiNEWS.

L-224

Expedition38'sSoyuzdockedattheISS.Credit:NASA

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.04.14—WhenyouprepareforaflightontheSoyuz,youfirstlearnaboutalltheon-boardsystemsonebyone:you spend a lot of time in the classroom learning the theory andoccasionallyyougetsometimeinthesimulator,specificallydedicatedtothe one system you're studying.Once you've passed the examson allthe systems, you graduate to the complex simulator sessions that I'vewritten about multiple times and in which you integrate all yourknowledgeoftheseparatesystemsintotheactualflightoperations.

TodayAntonandIexceptionallyrevertedbacktoasingle-topicpracticaltrainingsession,learningaboutnewprocedurestobeappliedincaseofacomputerfailurejustafterundocking.

See,ourSoyuzwillbedocked to theMRM-1module, just likeoneyousee in this beautiful image by the Expedition 38 crew. Like the photoshows, in the standard ISS attitude the MRM-1 points nadir, towardsEarth.Typically,whenavehicleundockstheStationitrotated90°sothatthedockingportfacesaft-thatmakesifeasierfromanorbitalmechanics

point of view, because the simple impulse given by the spring-loadedpushers in theaftdirection isenoughtoguarantee that therewillbenocollision,eveniftheSoyuzwasunabletoperformtheseparationburns.

However, it would be really nice to be able to leave the Station in itsnominal attitude: it takes fuel to rotate it and themechanical loads cancausefatigueonthestructure,whichaffectstheStation'slifetime.

If the docking port is nadir, though, proper separation burns must beperformedtoensuresafety.That'swhywenowhavenewproceduresindevelopment thatallowthecrewtogive theburnsmanually,should thecomputerfailbeforecompletingthem.

Wasfuntotrysomethingnew!

Photo:ISSExpedition38

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-224:Perrisparmiarepropellentee allungare la vita della Stazione…, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-223

SamanthaCristoforetti trainsfor theSoyuzmanualre-entryexamintheStarCitycentrifuge.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.04.15—Today I took a ride on theimpressive18-meter-armStarCitycentrifuge.

Asapreparationfortheupcomingmanualreentryexam,Ihadadry-runtoday in which we went through a typical exam session: three reentryscenarioswith therunningcentrifugewith twostaticscenariostorest inbetween.

I'vetalkedalittlebithereabouthowmanualreentryworks.

Thegoalistolandwithin10kmfromthenominaltouchdownpoint-theonethatthecomputer-controlledreentrywouldflyusto,ifitworked.Butit'salsoimportanttokeeptheGsundercontrol.Especiallyifwe'retryingto compensate an overshoot in the time we made contact with theatmosphere(i.e.wemadecontact later thanplanned), thetemptation istogiveinputsthatwillleadtohugeG-loadsinanattempttocorrectback.Inanexamsettingthatwillaffectthescore,butinreallife,aswellasin

thecentrifuge,italsoaffectsone'slevelofdiscomfortandpain.Let'ssayit'saself-punishingmistake!

UnderheavyG-loadsit isquitedifficult tomoveatall.Luckily, tofly thereentryweonlyneedtopresstwobuttons,theonesundermythumbsinthepicture.Thoseinputschangetherollangleofthedescentmoduleindiscrete increments of 15°, roll being the rotation around the axis ofsymmetry.It'snotveryintuitive,buttherollaffectsthelift,sothatwecancontrolhowsteeporshallowwewanttofly.(Forthosewewanttotrytofigureitout,here'sahint:thecenterofmassofthevehicleisdisplacedwithrespecttotheaxisofsymmetry).

Ifyouwanttoknowmoreaboutridingthecentrifuge,here'sanolderblogpostaboutit.

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L-223:Provageneraled’esamenellacentrifuga,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-222

LacentrifugadiStarCity.Credit:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.04.16—AntonandIbothpassedourmanual reentry exam in the centrifuge today and are now officiallyqualifiedtoflytheSoyuzreentrymanuallyasbackupcrewofExpedition40,launchinginMay.

Infact,thisisthefirstofaseriesofqualificationexamswe'llhavetopassbetweennowandearlyMay.So,firstonedone!

Ididgetoneprofilewithaprettyhighovershoot,inwhichIhadto"flythecentrifuge"upto5Gs.Ihadflownan8G-runbefore,butitisindeedabitdifferentwhenyou'retryingtoflyyourtrajectoryanddoyourreportingtotheground.

Wasfun!I'lldoitagaininafewmonthsasprimecrew.

Photocredit:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-222: Passato l’esame nella

centrifuga!AbilitataalrientromanualedellaSojuz,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-220

SamanthaCristoforettiwithherinstructorSashainfrontoftheapproachsimulator&manualdockinginStarCity.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.04.18—Lastmanualdockingtrainingsessions these days before the upcoming exam. With my instructor,Sasha,we'vebeen focusingon themost trickyscenarios tomakesureI'mready.So,whatmakesascenariomoredifficultthanothers?

Thetypeoffailure,forexample:a"simple"Kursmalfuction,meaningthattheSoyuzcan'torientitselftoStationanymore,orratherafullcomputerfailure? With a functioning computer we can turn on a function thatcompensates for the rotation of the ISS. When the Station is in itsstandard attitudewith the stack of pressurizedmodules oriented alongthe velocity vector, it rotates about 4 degrees per minute as it tracksalongtheorbit.Withthecompensationfunctionturnedon,thecomputerautomatically fires the thrusters tomatch that rotation,so that tous theISSlooksasthoughitwasinertiallystabilized.

Ifthecomputerfails,however,weneedtoconstantlycorrecttokeepthetargetalignedasweapproach.TheServiceModuleandMRM1docking

portsareespeciallytricky,becausethetargetsareorientedinsuchawaythatrotationoccursintwochannels.

Nightapproachesarealsoalittlebitmoredifficult.Ifwe'reabouttoentereclipse,westation-keepatadistanceofabout70metersandturnontheSoyuz light.At thatpointwealsohavetoremoveascreenwehaveonour periscope view during illumination, that protects us from beingblinded by excessive light. Once that screen is removed, more lightcomesthroughandwe'reabletoseeISSwiththeratherfaintilluminationfromourSoyuzlight,butit'sabitmoreuncomfortabletoflytheapproach.For one thing, without the extra screen you need to have your eyesperfectlyalignedattherightdistancetoseetheimage:ifyoumoveyourheadabit,youimmediatelylooseit.Also,asyoucomeincloserforfinalapproachanddocking,thelightdoesbecomesomewhatdazingagain.

SothesearethescenariosSashaandIhavebeenfocusingon.Youcansee us in the picture together before the sim today. Sasha wants tobecomeacosmonaut(she'dbeasecondgeneration).Ifyouaskme,I'dbetmymoneythatshewillmakeit.

IfyoucelebrateEasterthisweekend,happyEaster!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-220: Affrontare scenari diattracco complicati con la mia istruttrice Sasha, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-216

SamanthaCristoforettiexaminesthebodymassmeasurementdeviceontheISSinStarCity.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.04.22—YesterdayAnton,TerryandIfollowedtheprimecrew,duetolaunchinMay,toMissionControlCenter-Moscow(MCC-M)forseveralhoursofbriefsconcerningthecontentoftheir flight.As thebackupcrew,weneedtohave thesameawareness,justincase.

Briefs covered everything, from the Sun angle expected at the time ofdocking to any abnormal behavior currently observed on the Russiansegment of the Space Station. The latter is especially relevant for ourRussiancrewmates,ofcourse,sinceit'smainlyuptothemtotakecareoftheRussianmodules.IhadnotbeenatMCC-M,orЦУП,sinceavisitwiththeotherShenanigansduringbasictrainingin2010.Timeflies!

Talkingaboutmissioncontent,we'llhaveatheoreticalexamnextweek,bothabouttheSoyuzflightandtheincrementtimeonISS.TodaywehadapreparatorysessionwithourSoyuz instructor, inwhichwewentoverthedifferent nominal andoff-nominal profiles, aswell as commoncrew

actions.

Wepracticedansweringquestionslike:

inanygivenday,onwhatorbitsisitpossibletolandinthenominalareainKazakshan?(Answer:onthe16h,1st,2ndand3rd).Inwhatorientationaretheburnsafterinsertiongiven?(Answer:thefirsttwosimply"forward",theothertwowitharotationcalculatedbythecomputer).Whatisthecrewexpectedtoreportaboutatthebeginningofthe20-mincompassduringthesecondorbitafterinjection?(Answer:leakchecks,first twoburns,anyanomalies,readinesstoperformtestofmanualcontrols).

Andsoon,yougettheidea.

Ialsohadjustnowashortclassonthebodymassmeasurementsystem,theanswer (oroneof theanswers) to thequestion:howdoyouweighyourself inspace?Youcansee thegroundmodelof thesystem in thepicture.InthisvideoNASAastronautJeffWilliamsexplainshowitworks:

Video:MassMeasurement(2:54)

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-216: Tante domande! Fra cuicomepesarsinellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-215

SamanthaCristoforettiandTerryVirtsaretrainedtouseacamerainStarCity.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.04.23—Adayintheclassroomtoday.Quitetypicalinthefirstyearorsoofthetrainingflow,butprettyunusualthesedays,closertoflight.However,itdoeshappen.

In themorningwespent4hourspreparing fora routineopssim in theRussian segment mockup on Friday. Anton is of course our residentexpertontheRussiansegment:hehasspecialist-leveltrainingonalltheRussianmodules.Terryand Ionlyhaveuser-level training,quitebasic.We know how to use the toilet, get water, prepare food, use thecommunication panels; we know how to act in case of an emergency,we'refamiliarwithlights,electricaloutlets,safetyequipmentandwehavebasic familiarity with the Russian control laptops. We can do simpleroutine maintenance tasks, like changing filter or replacing a full urinecontainer.Beyondthat,it'sreallyuptoourRussiancrewmates.Rolesarereversedof course in theUS,Europeanand Japanesemodules of theStation.

InourroutineopssimonFridaywe'llhaveourdayplannedaccordingtoaRussiandailyschedulingradiogram,calledForm24.Iamscheduledtoreplace filters, simulate using the toilet, get water samples, rehydratemeal pouches, heat food cans, have aHAM radio contact, change thesolid waste container in the toilet, photo- and videodocument someactivities and unstow some Progress cargo, updating the InventoryManagementSystem.Most likelywe'll also havemalfunctions and oneemergencyscenariothrownin.

Intoday'sprepbrieftheroomwasfullofpeople,allthespecialistsforthedifferent systems.One after the other, they all briefed us on the tasksconcerningtheirareaofexpertise.Inthepicture,TerryandIaregettingareviewofthecamera.

Moreclassroomintheafternoon:abriefforourSoyuzsimtomorrowandprep forourupcomingexamon thecontentofExp.40/41,ofwhichweareofcoursethebackups.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-215:Prepararsiasimulareunatipica giornata nel segmento russo, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-214

The instructor follows a fire simulation in the Soyuz with SamanthaCristoforetti and the crew of the Soyuz TMA-15M. Credit: SamanthaCristoforetti

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.04.24—Maybe you remember thatlast December Anton and I went to Energia to do the acceptanceverification of the Soyuz that will bring Max, Reid and my fellowShenaniganAlextospaceendofMay.AsIwrotebackthen,it'squiteararetreatfornonRussianstobeabletogo.Well,ithappenedagain!

Anton, Terry and myself we got to go as a crew this morning to theacceptanceverificationofourownSoyuz!Now thathasn'thappened inyears,we'vebeentold.I'llletyoureadabouttheacceptanceverificationintheL-358Logbook.

Butletmetellyou,evenifthetaskwasthesame,itwasaverydifferentfeelingtobeinsideourownspaceship.Howyoucaninstantlybeinlovewithacollectionofmetal,hosesandcables!She'sjustabeauty.

Intheafternoon,wehadafiresimwithTerryandAntoninpreparationfor

theupcomingSoyuzexam.Afirescenarioisoneofthemostrushedandcomplex,sowethoughtitwasagoodideatopracticeitagain.YoucanreadmoreaboutfireontheSoyuzinthispreviouslogbook.

Wealsogotallkindsofsmallandbigmalfunctionmakingour lifehard,buthey…wecantakeitbynow.Asacrewwe'reaspreparedaswe'llbe!

Photo: our instructorDima at the control panel as our descentmodulesimulatorstartsfillingwithsmoke.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-214:PrimaunavisitaallanostraSojuz(èunabellezza!),poiunincendio(simulato),byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-211

SamanthaCristoforettireplacestheurineandsolidtoiletwastecontainerin the mockup of the Russian segment of the ISS. Credit: SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia),2014.04.27—Studydayhere inStarCity.We planned a study session this afternoon with the prime crew toprepareforTuesday'stheoreticalexamontheflightprogram,inwhichwewill be tested about our system knowledge and asked all kinds ofquestions about the nominal flight profile and all possible off-nominal"branches".

Lookingbackatlastweek,onFridayAnton,TerryandIhadourroutineopssiminthemockupoftheRussiansegment,afulldressrehearsalforourupcomingexam.

Like Imentioned in the L-215 Logbook, as nonRussian crewmembersTerryandIarenottrainedforcomplextasksintheRussianmodules,butwestillhadabusydaytakingcareofallkindsofroutineactivities.BeforelunchIhadalreadyworkedwithhatches,theHAMradiosystem,thelifesupportdisplaysontheRussianlaptop,thewaterdistributionsystem,the

photoandvideoequipment, theventilationsystemand thecompanelsfor a routine checkwithAnton.Of course I had also demonstratedmyskills in changing the urine and solidwaste container of the toilet. Andcomingclose to lunch timeTerryand I prepared somespace food:weheatedsomecansinthefoodwarmerandwerehydratedjuicepouches.

Somemoreroutinetasksintheafternoon,includingtakingwatersamplesfromthedispenserforanalysisintheTotalOrganicCarbonAnalyzerwehave on ISS. And of course, at some point we had a an emergencyscenario. A simulated Mission Control Houston called us to ask for apressure verification, since theywere showinganongoingdrop in theirtelemetry. And sure enough, also on ourmanual gauge (actually radiocontrolled by the instructors), the pressure was dropping. And so wepressedtheemergencyalarm,toinitiatethevehicle'sauto-response,andoffwewereintothedepressurizationprocedures.

Afewmorepictureshere.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-211:Addestramentoalleattivitàdi routine nel mockup del segmento russo, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-210

Samantha Cristoforetti in a Soyuz manual docking simulation. Source:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

StarCity (Moscow,Russia),2014.04.28—Passedmymanualdockingexamtoday!NowIamofficiallyqualifiedtodocktheSoyuztotheSpaceStation. I doubt Iwill everhave todo that,because theCommander isprimeforthistask,whiletheflightengineerisajust-in-casebackup.Butitdoesn't matter: I'm one of those people who enjoys immensely simplygettingtothepointofmasteringsomething!

First Anton and I took our regular places and Anton flew his examprofiles.Thenweswappedplaces,IsatintheCommanderseatwiththehandcontrollersinfrontofmeandflewmyownfourprofiles.Eachprofiledocks toadifferentdockingport.YoucancheckL-357Logbook foranoverviewoftheports.

Ontheexamday,wealwaysstartwiththesimplesttask,asawarmup:movingtheSoyuzfromonedockingporttoanother.Afterthehooksopenandthepushersgiveusaseparationspeed,wemoveouttoadistanceof40-60m,flyaroundtotheotherportanddockagain.

Thenextprofilesareinrandomorder.

In twoof themwearearound300mfromISSandwe'renotalignedtothedockingport.Wefly intoasafedistanceofabout200meters,holdthatdistanceandperformafly-aroundtoalignourselveswiththedockingport.Thenwe fly in toaadistanceof50-100metersandholdpositionagain:weroll ifnecessarytoalignthetargetinourview,weretractoneantennathat,ifextended,wouldimpededocking,wemakesurethatthedocking system is ready and then we receive permission from MCC-Moscow(ortheinstructor)togofordocking.Mostpeople,includingme,hold position again at around 2 meters to make sure that we have aperfectalignmentand tobeable togiveaknown impulsestarting fromzero velocity, so that we can dock within the allowed range of 6-15cm/sec.

(Therewasamoreextensivediscussionofthevelocityissuehere.)

Finally,wegetascenarioinwhichwearealreadyalignedtothedockingport. In this situation, the auto-escape is enabled on the vehicle: if thecomputerfails,thereisnowaytooverrideit,sotherewillbeanautomaticbraking burn on two sets of thrusters for 30 seconds. Once that'scomplete, our job is to take overmanually, stop the separationmotionand move in again. Typically quite quickly, because this scenario haseclipsecomingupwithina fewminutesand it'shard tosee theStationfromfarawayatnight,evenwiththelightturnedon.

That'sitflyingtheSoyuzmanuallyuntilnextsummer.I'llmissit!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-210: Passato l’esame didockingmanualeSojuz!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-207

Samantha Cristoforetti uses a laser rangefinder in the Soyuz orbitalsimulator.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.05.01—Terry,Antonandmyselfputacouplemoreexamsbehindusinthelastcoupleofdays.

OnTuesdaywepassedour theory examson the flight program - bothSoyuz and Russian segment. Especially the Soyuz one was veryinteresting,becausethesearealwayoccasionstolearnsomelittledetailsfromthepeoplewhocontroltheflightfromMissionControlMoscow.

Yesterdaywehadourexamonmanualrendezvous-that'swhereAntonneedstoshowhisskills inflyingamanualapproachfromabout2-3kmaway from ISS toa station-keepingpositionat 50-100meters from thedocking port, while I go into the orbital module and use a laser rangefinderthroughaforwardfacingwindowtogivehimdistanceandvelocitymeasurements.

This situation is contemplated in our two-day launch-to-docking profile,not inthecurrentlynominal6-hourprofile.That'sbecauseintheshorter

profilethereisnotimebeforethestartoftherendezvousburnstosetupthe laser range finder in the orbital module. If a failure were to occurwhen we're still a few km away from Station, we would interrupt theapproachandfigureouttheproblemwiththeground.

Inthetwo-dayprofile,however,afterthefirsttwoorbit-risingmaneuverswegetabreak,transfertotheorbitalmoduleandhavetimetosetupthelaserrangefinder,sothatitisreadytwodayslaterwhenweactuallyflyourapproachtoISS.

TodayisabigholidayhereinRussia,likeinmanyplacesintheworld.Ifyoucelebrate it,Happy1stofMay toyou.Here inStarCityweareoffuntil Monday, but with the big full-day Soyuz exam coming up nextTuesday,therewillcertainlybealotofstudyinggoingon!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-207:AltriesamiSojuzpassatidalnostroequipaggio!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-204

Samantha Cristoforetti and Alessandro Paleri of WeFly! Team. Credit:WeFly!Team

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.05.04—Taking a break from mypreparation work for next week's big exam, I'd like to share with yousomething that I'm really excited about: the partnership between mymissiontoISS,Futura,andWeFly!Team.

MarcoCherubiniofWeFly!Teamwithhisplane.Credit:WeFly!Team

WeFly!isaveryspecialaerobaticteam,flyingonultralightmachines:twoout of the three pilots have a disability, which requires them to use awheelchairduringdaily lifeand, inthecockpit, tousespeciallymodifiedcommandsthatallowfullcontroloftheaircraftbyuseofhandsonly.

IhadtheprivilegeofmeetingAlessandro,MarcoandErichabout7yearsago.InthisshortvideoItellthatstory:

Video:SamanthaCristoforettiandWeFlyTeamtogetherforthedisabledpeople(2:30)

WeFlywithFutura:DaretoFly!

TheWeFlypilots!Team:MarcoCherubini,AlessandroPaleri andErichKustatscher.Credit:MarcoTricarico,WeFly!Team

The logo of the partnership between the Furura and WeFly mission!Team.Credit:WeFly!Team

TheWeFly!Teaminflight.Credit:WeFly!Team

Anultra-lightWeFlyaircraft!Team.Credit:WeFly!Team

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-204:Amicistraordinari!WeFlyconFutura,osavolare,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-199

The Soyuz TMA-15M crew prepares for the Soyuz final exam as abackup for the Soyuz TMA-13M: Terry Virts, Anton Shkaplerov andSamanthaCristoforetti.Credit:NASA

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.05.09—Incredibleweekbehindme!

TogetherwithAntonandTerryIhavepassedmyfinalqualificationexamsboth in theSoyuzand theRussian segment of the InternationalSpaceStationandyesterday Ihavebeenpartofaseriesof traditionaleventsthatmarktheroadtothelaunchpad.It'sbeenanemotionalrollercoaster!

Butlet'scatchuponethingatatime.

On Tuesday the prime crew had their full day exam on the Russiansegment and we, as the backup crew, faced our Soyuz exam. Weshowedupearly to get into ourSokol suits andat 8:20we stepped infrontof thecommission.After reporting thatwewere ready to takeourexam, our Commander Anton picked one of five sealed envelopescontainingalistoffivefailuresthatwouldbeinjectedinourprofileduringtheday.Ofcourse,wewerenotshownthecontentoftheenvelope.

Tobehonest,inourusualtrainingsessionswepracticedealingwithalotmoremalfunctions than just five. But it's also true that there's a lot ofmistakesthatcanbemadeevenonanominalprofileandwehadmanyeyescheckingoureverymove!

Inthemorningweflewaprofilefromstarttodocking,whichwentprettysmoothuntiladoublefailureat40metersfromthedockingportforcedusto inhibit the autoescape maneuver that the computer was about toinitiateandtotakeovermanually.Shortlythereafterwealsohadafailureofadockingsensorthatledtoonboardlogictoinitiatearetrogradeburn:again, we had to override the automatic sequence and take overmanuallytocompletethedocking.

The biggest challenge, however, came in the afternoon. Turns out wepicked the envelope with the most complex scenario: a fire just afterundocking.AntonandIhadtoworkparallelprocedureforseveralcriticalminutes,withmedealingwiththefireandhimsettingupthesystemforabraking burn for an emergency descent. After I "depressurized" thedescentmoduletoputoutthefire,werejoinedonthesameproceduretoget ready for the burn and… the main computer failed, forcing us toquicklysetup foramanualactivationof theengine inwhatwecall theanalogueloop.

Aftera successful burn, separation,atmospheric reentryandparachutedeployment, theexamwasdeclaredconcluded.Nosignificantmistakesweremadeandweendedthedaywithaperfectscore!Agreat feeling,indeed,forallofus.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-199:Ricordareunasettimanaincredibile iniziata con l’esame Sojuz, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-197

The final backup test in theRussiansegmentof the ISS for theSoyuzTMA-15M crew: Terry Virts, Anton Shkaplerov and SamanthaCristoforetti.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity (Moscow,Russia), 2014.05.11—In the last logbook I've toldyou about last week Soyuz final exam. The following day, onWednesday, we swapped placed with the prime crew: they flew theSoyuz and we spent 8 hours working in the mockups of the Russiansegment.

Let'sfaceit,thisexamisespeciallyimportantforAnton:allthecomplextaskswere assigned to him because, as a cosmonaut, on orbit hewillmostlyworkontheRussiansegment,whileTerryandmyselfwillmostlyoperateintheUS/European/Japanesemodules.Butwetriedtomakeourinstructors proud by performing our relatively simple tasks flawlessly.Also, Wednesday was the "Day of the radio" in Russia, a day torecognize and celebrate all specialists working in the field of radiocommunication.Onsuchaday,nomistakeswereallowedintheuseofthe com system! And to be honest, the com system on the Russiansegmentcanbesomewhatconfusing.

JustlikeontheSoyuzexam,atthebeginningofthedaywereportedtothe commission to pick our envelope with the failures we would beconfronted with during the day. Again, as a specialist for the Russiansegment Anton had to deal with all the malfunction, except the bigemergencyscenariothatconcludestheexam.

Inourcase,wegotadepressurizationscenario:atsomepointwegotacallfromasimulatedHoustonCapComtellingusthattheywereseeingadrop inpressure.Wecheckedourportablepressuregauges,confirmedthedrop,pressedthedepressemergencybuttontoiniatedthevehicle'sautoresponse, reconfigured the com system to have Houston andMoscowonallchannelsandoffweweretoourSoyuz,tomakesurethatourridehomeitselfwasn'tthesourceoftheleak.

RetreatingtotheSoyuzforafewminutesalsogivestheairflowsensorsachancetowork.Theyareplacedatthehatchesbetweenmodulesand,in caseof a rapidpressuredrop, theyshouldbeable todetermine themodule that is leaking.Sureenough,wehadpickeda relativelysimpleexam scenario: when we came back to check the Russian commandlaptopsintheServiceModule,theydidshowapositiveresolutionoftheair flow sensors. Our leaking module was found! A series of isolationprocedureslater,wewereofficiallydonewiththelastofourexams.

Afterourdebrief,itwastimetocelebrate!Togetherwiththecommunityofinstructorsandpeoplewhosupportusinthemostdiversecapacities,wejoined the prime crew for many hours of partying at the rhythm oftraditionalRussiantoasts!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-197: Il giorno che abbiamopassato il nostro ultimo esame da backup!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-196

TheSoyuzTMA-13MbackupcrewsignsthevisitorregisterinGagarin'sofficeattheStarCitymuseum.Credit:NASA

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.05.12—Following our exams lastweekandthejoyfulcelebrationsofWednesdaynight,onThursdayTerry,Anton andmyself joined the prime crew in a day of formal events andtraditions.

It all started in the morning with a meeting of the interdepartmentalcommission responsible to evaluate our training. All our exam resultswerepresented to the representativesofRoscosmosandseveralotherRussian agencies, as well as ESA and NASA, and we were formallydeclared ready for thenextstep:quarantineand final trainingevents inBaikonour.

Next was a short coffee break in which the doctor responsible for ourquarantinemadeverycleartous-Iguessespeciallytotheprimecrew-thattheonlywaywecanpreventourselvesfromflyingatthispointisbygetting sick or having an accident. And we were given a number ofrecommendations to avoid both, ranging from not shaking hands to

avoidingcrowdedplaces.

After the press conference, we headed to the Star Citymuseum for atraditionalevent:thesignatureoftheguestbookinYuriGagarin'soffice.OfcourseYurididn'thavehisofficeatthemuseum,butshortlyafterhispremature death the office was reconstructed there will all the originalfurniture, objects and decorations. According to the tradition, beforedepartingforBaikonourprimeandbackupcrewstaketurnssittingdownat the table and writing a few words in the guest book. It's a movingmoment!

Traditionscontinuedintheafternoon…

Italiantranslationofthis logbookentry:L-196:Eventi formalietradizioniprimadiBajkonur,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-194

TheSoyuzTMA-13MbackupcrewonRedSquareafterpayingtributetothe pioneers of space: Samantha Cristoforetti, Anton Shkaplerov andTerryVirts.Credit:NASA

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.05.14—Restweekisover,it'stimetopackforKazakhstanalready!

Two planes of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center will be readytomorrow morning to fly us from the nearby Chkalovskyi Airport toBaikonour.Yes, twoplanes: starting tomorrow,primeandbackup crewarenotallowedtobeonthesamevehicle.Terry,Antonandmyselfwillbetrailingbehindtheprimecrewatabout15minutesdistance.

Butbeforestartingthiswholenewphase,letmewrapupmyaccountoflastweek's traditional events.On the last logbook I told you about theday-after-the-exams morning. In the afternoon, we all boarded a busheadedfortheRedSquareformoretraditions.

Itwasasplendidday.Ontheoneside, itwasa lovelyspringafternoonwithpleasant temperaturesandblossomingnature.On theother hand,

weprettymuchhadtheentireRedSquaretoourselves.Notthatwearethatimportant,butwedidhappentobethereattherighttime.Itwasthe8th of May, the day before Victory Day, a major Russian holidaycommemorating the end of World War II and honoring veterans andcasualties. Since the Red Square was being prepared for thecelebrationsandthemilitaryparadeofthenextday,itwasclosedtothepublic.

Yuri Gagarin and many other famous cosmonauts are buried at theCremlin,alongwithmajorengineerscontributing to thespaceprogram,including of course Sergei Korolev. Crews heading to space, togetherwith their backups, always come here to pay tribute to these giants ofspaceexploration.Inparticular,wehadachancetolaysomeflowersonthegraveofYuriGagarinattheCremlinwall.

Theofficialpartof thevisitbeingover,we tooksome time toenjoy theRed Square and we even had a quick tour of the Cremlin gardensbeyondthewall.

Ienjoyedthevisitimmensely,everythingwasjustperfect.Anidealsend-off formy fellowShenanigan AlexanderGerst and his crewmatesMaxandReidlaunchingin…wow…exactlytwoweeksnow!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-194:ProntiperBajkonurdopol’omaggioaipionieridellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-189

TheSoyuz TMA-13M backup crew in front of theBaikonurmonument.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

Baikonur (Kazakistan), 2014.05.19—Wow, it's been only four dayssincewe've arrived in Baikonour, but it feelsmore likeweeks. A shortthree-hourflightfromMoscowandhereweare,insuchauniqueworldofspaceshipsandrocketsand traditions,whereeverythingelseseemssofaraway.

We left Star City last Thursday in the morning, after a few traditionalevents that always mark crews' departures. The community - otherastronauts and cosmonauts, representatives of the different spaceagencies,instructorsandmanymore-gathersaroundabreakfasttable;except that typically nobody eats anything. Instead, several toasts arespoken,mostlyaroundthethemeofwellwishesfortheprimecrewandreminders to the backup crew not to relax. Before leaving, we all findsome horizontal surface to sit down for a minute or so: not doing sowouldbringbadluck!

Onceoutside,Terry,Antonandmyselfwalkedbehindtheprimecrewand

their families to go and pose for some pictures, after which the primecrewansweredsomequestionsforthemedia.Andthen,beforeweknewit,wewereonabus to theChkalovskyairport,where twoTupolevTu-134oftheCosmonautTrainingCenterwerewaitingforus.

Don't think we came to Baikonour alone. The so-called OperationalGroupflewwithus,splitinthetwoairplanes:instructors,drivers,doctors,sports trainers, suit specialists…. all the knowledge and expertise fromStarCitythatweneedforthetwoweeksofquarantine,thefitchecksandallthewaytolaunch.Mostofthesepeoplehavebeenheremanytimesand it's apparent that they forma close-knit, efficient team. Itwasalsoclear right from the plane ride that it would be great fun sharing thisexperiencewiththem!

I'veheardand readsomuchaboutBaikonour, that finallyarrivingherewasaveryintensemoment.Butthingswentfast:westeppedoutoftheairplaneand reported to theEnergia representatives,whowerewaitingforusontheapron(EnergiaisthecompanythatbuildstheSoyuz).Then,afterenjoyingthewarmwelcomeoflocalschoolchildren,wejumpedona bus, incidentally the same bus that we'll drive to the launch pad on.With theprimecrew riding inanotherbus in frontofus,we left forourquarantine location. But as we passed by the famous monumentrepresentingBaikonour,wejusthadtojumpoutandtakeapicture!

Morepictureshere.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-189: Partire da un luogoleggendarioperunaltro,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-188

ThebackupcrewinfrontoftheSoyuzTMA-13MinBaikonur:TerryVirts,AntonShkaplerov,SamanthaCristoforetti.Credit:VictorZelentsov

Baikonur (Kazakistan), 2014.05.20—Last Friday, on the day after ourarrival in Baikonour, we left early in themorning for the cosmodrome,wheretheSoyuzTMA-13MisbeingpreparedforlaunchonMay28th.Infact,thisso-called"firstfitcheck"drivestheentirescheduleofthecrewsintheweeksbefore:theyhavetobeinBaikonourintimeforthisevent.

Antonand Ialreadyhadachance tosit in thespaceshipofMax,Reidand Alex back in Moscow a few months ago, when we did theacceptanceverification.(SeeL-358Logbook).

But this time itwasaverydifferent feeling: thisassemblyofmetalandelectronicswill bring our friends to space in less than twoweeks, theirliveswilldependonitfunctioningproperly.Withthatinmind,evenmorethanifitwereourownspacecraft,theonethingwekepttellingourselveswas:"Don'tbreakanything!"

We went inside one first time in our blue flight suits for a general

familiarization and to go over a checklist to verify the overallconfiguration.ThenwewentinsideasecondtimeinourSokolsuits,andthistimewereallyfocusedonmovingcarefullyanddeliberatelytoavoidanyincident.It'saverycrampedspaceandenteringfromabovefromtheorbitalmoduleisobviouslyalotmorecumbersomethanusingthe"fake"sidehatchwehaveintheStarCitysimulators.

Bothweandtheprimecrewwentthroughaverificationprocedureofthecommunication system. In addition, the prime crew fully strapped in,sincetheirseatlinerswereinplace,andhadachancetoexperiencetheextensionof theseats.When they'll comeback toEarth in sixmonths,theirseatswillextendbeforelandingtoarmtheshockabsorbers,whichwoulddampedtheimpactforceincaseofafailureoftheretrorockets.

Picturecredit:VictorZelentsov

Morepicshere.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-188: Prima prova diadattamento nella Sojuz con Terry e Anton, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-187

The Soyuz TMA-13M backup crew in front of the Baikonur Gagarinmonument: Samantha Cristoforetti, Anton Shkaplerov and Terry Virts.Credit:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Baikonur (Kazakistan), 2014.05.21—The raising of the flags in ourquarantine location took place on Saturday morning: Anton and Terrycould join Max and Reid in raising their country's flag, while I raisedKazakhstan'sflagthistime.

Afterwards,Terry,AntonandIexercisedourbackupcrewprerogativeofbreakingquarantineforonedayandwewentonthetraditionalvisitoftheBaikonourmonuments,leavingtheprimecrewbehind.

AfterabriefstopattheSoyuzmonument,wepaidavisittothestatueofYuri Gagarin, where we were warmly welcomed by the local schoolchildrenandbythemayorofBaikonour.TerryandIwerepresentedwithagiftsymbolizingthecity(Antonreceiveditalreadyinthepast)andthenweallwelaidsomeflowersatthestatue,honoringthefirsthumantoflyto space. As we turned around, we posed for a traditional fun picture,matchingYuri'sposewithraisedarms.

The next monument we stopped at is dedicated to Chief EngineerKorolyov,recognizedasthemaincontributortotheachievementsoftheSovietspaceprograminthe50sand60s.Here,again,welaidflowersinrecognitionofhisengineeringgeniusandleadership.

Nextstop:theBaikonourmuseum…

Picturecredit:GCTC

Morepictureshere.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-187: Una prerogativadell’equipaggiodibackup:visitarelacittàdiBajkonur!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-186

The backup crew of theSoyuz TMA-13M inKazakh costume in a yurtreplicaattheBaikonurmuseum.Credit:NASA/VictorZelentsov

Baikonur (Kazakistan), 2014.05.22—After visiting Baikonour'smonuments to space pioneers, last Saturday Terry, Anton and I weretakenonaveryinterestingguidedtouroftheBaikonourmuseum.

ThehistoryofSovietandthenRussianhumanspaceflightandthehistoryofBaikonouraresotightlyintertwinedthatyoucouldsaythemuseumisaboutboth.

Thecosmodromeand theattachedsettlementswerebuilt in the1950s.There was nothing here before then, except for the train junctionTyuratam-thisisthenameoftherailwaystationtothisday.ThenameBaikonour actually belonged to a different city in Kazakhstan and waschosentodeceiveforeignintelligencetryingtolocatethelaunchsite.Atthemuseumwe'veevenbeentoldthatamockupsitewasbuiltintherealBaikonourthatwouldlooklikealaunchsiteifphotographedfromabovebyreconnaissanceassets!

ThemuseumhasarichcollectionofphotographsandmemorabiliaandreacheswellbeyondBaikonour tocover internationalspaceexplorationprograms.Inpreparationofourvisit,theyalsoexhibitedasmallcollectionofphotosfromourtraining.Thatwasabitofastrangefeeling,actually,toseeyourselfinamuseum.

AttheendofthetourwewereshownareplicaofKazakhyurtandposedforaphotographwearingtraditionalclothes,beforesigningthemuseum'sguestbook.

Picturecredit:NASA/VictorZelentsov

Morephotoshere.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-186: Esplorando il museo diBajkonur,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-185

Thecrewof theSoyuzTMA-13Mplants the traditional tree inBaikonur.Credit:NASA/VictorZelentsov

Baikonur (Kazakistan), 2014.05.23—A week into our quarantine inBaikonourandsixdays to launch, thingsarepickingupspeedhere,asmoreandmorespecialistsareshowingupto join in theeffort.Whileallour lessons so far have been with our own instructors from Star City,todaywemetsomenewfaces.

Forexample,todaywehadameetingwithrepresentativesoftheSearchandRescue (SAR) team. They just worked a Soyuz landing last weekandnowareturningtheirattentiontotheirupcominglaunch.Ofcourse,ifallgoeswellthere'snotneedforthethemtointerveneonalaunchday,butbelieveme:they'reready.

When Alex, Reid and Max will launch next week, SAR assets will bedeployedalongthegroundpathoftheirascenttoorbitallthewaytotheocean,includingashipstandingbyintheSeaofJapan.Shouldarocketfailure occur at any time, the appropriate unit will be alerted and SARassets will be immediately deployed to the expected landing location

based on the time of the failure. More precise information on theexpected impact sitewill be obtained as soon as the parachute opensandapositioningsystemisactivated.

Afternominal insertion intoorbit, theSARteamsdon'tcompletelystanddown,butsomeunits remain inalertuntil theSoyuz isdocked to ISS-whichcouldbe full twodays later, if there isa transition to the two-dayrendezvous profile. Should the crew need to perform an emergencyreentryforanyreason,theguardianangelswillbereadytomeetthem.

Talkingaboutthingsgettingreal,ReidandAlexnowhavetheirtreealongtheonesofeverycosmonautandastronauteverdepartingtospacefromBaikonour!

Photo:NASA/VictorZelentsov

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L-185: Incontrare i nostri angelidella Ricerca e Soccorso e piantare alberi, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-175

SamanthaCristoforettitrainsontheATVattheEACinCologne.Credit:ESA

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2014.06.02—Fournights ago I watched my friends of Expedition 40/41 climb onto theirrocket and, a few hours later, become an ever smaller light dot in thenightskyofBaikonur.AfterfollowingtheirsuccessfuldockingtoISS,I'veflown back to Moscow and then home to Europe. It's been four dayssince I've left Kazakhstan, but the images have kept coming back, asthoughapartofmewasstill lingeringthere.Maybebecausewe'renowprimecrewand that'swhereour pathwill bringusagain in sixmonthstime.Maybebecauseit'slikelivingadifferentlifefortwoweeksandyoudon't want to let it go.Maybe because coming backmeans facing thehardtruththatwehavesixmonthsofintensetrainingaheadofus,beforewecanclimbonthatrocketourselves.

Schedulingwisdomcallsfortwoweeksofvacationafterthebackupflowand before jumping into prime flow, however scheduling constraintscalled for an exception in my case, so here I am at the EuropeanAstronautCentreforaweekofpayloadandATVtraining.

Right in themorning I've been reunitedwith Sasha for some refreshertraining in ATV rendezvous and docking. After a short review of thepossiblemalfunctionsbyourinstructorOleg,wetriedourskillsinthesimand quickly reestablished our good crew coordination. After all, it's notbeenthatlongsinceourexam.(SeeL-291Logbook).

In the afternoon I got a class in the assembly of thePlasmaKristall 4experiment, due to arrive onStation in the fall. PK-4, to be installed inColumbus, isa jointESA/Russianexperimentstudyingthepropertiesofcomplexplasmainmicrogravity,withactualexperimentrunswillstartingnextyear.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-175:Affrontarelarealtà:altriseimesi di addestramento prima del nostro turno!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-174

ATV-1JulesVerne.Credit:NASA

EuropeanAstronautCentre(Cologne(Germany),2014.06.03—SomemoreATVtrainingtodayattheEuropeanAstronautCenterforSashaandmyself.

This time we focused on the departure monitoring, meaning theprocedures crewmembers work through with the ground on departureday to make sure ATV undocks from Station and performs a properdepartureburntoputsomesafedistancebetweenitselfandtheISS.ThenextATV isscheduled to launchanddock thissummerandwillstillbedockedtotheservicemoduleinNovember,whenI'llarrivetoStation.

WhenSashaandIwilldothedeparturemonitoringforrealonorbit,itwillbe quite an emotional moment for us and for the European spacecommunity:thedepartureofATV5GeorgesLemaîtrewillmarktheendoftheAutomatedTransferVehicleprogram,whichincludedthesuccessfulmissionsofATV1JulesVerne,ATV2JohannesKepler,ATV3EdoardoAmaldi and ATV4 Albert Einstein and has demonstrated robustoperations and extremely precise automated docking technology. Itwill

be with mixed feelings that we will watch it fly away and towards adestructive reentry into the atmosphere. Maybe you'll catch it as ashootingstar!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-174: Prepararsi a quello chesarà un momento toccante in orbita, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-173

TheATVliquidcontrolpanel.Credit:NASA

European Astronaut Centre (Cologne (Germany), 2014.06.04—Onelong refresher simulation forSasha andmyself today onATVattachedphase ops: everything that happens between the dynamic phases ofdocking and undocking, is the attached phase. In that time ATV is anintegralpartofISS.

During those months of exploitation, crewmembers may be asked forexample to initiate gas delivery into the ISS atmosphere from theATVtanks, if thatparticularvehiclebroughtonboardair,nitrogenoroxygen.Other tasks involve thedeliveryofwater from theATV tanks to thebigwater reservoirs in the Russian service module. Once the ATV watertanksareempty,crewmembersmightbeaskedtofillthemupwithurinefromthesmallerurinecontainers…although that'sdone less frequentlynowadaysthatwerecyclemostoftheurineonboard.

TodaywealsosimulatedpreparingATVforundocking.Attheendofthemission,beforedeparture,some items, likesmokedetectorsand lights,areremovedfromthevehicleandstowedonStationtoserveasspares,

sincethesameequipmentisusedinothermodules.

Inthepictureyoucanseetheinterfacepanelwiththevalvesthatcontrolfluiddelivery.Beforeanyoperation,it'sagoodideatocheckthelabelofthe tank youwillworkwith: if it already has an orange tag, it's not therighttanktogetwaterfrom!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-173: Lavorate con i fluidisull’ATV?Controllateleetichette!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-168

SamanthaCristoforettiwith theKubikbiologicalsamplecontainerat theEAC.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

Località italiana, 2014.06.09—It's vacation time! I'm enjoying somepleasantsummerdaysinmyhomecountry,Italy,rechargingthebatteriesbeforethefinalstretchoftraining.

LasttrainingdaybeforevacationwasThursdaylastweek.Icouldn'twritea logbook, though,because therewasa lotgoingonafter training thatday.Foronething,attheEuropeanAstronautCentrewehostedthefirstin-flight-callwithmyfellowShenaniganAlexanderGerst:lotsofTVcrewsandmedia folkscame toaskhimquestions forabout20minutes.Alexlookedgreatandalreadyveryateasewithweightlessness.

AfterwardsIhadapleasantinterviewwithmyfriendsofAstronauticast-thevery samegangof knowledgeablespaceenthusiastswho translatemylogbookinItalian.IfyouunderstandItalian,hereistheinterview(rightatthebeginningofthepodcast).

ButIdidhavesometrainingaswell.ForexampleIhadabriefingonthe

Kubik,astand-aloneuniteoftheEuropeanSpaceAgency,thatprovidesacontrolled temperaturebetween6°Cand38°C for livingsamples, likecell cultures. Thanks to a centrifuge insert, that you can see in thepicture, samples canbeexposed to variableaccelerations, that canbeset between0,2Gand2G in stepsof 0,1G. If samples just need tobeexposedtoaweightlessenvironment,thecentrifugecanbereplacedwithapassiveinsert.

The Kubik is a simple and cheap way of performing life scienceexperimentsontheSpaceStation.

Italiantranslationof this logbookentry:L-168:Kubik,unascatolachevifagirare!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-167

Samantha Cristoforetti with NightPod at the EAC in Cologne. Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

Località italiana, 2014.06.10—The last training event lastweekwasabriefingonNightPod,asystem that interfaceswith thestill camerasonISStohelpastronautswithnightphotography.

As you probably know, taking pictures in low-light conditions requireslongerexposuretimes.Evenifthesubjectisnotmoving,it'shardtogetasharp picturewithout the use of a tripod, since the little shaking of thehand isenough to introduceblurring.A fixed tripod,however, isof littleusewhenyou'retryingtophotographtheEarthatnight fromtheSpaceStation,becausethetargetismovingfastinthefieldofview.Youmaytrytorotatethecameratomatchthemovement-andsomepeoplearequiteskilledatthat-butNightPoddoesitalotbetter.

Thesystem ismountedonabracket in theCupola,so that thecamerafaces the big nadir window. After initialization, the software asks forinputsregardingcurrentaltitudeandattitudeoftheSpaceStation;basedon that data it calculates the necessary rotation rate that needs to be

imparted to the camera so that the target on the Earth surface looksstationary in its field of view. And there you go: you can have longerexposuretimeswithoutcompromisingsharpness.

Thiswillbemylastlogbookforthisweekofvacation.Asalways,seeyouontheotherside!

Unless of course you'll join us inCremona,Northern Italy, this comingSaturdayforthiseventwithmyfriendsofWeFly[Italian].

AndifyouwanttoknowmoreaboutWeFly,checkoutthispastlogbook.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-167: NightPod: inseguire laTerraperfarefotopiùnitide,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-156

TheDSA3antennaoftheESAtrackingstationinMalargüe.Credit:ESA

Località italiana, 2014.06.21—Quello di oggi è un Diario di Bordospeciale,scrittodirettamente in italiano,bypassandoeccezionalmente ilvalido(evaloroso!)lavoroditraduzionediAstronautiNEWS.

Ufficialmente sono ancora in vacanza, quindi niente storie di vita daastronautaoggi.PrimadipartireperHoustondomanieriprendereilmioaddestramento, però, voglio dedicare qualche parola al lancio diAvamposto42!

Comesapete,sitrattadelsitodedicatoallamissioneFutura,l’avampostodiFuturanellarete.PerchésichiamiproprioAvamposto42l’hospiegatoqui.

Non esagero se dico che la nascita di Avamposto 42 per me è larealizzazionediunsogno,checoltivoormaidaunpaiodianni.Sesièrealizzatoèperchécihannocredutoinmoltiesonolorodavverograta!ÈmeravigliosovederecomeintornoadAvamposto42sisiaaggregatoungruppo di persone e di organizzazioni che condividono una visione

comune: informare e appassionare, raccontare e coinvolgere,trasmettereeascoltare,intornoaidueviaggicheinizianoinsieme.Unoèla missione Futura stessa, l’altro un viaggio di consapevolezza nelmondo della nutrizione. Perché abbiamo un corpo soltanto, meglioconoscereleistruzioniperl’uso:èlanostraunicaastronavepertuttalavita!

Naturalmente siamo soltanto all’inizio, diciamo che siamonelwarm-up.Aggiusteremoalcunecose,nesvilupperemoaltre.Mipiacerebbemoltosepartecipasteattivamenteconlevostreideeeopinioni!Potetescriveresu Linea Aperta, ma anche @Avamposto42 su Twitter e la paginaFacebookAvamposto42sonoinascolto.Lefrequenzedicomunicazionisonoaperte,nelleduedirezioni.

Buonweekend!

Englishtranslation

Italian location, 2014.06.21—Today's is a special Logbook, writtendirectly in Italian, exceptionally bypassing the valid (and valiant!)translationworkofAstronautiNEWS.

Officially I'm still on vacation, so no life stories as an astronaut today.BeforeleavingforHoustontomorrowandresumingmytraining,however,IwanttospendafewwordstothelaunchofAvanmposto42!

Asyouknow,thisisthesitededicatedtotheFuturaMission,theFuturaoutpostinthenetwork.Iexplainedherewhyit'scalledAvamposto42.

IamnotexaggeratingwhenIsaythatthebirthofAvamposto42formeistherealizationofadream,whichIhavebeencultivatingforacoupleofyearsnow.IfitisrealizeditisbecausemanyhavebelievedinitandIamreallygratefultothem!Itiswonderfultoseehowagroupofpeopleandorganizations that share a common vision have joined Avamposto 42:inform and excite, tell and involve, transmit and listen, around the twotrips that start together. One is the Futura mission itself, the other ajourneyofawareness in theworldofnutrition.Sincewehaveonlyonebody, it's better to know the instructions for using it: it is our only

spaceshipforlife!

Ofcourseweareonlyatthebeginning,let'ssayweareinthewarm-up.Wewill adjust some things, develop others. I would really like it if youactivelyparticipatedwithyourideasandopinions!YoucanwriteonLineaAperta, but @Avamposto42 on Twitter and the Facebook pageAvamposto42 are also listening. The communication frequencies areopen,inbothdirections.

Haveaniceweekend!

Italian logbook entry: L-156: Frequenze di comunicazione aperte, byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-153

A scene from an IMAXmovie shot on a Shuttle mission to repair theHubbletelescope.Credit:NASA

Houston(USA),2014.06.24—Way tostarta trainingweekyesterday…afterflyingtoHoustononSunday,myMondaymorningscheduletookmeto nearby Galvestion for a private screening of the IMAXmovies BluePlanetandHubble3D.Sittingnexttomeinanemptytheater,thepeoplewho made those movies, along with several other legendary IMAXproductionsfromandaboutspace:ToniMyersandJamesNeihouse.

Istillcanhardlybelieveit,butIwillhelpmakethenextIMAXmoviefromspace!Togetherwithothercrewmembersofupcomingexpeditions,I'lldomy best to make sure that the production team has the necessaryfootagetoputtogetherthenextamazingmovieexperienceofspaceforviewersallovertheworld.Itdoesn'tgetmuchmoreexcitingthanthat!

Ofcourse,it'snotfreefun,weneedtogothroughthenecessarytrainingtobeable tooperate theequipment.Evenmore important,weneed tounderstandhowsceneshavetobeshot tobesuitable forprojectiononthegiant IMAXscreens.That'swhy, evenbeforebeingexposed to the

dedicatedstillandvideocameraswe'lluseonISS,Iwatchedacoupleofmovies with Toni and James, who did their best to helpme see themfromtheperspectiveofthepersonbehindthecamera.Whatwasgreat?Whatcouldhavebeenshotbetter?

Lookingforwardtolearningmorefromtheseexperiencedmovie-makers.And I hope you're as excited as I amabout a new IMAX spacemoviecomingout-althoughwe'llhavetowaituntil2016toenjoyit!

Picture:ascenefromtheIMAX3Dmovie,shotinspacefromtheShuttlecargobayduringaHubbleSpaceTelescoperepairmission.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-153:Aiuteròagirareilprossimofilm IMAX dallo spazio. No, veramente…, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-152

SamanthaCristoforetti trains in thePartialGravitySimulator (POGO)attheJSC.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2014.06.25—Todaywasoneofthosetrainingdayswhenyouquicklyjumpfromonetopictoanother,asyourun fromclass toclassand frombuilding tobuildingatJohnsonSpaceCenter.

Istarted thedayat thegymand then Iheaded toa roboticsclasswithcrewmateScottKelly,whowilljoinusonISSinMarchnextyear.Itwasa"track&capture"class: that'showwecall thegrapplingofa free-flyingvisitingvehiclewiththeroboticarmoftheSpaceStation.Youcancheckthisolderlogbookforsomemorewordsabout.

Afterthat IhadaPOGOclass.That'sthePartialGravitySimulator,oneof the training environments we have available to prepare forspacewalks.InterestedinprosandconsofPOGOversustrainingunderwater?Here'sanolderlogbookaboutthat!

In the picture you can see me in the POGO working on fluid lines,

particularly on mating and demating the QDs. That stands for QuickDisconnects, but unfortunately they're not necessarily very quick.Especially thebiggeroneshaveprovenquitechallenging tooperateonorbit during spacewalks, with the fluid lines pressurized, because thehoses become extremely rigid! Sincewe don't have actual pressurizedhosesunderwater,wetrainthisinthePOGOwiththespecialQDtraineryouseeinthepicture.

AfterwardsIhadatrainingclassfortheexperimentCardioOx,inwhichIpracticed taking an ultrasound of my brachial artery, my carotid arteryandmyheart, followingthe instructionsofaspecialistsitting inthenextroom.

Finally,aclasscalled"Galleysupport",focusedmostlyonthenuancesofthe water dispenser. That's where we get potable water from, both todrinkandtorehydratefoodpouches.ItriedmyluckwithapouchlabeledItalianvegetables.NotsurewhatwasspecificallyItalianaboutthem,butcertainlyahealthyfoodchoicefromthestandardISSmenu!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-152:Statodisospensione,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-152Supplement

Samantha Cristoforetti and Scott Kelly are trained in the ROBOTsoftwaresimulator for the captureof cargovehicleson the ISS.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2014.06.25—I'dliketoaddafunepisodefromyesterday'sroboticsclass.

As I mentioned, it was a track & capture class for me and Scott.Somewhat different than usual, though, because we used the ROBOTsoftwareenvironment,inmycasethefirsttimeIwasexposedtoit.

ROBOTisthesystemweuseontheSpaceStationtopracticecapturingavehicleinthedaysbeforeaCygnus,DragonorHTVshowsuponourdoorstep. It consists of hand controllers, just like the ones of the realroboticworkstation,andofthreelaptops,thatreproduceallthecommandinterfacesandallthecameraviews.

AsScott and Iwere practicing capturingCygnus, our instructorMegannoticed that, on the TV screen, the NASA-TV images were showingSwanni and Alex on ISS doing exactly the same: practicing for the

upcomingCygnuscaptureonROBOT.Nicecoincidence!

On scheduled onboard practice sessions like these, instructorsmonitorfrom the ground, to provide real-time feedback. But crewmembers canalsogetextrapracticeontheirownduringtheirfreetime.BestoflucktotheISScrewfortheupcomingOrb-2Cygnusflight!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-152: Diario di bordo –Supplemento:unepisodiodivertenteconScottKelly,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-150

SamanthaCristoforettiandthecrewoftheSoyuzTMA-15MtrainforCPRintheISSmockupattheJSC.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2014.06.27—YesterdayTerryandIspentmostofthedaylearningmoreabouttheIMAXproject,thatIwrote about on Tuesday. Turns out that it's not only about recordingimages, but also about properly capturing the sounds of the SpaceStation!Havingspentacoupleofhours listening toGreg talkabouthisjob,whichconsistsofputtingthesoundinmovies,haslikelychangedmymovie experience forever. There is so much work that I never evenconsciouslyperceived.

LaterTerryandIhadafamiliarizationclassgoingthroughthesocalledPlug-in-Plan, which outlines what equipment is plugged into whatelectrical outlet on theSpaceStationandwhat are the restrictionsandbest practices for the crew to move stuff around, in the few cases inwhich we're allowed to do that without guidance from the ground(computers, small battery chargers, portable lights, ..). It might soundstrange to you that it's suchabigdeal toplug something intoapowersupply, butMissionControl tracks the electrical loadoneachoutlet, to

make sure we don't cause any trip and, consequently, the unplannedshutdownofequipmentorscienceexperiments.

ThismorningourfullSoyuzcrewwasreunitedforaso-calledMegacodeclass,inwhichwepracticeacorrectrescueresponseincaseacrewmatesuddenly needs cardio-pulmonary (CPR) resuscitation. Starting chestcompressionsimmediatelyandquicklygettingadefibrillatorsetupmightsave a friend's life. In addition, we're also trained to insert anintraosseous device, basically a needle into the bone marrow, thatprovides a fast and reliableway to get life-savingmedications into thebloodstream.

StartingCPRimmediatelydramaticallyincreasesthechancesofsurvivalof apersonwhoseheart stopsbeating,onEarthaswell on theSpaceStation.Ihopeyou'recurrentonyourCPRskills,youneverknowwhenyoumightbeinthepositionofsavingsomeone'slife!

Italian translation of this logbookentry: L-150:Quando le compressionisalvanolavitadiqualcuno,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-146

AnEVAforreplacinganISSpumpmodule.Credit:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.07.01—Yesterday wehadquiteaspecialtrainingeventintheVirtualRealitylab.Terry,Butch,AntonandIalljoinedinpracticingoneofthecomplexchoreographiesinwhichweusetheroboticarminsupportofaspacewalk.

Inourscenario,ButchandTerrywereinitiallythespacewalkers,whichinthevirtualreality labmeansthattheywerewearingtheglassesandtheglovesand theyweremoving in thevirtualSpaceStationscenarioandinteractingwithit.

WithglassesandglovesintheVirtualRealitylaboratory.Credit:NASA

I was the robotic operator, and I could actually observe their virtualmovement on my camera views. Anton was there to help mainly withcamera panning, tilting and zooming, a role we call the RoboticWorkstationAssistant.

Inourscenario,weweredealingwitha failedpumpmodule,whichhadalreadybeenremovedinapreviousEVAandwastemporarilystowedonthePOA-thisislikearoboticend-effector,butit'sonafixedpositiononStation.WeareabletoinstallagrapplefixtureonapumpmodulesothatthePOAcanattachtoit.

First I took GCA instructions from Butch to maneuver the arm to apositionwherehecouldingressthefootrestraintwhich,inoursimulation,wasalreadyattachedtoroboticend-effector.Checkthisolderlogbookifyoudon'tknowwhatGCAis.

ThenImaneuveredhimtothePOA.OnceButchwasinapositiontoget

holdof thepumpmodulehandrails,we released theunit from thePOAand I programmed an automatic sequence to get him to an externalstowageplatform,thefinalstowagelocationofthefailedunit.

Atthatpointweswappedpositions:Terrygotinthearm,virtuallyholdingthepumpmodule,andIbecameEV2,assistinginmonitoringclearancesand providing GCA instructions to insert the pump module in theguidancerailsofitsstowage"box".

Virtual Reality lab is especially useful to practice coordination andcommunication, which are key to successful and smooth EVA/roboticscombinedoperations.Moreover, thevirtual realityenvironmentprovidesa realistic reproductionof the lightingcondition.Atnight, it canbeverychallenging to have a good view of the entire robotic arm and all theclearances!

Picture: anEVAcrewmemberhandlingapumpmodule in spacea fewyearsago.Justlikeonourscenario,he'sattachedattheendofthearm.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-146:AddestramentoroboticoedEVA al laboratorio di Realtà Virtuale, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-144

SamanthaCristoforettiwiththerespiratorinasimulationofammonialeakontheISSattheJSC.credit:ESA/Corvaja

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2014.07.03—RememberhowIhavetoldyouonseveraloccasionsaboutemergencysimulations,bothhereinHoustonaswellasinRussia?Seethislogbookforexample.

Sofarwehadalwaysonlythree-personemergencysimswithTerryandAnton,mySoyuzcrewmates.Asyouknow,however,theStationcrewiscomposedofsixpeople.Thecrewof theSoyuzbeforeuswillbe therewhenwearriveinNovemberandwillleaveinMarch.AtthatpointwewillofficiallybecomeExpedition43.Afteracoupleofweeks,wewillbejoinedbyanewSoyuzcrewandwe'llbebacktoasix-personcomplement.

So,yesterdaywehadachancetopracticeemergencyresponsewithourfirstcrewofsix,Expedition42,joiningButch,ElenaandSasha.

What's different with six people working the procedures? Well, inprinciple it iseasier,becauseyouhavemorecrewmembers takingcareofthedifferentsteps.But,asusualwithteamwork,it'sessentialtohave

goodcoordinationandcommunication,otherwiseyou'llendupmakingitworsebygettingineachotherway.

That'swhybeforethesimExpedition42Commander,Butch,tooksometimetomakesurethatweallunderstoodwhatourroleswouldbeduringthedifferentemergencyresponses.Forexample,inafirescenarioIwasgoingtohavethemainresponsibilityforworkingatthecomputertofindsuspected fire locations based on the telemetry signatures and toperform the power downs as required. During the depressurizationresponse Iwasgoing tocarryoneof theportablepressuregauges:wemonitor it after every hatch closure and, if the leak is on our side, werecalculateournewreservetimeinthesmallerremainingvolume.

Of course, an emergency response is a dynamic situation. We had agoodplangoingin,butwealsoalwaysadjusteditreal-timeasrequired.That'sperfectlyfine,aslongasthereisaclearcommunicationwhenyouhandoverresponsibilityofatasktosomebodyelse.

I'mhappytosaythatoursix-personteamworkedsmoothlyandefficientlytogetheryesterday.Averygoodsignforourfuturetimetogetheronorbit!

Picture:ESA/Corvaja.Onammoniarespiratorsafteranammonialeak.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-144: Il nostro addestramentoalle emergenze in sei della Expedition 42, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-142

SamanthaCristoforettiinasimulationoflossofammoniawiththecrewofExpedition42attheJSC.Credit:ESA/S.Corvajaa

Houston (USA), 2014.07.05—As I told you in the last logbook, this isemergencysimulationtimeforus,withExpedition42simlastweekandExpedition 43 sim coming up next week. Goal is to practice theemergencyresponseswithourtwofullcrewcombinationsof6people.

Morethanfireanddepressurization,theonescenariothatrequiresano-kiddingimmediateresponseisanammonialeakintothecabin.Ifyou'rewondering where that ammonia would come from, here's a littlebackground on ISS design. All the equipment we have onboardgeneratesalotofheat,thatweneedsomehowtogetridof.That'swhywehavecoolinglinesrunningthroughoutStation:viacoldplatesandthecabinheatexchangers, thewater inthoselinescollectstheheat. Inthelines we have interface heat exchangers, in which the heat is passedfrom the internal cooling lines to the external ones. And in those latterones,youguessedit,wehaveammonia.Twoexternalpumpsmakesurethatthatammoniaflowsfromtheheatexchangers,where itcollectstheheat load, to the big Station radiators, where the heat is rejected into

space.

So,younowknowthatthereisainterfacebetweentheexternalammonialinesand the internalwater lines.Whathappens if there isa ruptureatthatinterface,theheatexchanger?Well,sincetheexternallinesareatahigherpressure,it'slikelythatammoniawouldflowintothecabin.

Ammoniaisextremelytoxicandhasaverydistinctivesmell.However,iftheleakissmallenough,thevehicleautodetectionsystemorthegroundmightnotice it first,byobservingan increase in the fluidquantity in theaccumulatorsofthecoolingsystem:sincewe'renotaddinganywater,anincreaseinquantitymustcomefromammonia.

This ishowour scenariostarted lastweek,withacall from thegroundrepeatingthiscallonallfrequencies:"Ammonialeak,executeemergencyresponse!Ammonialeak,executeemergencyresponse!"

I'lltellyouinthenextlogbookhowthatresponselookslike…butithasalot to do with the two types of masks you see in the picture (Photo:ESA/S.Corvaja)

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-142:Fugadiammoniaca?Eccodadoveverrebbe…,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-140

Samantha Cristoforetti performs the mask purification procedure in anammonialeaksimulationontheISS.Credit:ESA/SCorvaja

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.07.07—In yesterday'slogbook we were discussing an emergency scenario, in which wereceived this call from a simulated Mission Control "Ammonia leak,execute emergency response! Ammonia leak, execute emergencyresponse!"

Since ammonia is highly toxic, the first action is to put on an oxygenmask.ThroughouttheISSwehaveatleastonemask,oftentwo,ineachmodule, ready to be used. US segment masks come with a bottlecontaininga7-minsupplyofoxygen.Thatmightnotsoundlikealot,butthesemasksareonlyusedforinitialresponse,asyou'llsee.

With the mask on, those of us who were in the USOS segment (USmodules plus Columbus and JEM) quickly move aft to the Russiansegment-that'snotonlybecauseourSoyuzvehiclesaredockedthere,but also because of one important design difference: there are noammonialinesintheRussiansegment.

Making sure that all six crewmembers are accounted for,we close theNode1hatch, thereby isolatingourselves fromtheUSOSsegmentandthesourceof the leak.At thatpointweget ridof theexternal layersofclothes,potentiallycontaminated,andleavetheminthePMA,thesmalladapterelementbetweenUSOSandRussiansegment,closingthePMAafthatchasweretractintotheRussianFGBmodule.

Time to retrieve our respirator masks and install on them the pinkammonia filter cartridges.Swapping from theO2mask to theammoniarespiratorsmustbedonequicklyandcarefully,sincewedon'tknowwhatthe ammonia concentration in the Russian segment atmosphere is.Assuming a contaminated atmosphere, we keep eyes closed and holdourbreathwhilecomingoff theO2mask.Oncewehavetherespiratorson,wegothroughanumberofpurgingbreathstogetridofanyammoniainsidethehood.Onlythendoweopenoureyes.

Once everybody is safely on respirators, it's time to understand howmuchammoniawehave in theRussian segment atmosphere.For thatwe have a dedicated chip measurement system. In the worst casescenario, theRussiansegment iscontaminated tosucha level thatweneedtoevacuateStation.Iftheammoniaconcentrationisnotsohigh,wecan filter theair throughour respiratorcartridgesviaourbreathing.Wethen stay for several hours, until the measurements show a safeatmosphere. In the luckycase that theair in theRussiansegmentwasnotcontaminated,wecouldcomeoffmasksandbreathnormally.Safe,forsure,butwithalostUSOSsegment,atleastforthemoment.

Picture:goingthroughthepurgingprocedure(ESA/S.Corvaja)

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-140:EccocosafaresteconunaperditadiammoniacasullaISS,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-139

SamanthaCristoforetti trains at the JSC for theMicro-5 experiment oninfectiousdiseases.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2014.07.08—YesterdayTerry,AntonandIspentthemorninginafive-hourroutineopssim,inwhichwegot to practice daily activities like maintenance tasks, urine transfer,cargoops.I'vetalkedinthepastaboutthesetypesoftrainingevents,forexampleinthislogbook.

In the afternoon I was trained on the experiment Micro-5, which willrequire a lot of crew activities in the Microgravity Science Glovebox(MSG). This is a sealed volume with built-in gloves in which you canoperate on toxic substances or living samples without fear ofcontaminating the Station. In fact, as you can see in the picture, in itslatestversionyoudon'thavetousethebulkyrubbergloves,butcanuseregularlabglovesinstead:thesealismadearoundyourwrist.

The purpose of Micro-5 is to study the development of an infectiousdesease in space.Unfortunately, it has been observed that spaceflightinducesbothan impairementof the immunesystemof livingcreatures,

as well as an increased virulence of pathogens. While both thesephenomena have been studied separately, Micro-5 will study both byobserving the development of disease in tiny "worms" (Caenorhabditiselegans)thatwillbeinfectedwithSalmonellabacteriainflight.

Training for this experimentwas a lot of fun.Managing all those livingcultures,mixing,separating,worryingabout thesterility,carefully takingthe samples.. all this in thepeculiarMSGenvironment reallymademefeellikeascientist.Ofcourse,Ionlywentthroughthesequenceonce.Inflight,Iwillhavetodoitdozensoftime.Byhey,astheysay…scientificprogressis1%inspirationand99%perspiration!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-139: Micro-5: osservare unamalattiainfettivanellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-138

SamanthaCristoforettiassistsTerryVirtsforasessionintheemptyroomattheJSC.Credit:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.07.09—Another busyday feeling like a scientist yesterday, training for several life scienceexperiments,includingoneinwhichwe'llworkwithsmallplants.

One last class late afternoon was dedicated to the preparation of myvacuum chamber run nextweek,workingwith aClass 1EVA suit andgloves.Class1 is thedesignationof hardware that ismeant foruse inspace (as opposed to training). The gloves, in particular, will be mycustom-madeprimeandbackupgloves:ifwefindnoissueswiththeminthechamber,theywillbepackedandsenttoRussiatoflywithmeontheSoyuz.

On Monday I will have a dry-run: we will go through all the pre-EVAairlockprocedures,butthedepressurizationwillbesimulated.Asinprep-and-postclassesinthepast,wewillinsteadpressurizethesuittothe4.3PSIoverambient.Here'sthestoryofaprep-and-postclass.

OnTuesdaywe'llhave theso-calledaltitude run, inwhichwe'llactuallydepressurize the chamber to almost vacuum. For this, we need to gothroughpre-breathprocedures,purgingnitrogenfromthebodytopreventdecompressionsicknessasthepressureislowered.Theprotocolusedinthe chamber is the 4-hour in-suit protocol, which is exactly what itsounds: breathing pure oxygen in the suit for 4 hours.The suggestionhereistobringoneortwomoviestowatchthroughasmallwindowinthechamberdoor!

Bytheway,thiswillbemyfirsttimeinthevacuumchamberintheNASAEMUsuit,butIhadthechanceawhilebacktodoachamberrunintheRussianOrlansuit.Hereisthatstory,ifyoumissedit!

Picture:Terry'schamberrunacoupleofweeksago.Ihelpedsuitinghimup.(Credit:NASA)

Italian translation of this logbook entry: , by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-131

SamanthaCristoforetti inanEVAsimulationatNBLforthereplacementoftheLatchingEndEffectoroftheISSroboticarm.Credit:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.07.16—SSorry for thelonginterruptioninthelogbook,butit'sbeenareallybusytrainingweekhereattheJohnsonSpaceCenter!

Inthelast logbookI toldyouabouttheupcomingvacuumchamberrun,so first of all, if you're wondering how that went… well, we had tointerrupt thealtitude runyesterdaybecauseofa technical issue,so theeventwillhavetoberescheduled.I'lltellyoumoresoon!

ButtodayletmetellyouaboutthetrainingdaylastFridayattheNeutralBuoyancy Facility, the giant pool in which we practice spacewalksunderwater.WithveteranspacewalkerRandyBresnickIpracticedaLEER&R.LEEistheLatchingEndEffector,thecomponentattheendoftherobotic arm that can capture a grapple fixture, for example on a cargovehicle,andmakearigidconnectionwithit.Forsomepicturescheckoutthisolderlogbook.

R&R stands for Remove and Replace: remove a failed unit, install aspare. So, the goal last Friday was to practice removing a failed LEEfromtheroboticarmandreplaceitwiththePOA-that'sanendeffectorthatisidenticaltotheonesattheextremitiesofthearm,butit'slocatedon theMobile Transporter instead and is used to temporarily stow bigunits,iftheyhaveagrapplefixture.

There are some situations in which this swap would make sense,becauseanendeffectormightbedegradedinsuchawaythatitcannotcapture reliablyavisitingvehicle,but itcanstillwork fineasaPOAfortemporarystowage.

InthispictureyoucanseeallthePOAjustbelowthebaseoftheroboticarm.Asyoucansee,itlooksjustlikethearmend-effectors.

Photo: removingoneof the six bolts that attach thePOA (or rather it'sNBL mockup) to its install location on the Mobile Transporter. (Credit:NASA)

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-131: Di nuovo in piscina perl’addestramento alle passeggiate spaziali, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-130

SamanthaCristoforetti trains to recognizewater leaks in theEMUsuit'shelmet.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter (Houston,USA), 2014.07.17—Yesterdaywasthedayofgoodbyes…veryspecialgoodbyes.Howoftendoesithappenthatyoucansay"Seeyouinspaceinafewmonths?"…

First Terry and I said goodbye to Butch after one last robotics classtogether… next time we'll see him will be in November in MRM1, theSpace Station module to which we'll dock our Soyuz. Later in theafternoonSashaandElenacametosaygoodbye, jokingthatwe'llseethemat"customscontrol"beforebeingallowedtoenterStation.

Thesepeoplehavebeenpartofmyworldforyears-everytimeIwasinHouston orRussia or Europe or Japan, depending how our respectiveschedules looked like, one or more of them could be "in town" at thesametime.Well,wewon'tbeintowntogetheranymorebeforewerejoininspace.

Butch,ElenaandSashawillleaveinSeptember,soIwasexpectingthis

momenttocomesoon.Butamazinglyenough, looks likeIalsosaidmygoodbyetoScott,whomIwillseeagainonStationwhenhejoinsusnextMarch.Ifwe'verecalledourschedulescorrectly,forthenextfourmonthswe'llbedodgingeachotheraroundtheplanet,arriving"intown"whentheotherhasjustleft.

Besidesgivingbitter-sweethugs,Ihadafulltrainingdayyesterdaywithmany short events ranging from HAM radio to robotics, from retinalimaging toLAN troubleshooting.Onevery "different" event I had is theHAPsensitivitytraining.TheHAPistheabsorptionpadwenowapplyinthehelmetofaspacewalkingsuittohelpmitigatetheriskofawaterleakevent,liketheonethathappenedtoLucalastyear.

Just like we have glove checks built in our EVA timelines to verifyperiodicallythatthereisnodamage,wenowhaveperiodicHAPchecks,whencrewmembersareaskedto"feel"theHAPinthebackoftheirheadandreportanychanges.TogetanideaofhowitwouldfeeltohavetheHAP loaded with different quantity of water we now have this HAPsensitivity training. We progressively added more water until, at about150-200ml,IwasconfidentthatIwouldbeabletofeelthatthereisfluidintheHAP.Thenwewenttomaximumcapacity-about600mlandthat'swhatyousee inthepicture.TheHAPthickenssignificantlyat thatpointandreallypushesyourheadforwardtowardsthefrontofthehelmet.

Of course,wewouldn't let it go that far.We have procedures in placenowtostoptheaccumulationofwaterinthehelmet!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-130:Ungiornodi saluti dolci-amarie…cuscinettiassorbenti,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-129

SamanthaCristoforettiinthehypobaricchamberatJSCforthebaselinedata collection of the Airway Monitoring experiment. Credit: SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2014.07.18—YesterdayIhadmysecondBDC (basedatacollection)session for theESAexperimentAirway Monitoring. You can find some information about the sciencebackgroundinthisolderlogbookfromEAC,whereIhadmyintroductoryclass.

Why do we need to gather pre-flight data on the ground?Well, if youneedtounderstandtheeffectofweightlessnessonaphenomenon,youneed to observe it first in normal 1G conditions. Then you'll be able tocomparethatdatawiththedatayoucollectinspaceanddeterminewhatchangesareinducedbymicrogravity.

In the case of Airway Monitoring, as you might remember, we'reinterested in studying the gaseous exchange in the lungs in twoconditions:normalpressureandreducedpressure(10PSI, that'sabout2/3 of normal atmospheric pressure). In space we'll do the reduced

pressure measurement in the airlock, that we will depressurizeaccordingly…buthowdowedothisontheground?

That'swhatmakestheAirwayMonitoringBDCintersting:wedotheBDCin a hypobaric chamber, a facility that is typically used for the hypoxiatraining that pilots, parachuters…astronauts periodically go through. Inthechamberyoucanprogressivelyreducethepressuresimulatingflyingtohigheraltitudes.The10PSIwe targetedare roughlyequivalent toanaltitudeof10.000ft.

The first typeofmeasurement is fairly simple: I need toexhale intoananalyzerthatwillmeasurethenitricoxide(NO)contentofmyexhalation.NO isamarkerof airway inflammation, but since theremight be someNOintheairthatIbreathin,Ialsoneedtoinhalethroughascrubberthatremoves it.Nowwe're sure that anyNOmeasured inmyexhalation isreallyfrommylungs!

The second type of measurement is a bit more complicated and isneeded to understand the lungNO turnover: howmuchNO is actuallydiffused intomy blood, instead of exhaled? That's where we need thePortablePFSfacility:Iinhalefromabagcontainingaknowngasmixture(including NO and an inert trace gas) and when I exhale the centralportionofmyexhaledbreathiscollectedinanotherbagandanalyzed.

This experiment is exciting both from a fundamental science point ofview,aswellasforapplicationsinspaceandontheground.Intermsofknowledge, it will improve our understanding of how lungs andrespirations function. This will help in diagnosing and treating lungdisease: think forexample thatover300millionpeopleworldwidehaveasthmaandinsomeregionsof theworldstheconditionunfortunately isoftennotdiagnosed.

Forspaceexploration,it'sreallyimportanttounderstandwhathappenstoastronauts' lungs during long duration spaceflight. We are bound toinhalealotofsmallparticlesthatfloatintheairinmicrogravity,whileonEarththeyfalltotheground-justthinkofhowfastdustcanaccumulateinyourhouse(oratleastitdoesinmine!)

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-129: Nella camera ipobarica:l’esperimentoAirwayMonitoring,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-128

SamanthaCristoforetti is trained in theAPEX-03experiment on plants.Credit:NASA

Houston (USA), 2014.07.19—Going through the photos of the pastweeks, I found a couple from a brief training event on the APEX-03experimentandIthoughtI'dshareafewwordsontoday'slogbook.

This plant experiment uses as, a subject, Arabidodpsis Thaliana, aclassicmodelplantforresearch.Sinceweknowalotaboutthemolecularbiology of Arabidopsis, it's the perfect candidate to observe whatchanges are induced by the spaceflight environment! In fact, geneexpression has been shown to change in response to weightlessness,leading tomodifications in root structure, growthand remodelingof thecellwallinspace.

For APEX-03, seedlings of Arabodopsis will be flown to space in petriplates,wrapped in a dark cloth to prevent exposure to light before theexperimentstart.Theplateswill thenbeinserted intotheVeggiefacilityforgrowth-andhereissomeinfoaboutVeggie.

Differentsampleswillbeallowedtogrowforadifferentnumberofdays,beforecrewmemberswillphoto-documenttheendstateandperformtheharvesting and fixation operations It's not a difficult task, but it doesrequire someattention: the roots are very delicate and you really don'twant todamage themwhenyoupick themwith forceps from their jelly-likenutrientsubstratetoinserttheminthefixationtube(thatyoucanseein the picture). One they're safely in there, you install an actuator andstart to turnahandle tomoveapiston inside the tube.This floods thechambercontainingtheplantsampleswithachemicalpreservative thatfreezesthemolecularstateoftheplant.

TubesarethenconservedintheMELFIfreezeruntiltheycanbereturnedtoEarthforpost-flightanalysis.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-128: Piante, geni e spazio…scienzainteressante!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-122

SamanthaCristoforettipracticesbasicmaintenanceactivitiesatEllingtonAirField.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter(Houston,USA),2014.07.25—ThiswasoneofthoseweeksinastronauttrainingwhenIfeellikeakidatsummercamp.Igot to spend three full days at Ellington Air Field, where NASA's T-38fleet is based, training basic maintenance skills with the amazingmechanicswhofixthosejetsandmakesurethey'resafetoflyon.Greatopportunity to refresh some skills and to learn many new tricks.Incidentally,Ihadablast!

There'ssomethingfunandrewardinginmechanicalwork:Iguessit'sthatcombination of manual skill, knowledge about tools and materials andthatbasichumanpleasurederivingfrombuildingsomethingorrepairingit.

Anyway, of course Iwasn't there formy entertainment.We do a lot ofmaintenance work on the Space Station. It's an extremely complexvehicleandtheequipmentdoesrequireperiodicpreventivemaintenanceand,occasionally,correctivemaintenancetorecoverfromafailure.The

ISStrainingflowincludesanumberofmaintenanceclasses,inwhichweget familiar with the tools we have onboard, the way maintenanceprocedures are written, what the ground controllers expect in terms ofreportingandinteractionsandsometypicalmaintenanceactivities.

ThisFieldMaintenanceTraining isa fairly recentadditionand ismeantasanimmersiveexperience,inwhichyougetalotofhands-onpracticeand..well, you learn from thebest. It'sactuallya two-weekcourse,butunfortunately there is nowaywe could find twoweeks inmy schedulerightnow,fourmonthsfromlaunch.ButsinceIwasreallykeenondoingis,thecourseisveryflexibleandIhavestellarschedulers,Iwasabletoparticipateforthreeintensedays.

ThefirstdayIwasintheavionicsworkshops,practicingsolderingskills,multimeter use and working on electrical connectors, for exampleremoving or installing pins. The rest of the time I shared between thebatteryandsheetmetalworkshops,practicingthingslikedrilling,tapping,riveting, metal bending, removal of bolts with a stripped head… Thislatterone,Ireallyhopeitdoesn'thappenonISS:tryingtodrillthroughasteel bolt is not fun even on the ground, must be very challenging inweightlessness!

LasttimeIdidsomethinglikethis,Iwas19-year-oldandIwasdoinga6-weekmetalwork internship inamechanicalapprenticeshipworkshopinMunich, a requirement to start my engineering studies… I would havenever thought that,18years later, Iwouldbepracticingcutting threadswithmanual tap-and-die sets as an astronaut, to possibly do it on theSpaceStation.Isn'titcool?

Picture: trying to take picture of a poorly accessible and poorlyilluminateddetail.GroundcontrollersarethesecondpairofeyesforourISSmaintenancetasks…butsincewecannotbring themupthere, it'sreallyimportanttobeabletophoto-documentourwork.

Youcanfindmorepictureshere.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-122:Usareiltrapano,saldareeriparareiconnettorielettrici…,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-118

ThetoiletinNode3oftheISS.Credit:NASA/Expedition31

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.07.29—Back in Star City, afterreturningtoEuropefromHoustonandfollowingabriefstopoverathomeontheweekend.

TimetodivebackintotheSoyuzworld,atleastforthenextthreeweeks!Butfirst, I'd liketotalktoyouaboutonelastclassIhadattheJohnsonSpaceCenterlastweek,beforeleavingHouston.

It'sanon-mandatoryclassthatcrewmemberscanrequestiftheyfeeltheneedtoreviewoneofthemostimportantpiecesofequipmenton-board,andlikelythefirstoneI'llwanttouseaftermyarrival.It'stheWasteandHygieneCompartment(WHC):forfriends,thespacetoilet.

TheWHCiscontainedwithinastandardrack,oneofthetiltableelementsthat are installed next to each other along the fourwalls of anyUSOSmodule.All thecomponents -pump, fan,pipes, tanks, filters,etc. -arehiddenbehindthepanels.Infrontofthepanels,butstillcontainedinthestandard rack volume, are the user interfaces: a yellow funnel with a

flexible tube for theurineandasolidwaste tankwithahole in top,onwhicha"seat"ismounted.

In front of the rack, sticking out into the free volume ofNode 3, is theWHCcabin,whichprovidessomeprivacy.

ThetoiletinNode3oftheISS.Credit:NASA/Expedition31

TheWHChasacontrolpanelwithenoughswitches,buttonsandLEDstomake you think Japanese toilets are boring (they're not). In fact as auser,whenyoustepin,youwanttoglanceoverthemainpaneltomakesurethelightsreflectoneoftheexpectedconfigurations.It'seitherthreeorfourgreenLEDs,dependingonwheretheurineisgoing.Mostofthetime the urine flows directly to the Urine Processing Assembly to betreated and then is sent on to the Water Processing Assembly to beturnedintopotablewater.Howeversometimes,forexampleiftheUPAisundergoingmaintenance,theurinecanbedirectedtoaremovabletankinstead.

Asyoucan imagine, thepanelalsohasanumberofred lightsthatcancomeonand indicateamalfunctionorsimply theneedofsomeaction:replacingafullurinetank,forexample;orrefillingtheflushwatertank.

The whole system is based on airflow carrying liquid and solid wasteaway from thebodyand into respectivecollection tanks.Therefore, thefirst thingwedo touse the toilet is to turnon the fan that creates thatdirectional airflow. Urine is collected via a funnel and is mixed withflushingwaterandachemicalagentbeforebeingsenttotheUPAorthetank. Solid waste is collected in single-use bags installed in the solidwastereceptacle-aftereveryuse,anewcleanbag ispreparedfor thenextuser,while theexpendedoneneeds togo into the tank justbelowthe "seat". On Earth, it would just fall down. In space, it takes someguiding: granted, as I hear, not the most glamorous part of living inspace.

You probably guessed that the one malfunction that could potentiallycreate a realmess is a power loss duringuse, since theairflowwouldstopand therewouldbenothingpulling thewaste in therightdirection.The immediate action: close the "seat" cover and cap the liquid wastereceptacle!Thenyoucanworryabouttherestofthetroubleshooting.

Photos:NASA/Expedition31

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-118: La prima cosa checercheròarrivandosullaISS,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-116

TheBCATexperimentoncolloidsoftheISS.Credit:NASA

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.07.31—Justgotbackfromabriefingabout the firesimulation I'llhave in theafternoonwithAntonandTerry.Wehad this type of training once already last year, during our backupflow,asIreportedinthesetwologbooksfromlastDecember:L-348andL-345.

Since I've told that story already, let me dedicate a few words to anexperimentItrainedfor inHoustoncoupleofweeksagoandIdidn'ttellyouabout yet. It's calledBCAT,whichstands forBinaryColloidalAlloyTest.

Acolloidisaspecialtypeofsolution,inwhichtinyparticles,sosmallthatyou can not see them with the naked eye, are dispersed evenly inanother substance. Foam, for example, is a type of colloid: small gasparticlesaretrappedinaliquidorasolid.Ifit'sliquidparticlesdispersedinaliquid,wetalkaboutemulsions:milkisacommonexample.

Several runs of BCAT have been performed on ISS already. This

particular one, BCAT-KP (Kinetic Platform), is interested in phaseseparation kinetics. You've heard about phase changes in school, I'msure:weall learnedabout transitionof substancesbetween their solid,liquidorgaseousphase(ice,waterandwatervapor,forexample).Now,phasechangesincolloidsarealotmorecomplicated.Theyarealsoveryinterestingbothfromafundamentalsciencepointofview,aswellasforimmediate commercial applications (detergents, pains, inks,medicines,…). In fact, a major private company owns some of the BCAT-KPsamples!Betterinsightintocolloidscouldleadtonewwaysofproducingplasticorhelpextendingtheshelf-lifeofsomeconsumerproducts.

Let'ssaywe'reinterestedinthestabilityofacolloid:howlongwillittakeforthedispersedparticles,interactingwitheachother,togathertogether,separating the twophases?What kindof structureswill thoseparticlesform?Theseareonlyafewofthequestionsscientistsareinterestedin.And although we've been studying colloids on Earth for a long time,there's a lot we still don't know because, guess what, gravity-inducedeffects are stronger than the interaction betweenparticles, for exampletheelectrostaticinteractions.Basically,iftheparticlesaredenserthatthesubstance they're dispersed in, they will migrate to the bottom - that'scalledsedimentation.Iftheoppositeistrue,theywillmigratetothetop-andthat'scalledcreaming.

Noneofthathappensinspace!

TheBCATexperimentconsistsofaunitthatcanhold10samples,testedonebyone.When it's time togetonestarted,crewmemberswilluseamagnet to homogenize the sample, i.e.mixing it so that the dispersedparticlesareevenlydistributed.Thentheywillsetupacamera,sothatitwillautomaticallytakeapictureatapresetintervalanddownloadittothegroundforanalysis.

Each sample is observed for one week and it's very important not tobumptheunitwhiletheexperimentisrunning.That'swhyBCATissetupin an area of little passage, tucked between the JEM airlock and theforwardwall.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-116:Conoscete i colloidi?,by

PaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-115

SamanthaCristoforetti in StarCity in a simulation of evacuation of theISS for the contamination of the atmosphere in a fire. Credit: GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.08.01—As I have mentioned,yesterdayAnton,TerryandIhadachancetorepeatthefireevacuationsimulationaspartofourproficiencytrainingasprimecrew.IhadtalkedaboutourfirstsimlastDecember.(SeeL-345Logbook)

Oneof the things that changed, for thebetter, sincewedid this in ourbackup flow, is that we now have an improved oxygen mask on theRussian segment. To understand how it got better, it's useful to knowhowitactuallyworks.Pleaserefertothepicture.TheRussianИПКmaskis a self-contained system, so no filtering involved here. The greenishcontainer connected to themask itself viaa tubecontainsa substancethatwill chemically reactwith your exhaled breath to removeCO2 andaddoxygen.

Whenyouare ready toputon thegasmask,youneed to takeadeepbreathandholditduringdonning.Thenyouexhaleintothemasktoget

the reaction in the container started. The exhaled air goes through thechemicallyactive substance into thebag,whenyou inhale youwill pullthat back into your lungs. You'll know that somebody is breathingproperly through the mask because you'll see the bag inflating andcollapsingwithexhalationsandinhalations.

Ifyouhappentosqueezetheairoutofthebag,you'llnotbeabletotakethenextbreath.Mostlikelyyou'vepushedthatair intothehood,soyouneedtoliftthemaskoffyourmouth,breaththatairbackinfromthehoodvolumeandexhaleitbackintothebagtogetbacktoyournormalcycle.

The chemical reaction is exothermic, so the air gets quite warm. Andhere's the big improvement since the previous model: there is a heatexchanger(thelittlemetalelementhalfwaydownthetube)thatcoolstheairdowntoabout37°C,alotcoolerthanitusertobe.Impressivewhatadifferenceitmadeinourcomfortlevelyesterday!

TheRussianmaskissupposedtolastbetween20and140min,awiderange that considers different people's sizeanddifferent activity levels.Onaverage,itwilllastabout40min.

Asacomparison,intheUSOSsegmentswehavemasksthatcomewiththeirownsmalloxygen tank.They'rearea lotquicker todonandmorepracticaltoweananddoworkin,butyouwillrunoutofoxygeninabout7min.Ifneeded,youcouldconnectthemviaacabletotheStationoxygenports,althoughthatdoeslimitmobility.I'mwearingoneofthosemasksinthispicture.

Picture:donning theSokolsuitwhilewearing thegasmask.SimulatingcontaminatedatmosphereandevacuationofISSduetoongoingfire.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-115: Come funziona lamaschera antigas… e come è migliorata!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-110

SamanthaCristoforettitestsherSokolsuitattheZvezdafacilities.Credit:GagarinCosmonautTrainingCenter

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.08.06—Prime flow training in StarCity continueswitha lotofproficiencyevents in thevariousaspectsofthemission onSoyuz andRussian segment of the ISS. I have regularsessionsofmanual flying, bothdockinganddescent. I'vewritten thosestoriesinpastlogbook,forexample:L-357andL-223

PeriodicallyIhavereviewclassesonthevarioussystems,whicharealsoan occasion to cover any recent changes. And of course Terry, AntonandIspentquitesometimeintheSoyuzsimulator.

Yesterday, I had one final visit at Zvezda, the company thatmanufacturestheSokolsuits,theseatlinersandallthesurvivalsuitsandclothesforcold-weatherandforwater landing.NothinghaschangedonmySokol since Iwore it last time inBaikonur, but this final check cancatch any changes in the crewmember's build. Since my weight hasstayed the same,we just did a quick verification. It was actually reallygoodtobeinmyownSokolagain:sinceI'msmall,inStarCityItypically

get somewhat bigger suits for training. It's good to be reminded of thechallengesofdonninganddoffingasuitthatisactuallymysize!

Talkingaboutdonning thesuit, in thisphoto-album Iexplainedstep-by-stephowthatworks.

Nowgettingreadyforasix-hourSoyuzsim:noshorteningandskippingofnot-so-interestingportionsoftheflightprofiletoday,we'llactuallyflyanominaltimelinefromlaunchtodocking.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-110:Un’ultimavoltanellamiatutaSokolprimadiBajkonur,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-108

The pressure gauge and the graphics used at Star City in ISSdepressurizationsimulations.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.08.08—Justgotbackfromamanualdockingsessionandnowit'stimetogetreadyfora4-hourSoyuzsimintheafternoonwithTerryandAnton:we'llpracticeundockingandreentryandI'msurethat,asusual,we'llhaveplentyofmalfunctionstokeepusbusy!

YesterdaywespenttheafternoonintheRussiansegmentmockupsfora4-houremergencysiminwhichweworkedthroughfivedepressurizationscenarios with different leak locations and leak rates. In one of thescenarios,theleakwasintheSoyuzdescentmodule:insuchacase,wewould have to run a procedure to prepare the Soyuz for unmannedundockingandreentry,beforeclosingthehatchandletitdepressurizetovacuum. Until a rescue ship could be sent, we would be effectively"stranded"onISS.

In another case, the leak was in the Service Module, requiring us toabandon the heart of the Russian segment, but also forcing the crew

dockedtotheMRM2module(thatwouldbetheother3-personcrew)toleavetheISS-withtheServiceModuledepressurized,theywouldbecutofffromtheirSoyuziftheystayed.

Youcanreadmoreaboutfindingaleakinthislogbookfromourvacuumchamberdepressurizationtraining.

Inthepictureyoucanseethemainpressureinstrumentweuseduringadepress scenario: it's portable and it's more precise than all othersensorswehaveonstation.WecallitwiththeRussianacronymMV(МВ=мановакуметер).

In case of a depressurization alarm, given manually by the crew orautomaticallybytheonboardcomputers,thevehicleautoresponseshutsdownallventilationand, in theRussiansegment,startsanalgorithm totry and pinpoint the leak by using the data from the airflow sensorslocated in thehatchways.That takesabout5minutes,duringwhichweretreat toour respectiveSoyuzships toavoidaffecting theairflowand,sincewe'reatit,tocheckthatit'snottheSoyuzitselfthatisleaking.Wealso immediatelycalculateour reserve time,which is the timewehaveavailable until the pressure becomes to low andwe have to evacuate.The Russian computers and the ground controllers will compute thereservetimeaswell,butwedoourownroughcalculationsbyusingthegraphsyouseeinthepicture,whicharebasedonthetimeittakesforthepressuretodrop1mm.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-108: Depressurizzazione…quandoc’èunafallasullaISS,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-103

The view from the periscope in a simulation of the crew of the SoyuzTMA-15M.Credit:Samantha

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.08.13—It'sabeautifulsummerweekhereinStarCityandTerry,AntonandIarekeepingupourproficiencyinall thingSoyuz. I'vehad training sessions inmanual approach,manualdockingandmanualdescentandtodaywewereall threebacktogetherintheSoyuzsimulator.

We flew a rendezvous and docking profile, the first time as part of anominalflight,whichtakes6hours(4orbits)fromlaunchtodocking.Thesecond time we simulated having transitioned to the old two-day flightprofilebecauseofsomemalfunction.

If you're wondering what we would be doing for two days, waiting torendezvouswithStation…well,I'mnotsurehowwewoulddecidetokillthetime,butonethingiscertain:mostofthetimewewouldbespinning!Infact,whentherearenodynamicoperations(i.e.:there'snoneedtofirethe thrusters or the main engine), the Soyuz is put in gyroscopicstabilizationwiththesolarpanelspointedattheSuntomaximizepower

generation. It's actually not the greatest thing for the crew: any spacesickness you're experiencing, the spinning is guaranteed to make itworse(ortogiveyousymptoms,ifyoudidn'thaveany).Butunlessyouactivelystabilizetheattitudewiththrusters,theonlywaytokeepastableorientationistorotateonanaxis.

Btw,I'veexplainedthisalittlebitmoreinthispostfrom-wow!-almostthreeyearsago(IhavebeenstudyingtheSoyuzforawhile,haven'tI?)

Is there anythingodd/weird/unique that still sticksout in yourmindwhenyouthinkabouttrainingontheSoyuz?

DavidAndersInterestingquestion,thanks!

IguesssomethingthatreallysurprisedmeabouttheSoyuzwhenIrealized it is the fact that the navigation system of the vehicle iscompletelyturnedoffaftereverydynamicphase(whenyouusethepropulsionsystem).

Before every burn, be it a correction burn or a reentry burn,navigationsensorsareturnedonandthevehiclerebuildsorientationalongthelocalverticalandthevelocityvector.Thecrewpracticesalot doing that manually for the unlikely event that the automaticsystemfails.

BetweendynamicphasestheSoyuzisorientedwiththesolarpanelstowards theSun to recharge the batteries and supply power to onboardsystems.Thenthevehicleisputintoaspinarounditsaxisforgyroscopic stabilization. It will fly around the Earth maintaining itssolar panel towards the Sun This so called "solar orientation androtation" is typicallydonemanuallyby thecrewusing the rotationalhandcontrollerontheupperrightcornerofthepicturebelow.

IntheSoyuzsimulator.Therotationalmanualcontrolisintheupperrightcorner.Credit:Samantha

InthepictureyoucanseetheperiscopeviewinthesimulatoraswewereapproachingtheISS.Lookslikewewereatadistanceofabout200-250meters:atthatpointwewouldbedoingthefly-aroundtoalignourselveswith thedockingport.Thecomputer is still flying theapproach,but thehand controllers are in the working positions (they're pulled out beforeapproach start), so that Anton can reach them if it's necessary totransitiontomanualcontrol.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-103:LaSojuzvipuòfargirarelatesta!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-102

Samantha Cristoforetti and the crew of the Soyuz TMA-15M in thesimulator.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.08.14—BackintheSoyuzsimtodaywithTerryandAnton,thistimewearingtheSokolandsettopracticeanemergencydescentafterundocking.

These scenarios are always very intense but, on the other hand,somewhatshorter thananormaldescent,becausewerushtomakeanearlyopportunity toturnontheengineforabrakingburn,about40minafteropeningthehookstoundockfromISS.

Today we started out with a leak in the Soyuz, to which we added asecond failure that, in itself, would lead to an emergency descent: adepressurizationof thehigh-pressureheliumlines.TherearenopumpsintheSoyuzpropulsionsystem:it'sasimpleandrobustdesignthatuseshigh-pressure helium to pressurize the propellant tanks. If the heliumstarts leaking, we need to turn on the engine before the pressurebecomestolowforthedeorbitburn.

So,withaleakingdescentmoduleandleakingheliumtanks,wewereallsetforaballisticreentryusingProgram5,whichIhaveexplainedinthispreviouslogbook.

ExceptthatDima,ourevil instructor,alsothrewamaincomputerfailureat us, sowehad to revert to flyingour ballistic reentry in the so-called"analog loop" - it's the older computer from the previousSoyuz series,which leaves a lot of work up to the crew and has a lot less built-inautomaticchecks.Mainthing:youneedtobuildtheattitudeandturnontheenginemanuallyand,iftheenginefails,youneedtomanuallyshutitdownandturnonthebackupthrusters.

Wehadanenginefailuresoearlyonintheburntodaythatweburnedonthebackup thruster foroverhalfanhour (insteadof thenominal3minand41seconds)andweendedseparating from theservicemodulebythermalsensors,insteadofbycommand…howthatworks,isastoryforanotherlogbook!

Italian translation of this logbookentry: L-102:Se ilmotore dellaSojuzperde elio… non è un buon segno, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-100

SamanthaCristoforettiandhercrewinfrontoftheBaikonurrampbeforethelaunchoftheSoyuzTMA-13M.Credit:NASA

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.08.15—100 days to launch! Yes, Iknow…yesterday'slogbookwasL-102:what'sgoingon?

No,thelaunchdatehasnotchanged,it'sstillonNovember24th.Butat1:57amBaikonurlocaltime!

ThatmeansthatitwillbetheeveningofNovember23rdinEurope,whichishometome,myfamilyandagreatpartofmyfriends. Itwillbeearlyafternoon in the US and late evening in Moscow. And it will even beNovember23rdontheSpaceStation,whichoperatesonGMT.

Evenmoreimportantly,whenwewillgetupinthemorning(latemorning)ofNovember23rd,itwilleffectivelybelaunchday!OurlastnightonEarthforsixmonthswillbebehindusandwe'llonlygobacktosleepforashortnap in the afternoon, before embarking on our great adventure.Consideringallthat,IdecidedthattodayisL-100!

Can'twaittogobacktoBaikonurandgetreadytoflytospace.Theteamdown there isalreadyworkingonourSoyuzship: youcanseea lotoftheminthepicture,takenafewminutesaftertheExp40crew(Max,ReidandAlex)hadwavedusgoodbyefromlaunchpadstairslastMay.Nexttimewewillnotbeinthepicture.Ormaybewewill,iftheywillincludethetopoftherocket!

Morepicturefromourbackup-crewtimeinBaikonurarehere.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-100:Fra100giornivolerònellospazioconTerryeAnton!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-79

ISSsolarpanels.Credit:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.09.05—First of all, Iapologizeforthelongsilence.Inevermeanttohavesuchalongbreakinthelogbook,butthingshavehappenedontheprivatesideoflifethatjusttookpriority.

So,now Iamback,workingat full speed toa launchdate that isnow,wow,only79daysaway!

SincemylastlogbookIhavehadbrieftripstoJapanandtoEuropethatincluded some refreshers on the JEM and Columbus systemsrespectively,butmostlytrainingontheJAXAandESAexperimentsthatIwill performduringmy stay on ISS. I'll try to catch up on that in someupcominglogbook.

Now'mbackinHoustonformyfinalfewweeksoftrainingattheJohnsonSpaceCenter.Asusual,traininghereisextremelyvaried:yesterdaywasmy first day and I had a phlebotomy class, a few brief classes on theexperimentsBodyMeasuresandSalivaryMarkers,aconsultationclass

ontheEnvironmentalControlSystem,aproficiencyclassontheonboardapplicationweusetolocateahiddenfireandacoupleofIMAXclasses,including a trip to the Galveston IMAX theatre to watch footage that IrecordedwithTerrybackinJuly.

Today,TerryandIsaidourfinalgoodbyetoprocedure2.600,atleastintermsoftraining.AndIcertainlyhopewewillnotuseitonorbit,thoughyouneverknow!The infamous2.600 is the"UnknownEPSbus failure"procedure, with EPS being the Electrical Power System. It's meant tocoveramajorpower loss,whichcouldpotentiallyaffect communicationwiththeground:thatcouldhappenbecausethecommunicationsystemsloosepowerorbecausewelooseISSattitudecontrolorsimplypointingdata (so the antennas don't know where to find the communicationsatellites).Oracombinationofall those things.Moreover,withamajorpowerbus losswecouldpartially loose internaland/orexternalcooling,which would put us on a so-called thermal clock: within a few hours,somecomponentswouldstarttooverheat.

Asyoumight imagine,theISShasalotofself-protectionfeatures:theyare calledFDIR (FaultDetection Isolation andRecovery). Theproblemwhen you have a major power bus loss, like we had today in ourscenario, is that you might loose power to the computers that areresponsiblefortheFDIRresponse:forexamplethecomputerthatwouldnormallyrecovercommunicationtoabackupstring.

Slowlybutcertainly,theISSmaincomputers,theonesatthetopofthehierarchy,willbringonlinebackupunitsforallthelowerlevelcomputers,according toapredeterminedpriority sequence.But full recoverymightactually take a full hour and crew intervention is still required tomakesurethattheStationisbroughttoasafeconfiguration,especiallyintermsofcooling.

Inourscenariotodaytheveryfirstprioritywastorecoverattitudecontrolby putting the Russian GNC computers in charge (GNC = Guidance,Navigation and Control, which includes keeping the ISS in the properorientation).AssoonastheRussiancomputersgainattitudecontrol,theyimmediatelyfirethethrusterstobringtheISSbacktoitsnominalattitudealongthelocalverticalandthevelocityvector.Youmaywonderwhythat

transitiontoRussiancontroldoesn'thappenautomaticallyincaseoflossofattitude.Well,theproblemlieswiththesolararrays:theytracktheSunand they could be oriented in such a way that thruster firing mightdamagethem.Sowefirstneedtobringthesolararraystoafixed,safeposition:oneofthethingsthat2.600willguideyoutodo!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-79: L’ultima esecuzione dellafamigerata2.600…sispera!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-75

SamanthaCristoforettiandsomecrewmatesonanexpeditiontoAlaskain2012.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

JohnsonSpaceCenter (Houston,USA), 2014.09.09—Thisweek hasstartedwitha lotofevents that reallydrivehome thepoint thatweareflyingtospacesoon!

HowaboutameetingwiththeISSprogrammanagementyesterday?Ora four-hour briefwith the flight control teamon the current state of theISSsystems?Orbeinggivenourofficial"crewnotebooks",certifiedtoflytoISS?Orhavingmypre-flightoncamerainterviewthismorning?

Andtalkingaboutlasts,I'malsocarryingaroundacoolerformyfinal48-hours urine collection… definitely one of the least glamorous andpleasantaspectsofastronauttraining!

Hey,todayisalsoabiganniversaryforourcrew:exactlytwoyearsagowestartedourNOLSexpeditioninAlaska.That'swhenButch,TerryandI first got to really knoweach other. Kimiya andKjell,who shared thatadventurewithus,arenowourbackupcrew.HalisnowtheExp43lead

CAPCOM,whileThomasisstillourExp42LeadFlightDirector!

Isharedalittlebitofthatstoryhere.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-75: Due anni fa: la nostraspedizioneinAlaska!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-70

SamanthaCristoforetti,AntonShkaplerovandTerryVirtsinasimulationPrep&PostEVA.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

Houston(USA),2014.09.14—It'sbeenaweekofmanylasts.That'sthewayitiswhenyouareatL-70!

OnFridayIhadmylast1Gbrefinpreparationof-youguessit-mylastNBLrunnextweek.AndonThursdayIhadmylastSAFERclass.

Youcan read somemoreaboutSAFER traininghere.But actually thislastclasswasabitdifferentbecausewetriedthevirtualrealitysetupthatwehaveonISS,whichisusedtopracticeSAFERrescuescenarios,butalso to review a timeline in 3D before performing it on a spacewalk.Here'sapictureofhowitlookslike!

AndonWednesdayTerryandIhadour last full-dayPrep&Postclass,reviewingtheairlockoperationsconductedbeforeandafteraspacewalk.Believeitornot, it'sbeenalmostthreeyearssincemyfirstPrep&Postclass:IhavepicturesfromthateventdatedOctober2011.AtthattimeIwasn'tassignedtoanISSexpedition,butIwastrainingasthoughIwas,

having been designated ESA's reserve astronaut. Regan, our Exp 42leadEVAsystemsinstructor,actuallytaughtmethatclassbackin2011:Ican safely say he's taught me all I know about the EMU suit and theairlockoperations.

Normally in a Prep & Post class we would pressurize the suits anddevote some serious training time to the pre-breath protocols. I haveexplainedabitaboutthatinthispreviouslogbooks:L-470andL-390.

On this last class, however, we did not pressurize and we focusedinstead on a thorough review of all the procedures. But themain goalwastomakethemostofafewhoursinwhichwehadaspecialguests,our Soyuz commander Anton. In the past, when we had only threepeople on ISS, cosmonauts were fully trained on the EMU and non-Russians were fully trained on the Orlan. After we started having 6crewmembers onboard - three Russians and three non-Russians - theISSmovedtoseparateoperations, inordertooptimizetrainingtime,soeverybodygetstrainingonlyin"their"suitandspacewalkprocedures.AsESAastronautsweareabitofanexception,inthatmostofus(includingme)arequalifiedbothontheEMUandontheOrlan.

As you probably know if you've been following this logbook, suitingsomebodyupintheEMUisnotsuchaneasytaskandhavingtwoextrahands tohelp isdefinitelydesirable.HavingAntongethands-onon theEMUlastweek,helpinginthesuit-upprocess,willdefinitelypayoffifheneedstohelpusonorbit!

OursecondspecialguestwasNASAastronautKarenNyberg,whogaveus a lot of valuable tips based on her experience of actually runningairlockoperationsonISSjustlastyear.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-70: Ospiti speciali per me eTerry in una settimana di ultime volte, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-61

Samantha Cristoforetti in tuta EMU assistita da Terry Virts per unasessioneincameraavuoto.Credit:NASA

Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA), 2014.09.23—Busy, busy,busy timehere inHouston theseweeks. It'smy last training trip at theJohnsonSpaceCenter- infact, this ismyvery lastweek-andthereisjustsomuchtodo!

Onlypartof it isproperly training-one lastemergencysimulationhere,one last robotics session there, one last day of underwater training forspacewalksintheNeutralBuoyancyLaboratoryandonelastsessiononthe ground training model of the ARED, our workout machine forweightlessness.Andsoon.

Another big chunk of the time is spent on Baseline Data Collection(BDC).AsI'mwritingthis,I'mlyingonabedwaitingforanMRIscanfortheESAexperiment"Cartilage", that looksat theeffectof longdurationspaceflighton,yes,thecartilage.It' importanttoletthekneerestbeforethe scan, hencemy little 30-min downtime right now that allowsme towritethislogbook!Bytheway,I'malsocarryingaroundacoolerfora48-

hoururinecollectionandlatertodayIwillputonthesensorsforthe36-hours core temperature monitoring for another ESA experiment,"CircadianRhythms".Yes,yourememberthatone,thebandanadays…

Finally,there'sthoseeventsthatreallyremindyouthatyou'llbeflyingtoISS very soon. Lastweek, for example,we had a handover classwithMikeHopking, fromExpedition 37/38, whowalkedwith us through themockups of the Space Station pointing out all those little daily-life-in-space things that it'shard toget fromthe instructors, justbecause theyhaven't lived up there themselves. Where do you charge batteries?Wheredoyoukeepcamera lensesandhowdoyoumanagecameras?Whereisthe"officespace"setupandhowisitorganized?Howaboutthehygienecorner?Thebestplacetohangyourworkoutclothestodry?

And how about questions like: how are my clothes packed? On whatvehiclearetheyflyingup?HowwillIfindthem?Allthatandmoreispartof the Crew Provisioning briefing. That's how I know that most of myclothes,hygieneandsomeitemsIcouldincludemyselfhavejustarrivedto ISS this morning SpX-4. Hurrà! Somewhat related to that was ourbriefing on consumables: how are different types of consumable itemsmanaged, how is their usage tracked?We got to meet the specialistswhowill takecareof thatduringour increment.Andona similar topic:what is the stowage and inventory situation onboard?Might not seemveryinterestingtoyou,butbelieveme,it'sveryinterestingtous.Imagineyouwere togoand live inahouse that isoverfilledwithstuff, thatyouneedtocarefullytrack:you'llprobablywanttohearawordortwoaboutthecurrentstatus!

Oh, I'll have to tell you a bitmore about yesterday in the next days. Ifinallyhadmyaltituderuninthevacuumchamber.Italkedaboutithere.

The picture is from last July: as you might remember, back then thealtituderunhadtobeabortedatthebeginningofpre-breathbecauseofatechnical issue.Yesterdaywesuccessfullycompletedthefour-hourpre-breathandthevacuumevent.I'lltellyoumorewhenI'llhavethepicturestoshare!Inthemeantime,morepicturesfromlastsummerarehere.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-61:Tantedomandedell’ultimo

minuto, e fortunatamente molte risposte!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-46

The destination in the documents of the Soyuz TMA-15M flight withSamanthaCristoforetti.Credit:SamanthaCristoforetti

Francoforte (Germania), 2014.10.08—Rushed, rushed, rushed! EverysingletimeIhaveleftmyapartmentinthelastthreeyearstocatchatrainto theFrankfurtairport toheadsomewhere in theworld for training,myluggagewasreadywhenitwastimetoleave…andImeanexactlythen,notaminuteearlier.AndeverytimeIhaveprayedtheastronautguardianangelthatIdidn'tmissanything(oratleastanythingimportant)frommyevermoreinclusivepackingchecklist.

Why should it have been different today? Maybe because I will seeColognemany times fromspace(cloudcoverpermitting)before Icomeback?OrbecauseIhaveaone-waytickettoRussiainmypocket-well,onmysmartphone?OrbecauseIhaveaKazakhvisainmypassport?

OrmaybebecauseIhavealotofuniqueitemsinmycarry-onluggage.ManylittlemementosthatIwillflyforfamilyandclosefriendsinmy1,5kgpersonalallocationontheSoyuz,forexample…notsomethingIwanttolooseonthewaytospace(andback)andcertainlynotonthewayto

Moscow.

But I'm also carryingmy Soyuz IMAK. No, I don't remember what theacronymstandsfor,sorry.But"Medical"and"Kit"isprobablypartofthat.TheIMAKis likeyour littletravelmedicinekit.There isabiggeroneforeach crewmember on ISS, but we carry a smaller one in the Soyuz -that's a necessary precaution, especially if somethingwent wrongwithoursix-hour launch-to-dockingprofileandwehad tospend twodays intheSoyuzinsteadbeforearrivingtoStation.

AndI'malsocarryingmypersonalcrew-worn-onkit.That'sanumberofitems that you sort of wear on yourself on your way to orbit: yourkneeboardwith pensandpencils (and their tethers), velcro strips, yourportable stopwatch, your flashlight and yes… the emesis bag. That's afancyword for thatbag that comes inhandy if your lastmealonEarthjustdoesn'twanttostayinyourstomach…

Anyway, here I am now. Boarding almost complete on my lastcommercial flight: landing in Moscow late tonight, ready to resumetraininginStarCityearlytomorrow.

Bytheway,accordingtomymissionpaperwork,I'mnotonlyheadingtoLowEarthOrbit(yuppie!),butI'malsoheadingtotheNeutralZone.Takealook!IsurehopethoseRomulansstayput.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-46: Passata l’ultima notte nelmiolettoperiprossimi8mesi…,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-43

Samantha Cristoforetti trains to perform an ultrasound at the EAC inCologne.Credit:ESA

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.10.11—GoodtobebackinStarCity!It'squiteabitcoolerherethanitwasinEurope-andcertainlyinHouston-butit'sverypretty:thetreesareshowingoffalltherichcolorsofthefall.It's just lovelyouthere, tuckedawayfromthe frenzyofMoscowand itsfrenetictraffic.AndIdefinitelylovethatthetrainingfacilitiesarejustafewminutes away by bike from the Profilactorium, where we have ouraccommodationsasESAastronauts.

I'veonlyhadtwotrainingdays,butI'vealreadyhadachancetorefreshall theskills that Iwillbe testedon in thecomingweeks,aspartofourfinal certification: manual rendez-vous, manual docking and manualdescent.AntonandIalsostartedtrainingforourcomplexfull-daySoyuzexam(Terrywilljoinusinanotherweek).Aspertradition,thefirstsimispre-launch operations (what we do on the launch pad before start),ascent, injection into orbit and then… well, that depends on the goodheart of our instructor. In our case, we had a leak - we were losingatmosphereintospace-andsowehadtocomebackwithanemergency

descent.Thatwouldbeaveryshortflight!

I dowant tomention that between training inHoustonand returning toStarCityIhadseveraldaysoftrainingattheEuropeanAstronautCenterinCologne.ThatincludesafinalrefresheroftheColumbussystems,butalsosomeadditionaltraininginthereplacementofaWater-On-Off-Valve.There's10ofthemintheColumbusthermalcontrolsystemandonehasbeenactinguprecently,soit'squitelikelythatIwillbetaskedtoreplaceit-aspareisonorbitalready.

I've also had quite a bit of training on experiments, like the EML (=Electro-Magnetic Levitator. Cool name, ah?). It arrived to ISS lastsummeronATV5andAlex,who'supthererightnow,hasalreadystartedto install it,but it looks likehewon'thaveenough time to finish the jobandI'lltakeover.Here'ssomemoreinfoabouttheEML.

AndofcourseEACisalsowherewedoBaselineDataCollection(BDC)for a number of human physiology experiments for ESA and ASI (theItalianSpaceAgency).So forexample thisweek Ihad tosleep for twonightswearingaspecialshirtwithintegratedsensorsfortheexperimentWearableMonitoring.Italkedabouthere.

An ultrasound of the heart was also part of this BDC, but will not beperformedonorbit.Forsomeotherexperiments,however,wehavetodoan ultrasound in space as well. For this purpose, we always have anexperiencedultrasoundoperator,whoprovidesremoteguidancefromtheground, and in training we practice together to make sure that wecommunicateefficiently.Anexampleofaprotocolrequiringanultrasoundonorbit is theASIexperimentDrainBrain. Inthepictureyoucanseeatraining session at EAC last August -Manuela is the instructor for thisexperiment,theremoveguiderisactuallyinanotherroom.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-43:Farsiun’ecografia…conunbelpo’diaiuto!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-42

SamanthaCristoforetti in a session in empty room inEMUsuit.Credit:NASA

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.10.12—I certainly couldn't misstoday'slogbook…todayisL-42forExpedition42!

As Iamstarting towrite this, it's6pm inBaikonur,Kazakhstan,whereourvoyagetospacewillstartinsixweeks.Atexactlythistime,6pm,onNov23rd,wewillwakeupafteranafternoonnapof5hourstostartourpreparationsforlaunch.Ninefinalhoursontheplanet,beforetheSoyuzengines will light up the night at exactly at 02:59:06 local time (that's20:59:06GMT).

Buttoday,let'sgobackintimeafewweekstomyvacuumchamberruninHouston, finalevent required forspacewalkcertification in theNASAEMUsuit.Lifehasbeensobusy recently, Ihaven'thad timeyet to tellyouaboutit.

Asyoumightremember,backinJulyIdidthedry-run,goingthroughallthe operations but without actually going to vacuum. I talked about it

here.

Thenextdayatechnicalissuecausedustoabortthealtituderun,whichwas postponed to September andmoved to a different chamber. ThistimeIwasfinallyabletogotovacuumintheEMU!

That is… at around 2pm, although the day did start at 7:30. As youprobablyknowbynow,youcan'tgotovacuumjustlikethat:thesuitwillkeep you at 4,3PSI and at that low pressure decompression sicknesscouldbean issue.Therefore,weneed toperforma carefully designedpre-breathprotocoltogetridofnitrogenwhichisinsolutioninourblood.

Thewaytodothatistobreathpureoxygenforawhile,whichmeansthatweneedtoreplacealltheairinsidethesuitwithoxygen.Wedothatbyopeningapurgevalve, basically ahole in the suit: the regulator keepssupplyingoxygenfromthetanksintothesuittokeeptheoverpressureupand, after about 12min,we consider that all air has been replaced byoxygen.Then,wewait…andbreath.

In space we actually tend to use the faster In-Suit-Light-Exerciseprotocol,whichwepracticeinPrep&Postclasses,asIhavedescribedhere.

Inthechamberwejustbreathpureoxygenforfourhours,instead.Wedohavethechancetowatchamoviewhilewewait-IchosePrincessBride,whichwasa lotof fun!Andafter the fourhours, thechamberpressurewasloweredtoaverylowvalue-forpracticalpurposes,vacuum.

Comparedto theexperience in theOrlanvacuumchamber(seehere) Igottheadditionaltreatofwatchingafunvacuumeffect:apotwithsomewaterwas lefton the floorwhere Icouldobserve itand,sureenough, Icouldwatchthewaterboilaway!

Whatwedidn'tdo,which isusuallydone in thenominalchamber, is todrop twoverydifferentobjectsandobserve them reach the floorat thesame time…well, I guess thiswill be something to look forward to fornexttime!

Youcanfindmorepicturesofthechamberrunhere.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-42:Nellacameraavuoto,dovel’acqua bolle a temperatura ambiente!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-40

SamanthaCristoforettiandAntonShkaplerovbeforeaSoyuzsimulation.Credit:GCTC

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.10.14—TodayAntonandIspentthemorning in theSoyuzsim forasimulationofundockingand reentry.Ofcourse,asusualinthesims,nothingwasworkingproperly.

Infact,notonlywehadtofaceafire,butforgoodmeasureourinstructorDima threw at us a leak in the nitrogen tanks, which contain highpressure gas that pressurizes our propellant lines. Simply put - nopressureinthenitrogentanks,noengineburns!

I've talked several times about dealing with a fire in the Sokol, forexamplehere.

Today Iwould like to talk toyouabout "separation".Asyoumightnow,the Soyuz capsule is made of three components: the orbital module,which is the roughlysphericalelementononeend, theservicemodulewith(mostof)theenginesontheotherendandthebell-shapeddescentmoduleinthemiddle.Onlythedescentmodule,asthenamesuggests,is

meant to return to Earth: it has the proper shape and a heat shield tosurviveatmosphericreentry.Therefore,after theengineburnthatslowsusdownandcommitsustogetbackintoEarthatmosphere,weneedtoseparate: aswe're safely strapped in our seats in thedescentmodule,the hatch to the orbitalmodule closed, pyrotechnical charges blow thethree elements apart. One of those unforgettable moments during therollercoasterridethatisadescentintheSoyuz,orsoIamtold.YoucanlearnmoreaboutthatrideinthisgreatvideobyEuropeanSpaceAgency,ESA

Video:Soyuzundocking,reentryandlandingexplained(20:44)

Buthowisseparationinitiated?

Nominally,by thecomputer,according toanautomaticsequence.Afterengine cut-off, the relief valve in the orbital module is opened and itsatmosphere is vented to space. Also, a pitch maneuver is initiated toassumea safeattitude for separation: that's tomake sure thatweandthe"discarded"modulesgoourseparatewaysanddon'tmeetagainanytimesoon.Asunkindas itsounds, they'rebound forburn-upandwe'reboundforhome!Finally,atthepredeterminedtime,thecommandtofirethepyrochargesissent.

If the main computer fails, we can manually assume the properorientationandgiveaseriesof commands toseparatemanuallyat thepropertime.

Whathappens,though,ifourmainenginefailsandwehavetocompletetheburnonbackupthrusters?Well,thatburntakeslonger,becausetheavailablethrustinthatcaseisalotsmaller.Ifthemainenginefailedearlyon,we'll probablyNOTbedonewith theburnwhen thepredeterminedseparation time comes. In that case, separation is tied to heating ofthermalsensorslocatedontheservicemodule.Assomepoint,aswegetinto thickerand thickeratmosphere (butwe'restillabove100km!) theywill reach a certain temperature threshold and that is what will triggerseparation.

Afterthat,inmostcases,thereentrywillbeballistic.Justtoprovidesomestabilization,duringtheridethedescentmodulewillspinarounditsaxisas 13 degrees per second. Other than that, no active control of thetrajectory:inaway,wefalllikearock.Mightnotsoundgood,butballisticreentries have occurred multiple times and the crews were safe andsoundatarrival!

In the picture you can seeAnton andme before the sim thismorning:Terrywilljoinusnextweek!(Credit:GCTC)

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-40: Abbiamo carichepirotecniche sulla Sojuz… sì le abbiamo!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-36

SamanthaCristoforettiandAntonShkaplerovbeforethemanualdockingexamfortheSoyuzTMA-15M.ESA/S.Corvaja

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.10.18—Firstexampassed!

YesterdayAntonandIbothhadaperfectscoreonourmanualdockingexam,whichwasthefirstofaseriesof6examswe'llhavetopasstobequalified for our flight to space on Nov 23rd. The remaining ones aremanual descent, manual rendezvous, knowledge of the flight program,Russian segment operations and, finally, the full day complex Soyuzsimulation,whichwillcompletetheseriesonOctober31standbringtoacloseoverthreeyearsoftraining.

Asyouknow,it'sthesecondtimeTerry,AntonandIgothroughthefinalexams:thefirsttimewasbackinMay,whenweservedasbackupcrewfor Reid, Alex and Max, who are now in space. I told you everythingaboutthemanualdockingexambackthen:youcanfindthatstoryhere!

It's certainly nice to have the first exam behindme, but there's also atouchofsadness.ChancesofactuallyflyingtheSoyuzmanuallyinspace

areveryslim:asyouknow,theCommandersitsinthecenterseatandisprimeformanualflying;andmanualdockingisanywayonlynecessaryincaseofafailureofthecomputerortheautomaticdockingsystem.Thatmeansthatyesterdaymighthavebeenmy last timemanually flying theSoyuz,albeitinthesim,foralongtime,ormaybeforever…

Anyway, I have a lot to look forward to… certainly not the time to getmelancholic!I'mflyingtospacein36days!

Pic:acheerfulstartoftheexamwithAnton,wecrackedsomejokeswiththe commission as we picked our envelopes with the exam scenarios(Credit:ESA/S.Corvaja).

Morepictureshere.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-36: Passato il primo esame!Felice, ma con un velo di tristezza , by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-34

SamanthaCristoforetti andAntonShkaplerovwear theSokol suit for asimulation.Credit:GCTC

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.10.20—Theground isalreadywhitehereinStarCityandpreparationfortheremainingexamscontinues:thisweek Anton and I will have exams in manual reentry and manualrendezvous.

But today I thought I would write a few words about the Sokol, thepressuresuitthatwewearintheSoyuz.Asyoumightknow,theSokoliscustom made for each crewmember: my suit, for example, is number422.(Yes,there's42inthere!).

With theexceptionof thegloves, theSokol isonepieceand theentirefront part (chest and abdomen) can be zipped open: that's in fact howyoucanputiton.Donningcanbetrickywhenthesuit,asitshouldbe,isa tight fit in termsofcrouch-to-shoulder length. In thisprevious logbookyoucanfindapictorialdescriptionofthedonningsequence.

And yes, as you might have noticed watching astronauts walk in the

Sokol, it's not reallymeant for you to standupright, so it forces you tobendyourbackforward:that'sbecauseit'ssupposedtofeelcomfortablewhenyou'relayinginyourSoyuzseat,withyourkneesbenttowardsyourchest.

On launch day we don the suit about three hours before launch (yes,after putting on a diaper) in one of the Energia facilities at thecosmodrome.Beforeleavingthebuildingforthelaunchpad,wedoafirstleak check: that's the scene youmight have seen on video or photos,whencrewmemberstaketurnslyinginalonelySoyuzseatinthemiddleofaroom,whiletypicallyfamilymembers,managementandsomemediacan observe frombehind a glass. Kind of awkward, actually, but that'sthewayit'sdone.

A second leak check is performed in the Soyuz during pre-launchoperations,rightafterclosingthehatchandturningonthecomsystem,so we can talk to the control bunker. I've talked in this older logbookabouttheleakchecksandtheinterfacesofthesuittotheSoyuz.

Oncewe put on the gloves for the leak check, we don't remove themanymore until we're on orbit. That's because improper donning of theglovescanintroducealeak,sowedon'tmesswiththeglovesanymoreafter the leak check.We do open the helmet, though, andwe close itagainabout5minutesbeforelaunch.

Once in orbit,we start leak checking theSoyuz, tomake sure thatwehavegoodsealsandwe'renotloosingatmosphereintospace.Afterthefirst 15minof the leakcheck, if thepressuredrop iswithinacceptablelimits,we'reallowedtoremovethegloves:andbelieveme,itmakesitaloteasiertoflipthepagesasyouworktoprocedures!

Withthenewquickflightprofilethatbringsustodockinginsixhours,theflighttoISSisverybusyandthereisnotimetogetoutoftheSokol.It'sonlyafterdockingthatwecanchangeintothemorecomfortableoveralls,thatyou'reprobablyseeastronautswearwhenathatchopening,whentheyfinallyenteredtheSpaceStation.

As for theSokol suits: theywill stay in theorbitalmoduleof theSoyuz

until it's time to wear them again for landing. But before stowing themaway, thereareconnected to theventilationsystem fora fewhourssotheycandry!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-34:EccoavoilatutaSojuzcheindossiamo per andare nello spazio!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-32

Samantha Cristoforetti in the centrifuge for a Soyuz manual descentexam.Credit:GCTC

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.10.22—Twomoreexamspassed!

Yesterday Anton and I both passed our manual descent exam in thecentrifugewithaperfectscore.Ifyoumissedit,youcanreadabouthowthatallworks in this logbook fromourbackupexamperiod,except thatthisexamtookplaceinthesmallercentrifuge,sincethebig18-armoneisinmaintenance.

The"little"centrifugedidprovideforsomeexcitement:duringmysecondrun, it came unexpectedly to a stop after a loud bang. Turns out thatsomeworkersinanearbyareaofthebuildingaccidentallypulledacablewhich caused the centrifuge safety response to kick in and initiate anemergency stop. So it wasn't a big deal: I was taken out for someverificationandatestrunandthenwecouldresumetheexam.

Inthemanualdescentexamwepickonlyoneenvelopethatcontainsall10profiles: 5 for theCommanderand5 for theFlightEngineer. Imust

saythatAntonpickedareallygoodenvelopeforme:allmydynamicruns(with the spinning centrifuge) were undershoots, meaning that wesimulatedenteringtheatmospheretooearly.Inundershoots,wetrytoflyamore shallow profile, leading to lower Gs: I never went past 3,6 Gsyesterday,whichmadeitforareallycomfortableride.Wellpicked,Anton!

Andtodaywepassedourrendezvousexam.That'swhenAntongetstodotheflyingandIgettoclimbintotheorbitalmoduletogetdistanceandvelocitymeasurementwithalaserrangefinder.Iwrotesomemoreaboutourrendezvoustraininghere.

Oh, yesterdaywealsowent toMissionControlMoscow for a seriesofpre-flightbriefsbytheflightcontrol teamaboutcurrentstateofsystemsandops.Incidentally,Ilearnedthatthemorerecentballisticcalculationshaveyieldedalaterlaunchtimeforus.Notabigchange,justacoupleofminutes.So,ournewlaunchtimeisonNov23rdat21:01:13GMT.

Italiantranslationofthis logbookentry:L-32:Passatialtri2esami,vadonellospazio2minutipiùtardi,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-28

Samantha Cristoforetti and Terry Virts in a mockup of the RussiansegmentoftheISS.Credit:GCTC

StarCity (Moscow,Russia), 2014.10.26—Thursday and Friday Terry,Antonand Ihadourvery last trainingsessions in theRussiansegmentmockupsandintheSoyuzsimulator,respectively.We'llonlygobackinthere once more next week for the final exams. Believe it or not,tomorrowwe'llstartourlastweekoftraining.

TheRussiansegmentexamwillbefirst,onThursday.I'vetalkedaboutithere,whenwetookthisexamasbackupcrewinMay.

What has changed since then is that Terry and I will report to thecommission in the morning, pick the envelope with the scenarios andthen…takeabreak.That'sright,we'llonlyjoinAntonintheafternoonfor4hours,insteadofparticipatingforthefull8hours.That'sinrecognitionof the fact that, on Station, it's really the cosmonauts whowork in theRussiansegmentsandnon-Russiansonlyperformverybasicoperations.Or,ofcourse,emergencyresponses.

Basicoperations include,forexampleusingthecomsystem,whichisabit more complicated in the Russian segment, because there's morecommunication options and the crew actually does most of thereconfigurations.When the ISS passes over theRussian ground sites,we need to use the Russian segment VHF transmitters and receivers.Otherwise,weconnecttheRussiansegmentaudiosystemtotheUSOSsegment and use its Ku-Band or S-Band channels: voice is thentransmitted to Mission Control Moscow via Houston (and viceversa).SinceRussianVHFpassesarefewandnotverylong,wetypicallyhaveone Space-To-Ground channel on S-Band dedicated to Russiancommunication. There's three more channels that can be used forcommunication with Houston, Munich, Tsukuba and Huntsville.Sometimesoneofthosechannelswillbe"privatized",forexampleforourweekly medical conferences with our flight surgeon or for our weeklyconferences with our family. "Privatized" really relates to the ground:anybody could potentially listen in on Station from another module.Exceptthatthiswouldbeextremelybadspaceetiquette!

OtherbasicopsweneedtobeabletoperformontheRussiansegmentarerelatedtosimplybeingahuman:usingthetoilet,getwater,preparefood. Most of the Russian rations are in cans, which only need to beheated.Juices,teaandcoffee,aswellassoups,aredehydratedinstead,soweneedtoaddwater.What I'mholding inmyhand in thepicture isbread:itcomesinlittlecubesthatyoucanputinyourmouthwhole,sonocrumbles!Andtherearelittleslotsintheheaterdedicatedtothosebreadpackages,sothatyoucanheatthemalongwithyourfoodcans:certainlynot your freshly bakedbread from thebakery, but not bad for a spacegalley!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L-28:EssereumaninelsegmentorussodellaISS,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-25

LagroundtrackdellaISS.Credito:ISSTracker

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.10.29—Halfway through our examweek! Today is all dedicated to preparing our upcoming final sims:Russian segment tomorrow andSoyuz on Friday. Can't believe that inlittlemorethantwodayswe'llbecompletelydone!

Inthemeantime,onMondayTerry,AntonandIpassedourSoyuzflightprogramexam.AspecialistcamefromMissionControlMoscowtogrindusaboutourknowledgeoftheprocedures:whathappenswhen,whatdowedoifthisorthatgoeswrongandwecannotproceedwiththenominalplan…stufflikethat.

Forexample,anominalundockingisalwaysplannedonorbit15tolandinKazakhstanonorbit1ofthenextday.Butifweendupbeinglateforwhateverreason,wecanstilllandinKazakhstanonthetwosubsequentorbits,number2andnumber3.

OK,OK…whatdoesthatmean?Well,theISScompletesoneorbitevery93minutes (roughly),whichmeans that thereareabout15.5orbitsper

day.Wehaveaconventionalnumberingof thoseorbits, fromorbit1 toorbit 15 (mostly) or 16 (once in a while, to catch up). Since the EarthrotatesEastward beneath the ISS, the ground track of the orbitmovestowardstheWest.So,let'ssayyoupassedoveryourtownat7am;afteroneorbit,at8:33,youwon'tpassoveryourtownanymore,becauseyourtownhasmoved to theEast in themeantime!Howmuch?Roughly23degreesof longitude.You canget an idea from thepicture, that I tookfromISS-Tracker(www.isstracker.com)

Allthistosaythat,ifyouwanttolandinKazakhstan,youhavetoplantodescentonorbit1,2or3:onorbit4Kazakhstanwillbealreadytoo farEastand,youguessedit,youwouldhavetowaituntilorbit1,2or3ofthe next day. Btw, hitting Kazakhstan does not qualify for a preciselanding:thecountryisaboutasbigasEurope!Tomakesurethattherewill bea rescue teamwaiting for usat the landing site,wehave todoquite a bit better. There is a lot that plays into it, starting with a veryprecisetimingofthedeorbitburn.

The fine tuning is done after atmospheric reentry: the computer flies atrajectorytobringustothenominalparachuteopeningpoint.Tobeabletocalculatethecorrectcontrol inputs, ithastoknowthecenterofmassof the vehicle: that's why loading of return cargo is so important. SoimportantthatwehadadedicatedlessonaboutitonMonday.

So, fast forward tonextspring:about twoweeksbefore landingwewillgetaverylongradiogram(thosearetheRussianinstructions)withallthedetails about stowing return cargo, so that the center of mass of thevehiclewillbewellknown!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-25: Fare bene i bagagli, eperché le orbite non sono tutte uguali, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-21

The crew of Soyuz TMA-15 with Samantha Cristoforetti signs the finalexamenvelopeinStarCity.Credit:NASA/StephanieStoll

StarCity(Moscow,Russia),2014.11.02—Examsfinished!Anton,Terryand I completed our very last examonFriday and thenAnton dutifullypresidedoverRussian-stylecelebrationsthatstartedwithaformalseriesoftoastsandthenmigratedtoadifferentlocationformorepartyinguntillate at night. It also happened to be Halloween night and Sasha, ourmanual docking instructor, even carved a "42" pumpkin for us as apresent!

Soweare ready tomeetourspaceship inBaikonuronNov12th,aftersome rest time here in Star City and the traditional visit to Gagarin'sgraveontheRedSquarenextweek.

Everything is going according to schedule. Because many have beenasking:ourdepartureforISSisinnowayaffectedbytheAntaresmishapearlierthisweek,thatledtothelossoftheCygnusresupplyvehicle.It'sbeen of course very unfortunate and a reminder that spaceflight is adifficult and risky business, but no life was lost and the cargo can be

replaced,thankstotherobustandhighlyredundantlogisticschainofthetheSpaceStation.So,asweliketosayonExpedition42,Don'tPanic!

Bytheway,themishapalsowasanopportunityformetobereminded,once again, of the incredible dedication and professionalism of thehumanspaceflightteamsaroundtheworld:whenIwokeuptothenewsinStarCity, I immediatelywonderedwhat the impactswould be. But Ionlyhadtolookinmyinbox:manyemailshadalreadyarrivedandmanymorewould come in throughout thedaydetailing for uswhatwas lost,what the consequences might be and in many cases even what therecoveryplancouldlooklike.It'sjustbeenamazingtoseealltheteamsreacting so fast and making sure that they kept us informed andreassured.

OneofthepeoplewhoimmediatelygotincontactwithmewasmyESAMissionDirector,AlexNitsch,whoisthepersonultimatelyresponsiblefortheESAmissionobjectives,inparticularscienceoperationsinColumbus.InthisguestpostontheBlueDotblogyoucanseehistakeon"thedayafter".

Thismightnotbeobviousbut,asyoucanseefromAlex'words,oneofthemostimmediateconcernsistoredefineprioritiesand,accordingly,torebuild the crew schedule. The crew got a normal weekend off-duty,insteadof capturingandberthingCygnusand,when theworkingweekstarts tomorrow, they will be on a new activity timeline. Last-minutereschedulingisnotaneasytaskandI'msurealotofpeoplehavebeenworkingeveningandnights: there isalwaysa lot todoonboard,so it'scertainlynotamatterof finding things todo,butall theconstraintsandinterdependencieshavetobeconsidered!

Also, make sure to read Alex' words on "trash and stowagechoreography":notthefirstthingyouwouldhavethoughtof,ah?

Asfor"my"luggage,therewasnothingtoopersonalonCygnus.ThelittleboxIcouldfillwithpersonal things, likeextrasocksandsomeoutreachitems, is already on ISS: my fellow ESA astronaut Alex even sent apictureofitfromorbittoreassureme!Andthemementosthathavebeenentrustedtomebyfriendsandfamilywill flywithmeonSoyuz.Cygnus

didcarryclothingforusforthelaterpartofthemission,butthereistimetoresupplythat(andweevenhavespareclothingonorbitjustincase).Allmy bonus food containers (9 boxes) are also already on orbit and,regarding regular ISS food, there is many months worth of it alreadystowedonStation!

Picture: signing theenvelopewith the failures list for our exam (Credit:NASA/StephanieStoll).MorepicturesonFlickr.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-21:Esamipassati,e lanciamoancorail23novembre!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-18

ThecrewoftheSoyuzTMA-15MwithSamanthaCristoforettichoosesanexamscenario.Credit:GCTC

Star City (Moscow, Russia), 2014.11.05—As you know, last weekTerry,AntonandIpassedourfinalexams.Thereallybigone,ofcourse,isthefulldaySoyuzexam,wherewesimulateeverythingfromlaunchtoreentry. I've talked about how it all works when we took the exam asbackupcrew.

Back then,when itwas time topickoneof the fiveenvelopeswith theexamscenarios,wehappened to pick themost difficult (andphysicallyuncomfortable)scenario,theonewiththefire.Sincewepickedthatone,itwasnotavailablefortheprimecrewtopickonthenextday.

This time,ourbackupcrewdidus thesamefavor: theyhadto facethefire scenario in their exam on Thursday, so when we showed up onFriday to pick from the four remaining envelopes, at least we knew itwouldn'tbefireforusagain!

Ourfirstfailurewasafterinsertion:athermalcontrolsystemvalvefailed,

so for the rest of the sim we had to control temperature manually byturningonandoffthepumpthatcirculateswatertotheradiators.

OurCO2scrubbingsystemintheorbitalmodulealsohadaminorfailure:theprimaryfanenginefailedandtheautomaticswitchovertothebackupenginedidn'thappen,sowehadtotakecareofthatmanuallyaswell.

Thenwehadacomputerfailurebeforedocking,atacoupleofkmfromStation,andAntonhadtofly theapproachmanually fromthere.Asyoumightremember,wepracticethatquiteabitandthere'sevenaseparateexamforthat.

Afterthelunchbreakitwastimetosimulateundockinganddescent.Wecouldassumethat themaincomputerwasbackonlineat thispointanddidanominalundocking,afterwhichwerealizedthatoneoftheoxygentanks, theone located in thedescentmodule,was leakingoxygen intothe cabin. That's a dangerous situation, because we don't want theoxygenpercentage togoover40%,which is considereda flammabilityhazard.Sowe closed a valve to isolate that tank.Until separation,weanyway have four more oxygen tanks in the service module and afterseparation,wehadenoughoxygeninthecabintobreathuntillanding,sononeedtoopenthevalve.(Ifyoudon't rememberwhatseparation is, Iexplainedithere(Italiantranslation).

Butwedidhavetoreopenthevalveafter thethermalshieldwasblownaway:thathappensatabout5kmaltitude,wellafterparachuteopening.Once the thermal shield is gone, a command is sent to open tworedundant valves (over which we have no manual control) that allowremainingoxygen in thedescentmodule tank tobevented. Itwouldbequitedangeroustohavethetankfullofoxygenatlanding,sowehadtoremember to open the manual valve as well, to allow the venting tooccur.

In betweenwe had a couplemore failure, of course. Themain enginefailedonushalfway through thedeorbit burnanda signal converter inthereentrycontrolsystemdidn'twork,leavinguswithoutgyroscopeandratesensor:onlysolution,switchtoballisticreentry.Noteventhe"prime"ballistic reentrysystem,butabackupone, thatmakesuseofa itsown

backupratesensor.

TheSoyuzdoeshavealotofoptionstodown-modereentryfollowingallkindsoffailures:onewayoranother,itbringsyouhome!

Photocredit:GCTC

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-18: Ripensando agli esamiSojuzdellasettimanascorsa,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-1

An Orthodox priest blesses the Soyuz TMA-15M rocket in Baikonur.Credit:GCTC

Baikonur (Kazakistan), 2014.11.22—Well, this is likely my lastcountdown logbook (ormaybe the second last).Over twoweeks ago Itold you about our final exams in Star City. In the meantime, thecountdown is almost down to zero and it will be soon time to startcountingup…fromorbit!

Just to give you a few (mainly visual) impressions from the past fewweeks:

…backinMoscowweparticipatedinthetraditionalvisittotheGagarin'stomb on the Red Square, after a press conference and a visit to YuriGagarin'sofficeinStarCity,wherewesigned"the"book

OntheRedSquarealaysflowersonthetombofGagarin.Credit:GCTC

…Tuesday last week, after a traditional "breakfast" where everybodygathersaroundatablefulloffood,butnobodyeats,weboardedaplanetoBaikonurtostartourquarantine

DepartingforBaikonur.Credit:GCTC

…onthefollowingday,wewereupearlytodrivetotheCosmodrometomeetourspaceship:wewere in thedescentmoduleboth in flightsuitsandintheSokol,practicingdescendingdownfromtheorbitalmodule;wedid com checks;we reviewedwhere the survival equipment is stowed;wefamiliarizeourselveswithourspacevehicle

IntheSoyuzTMA-15MduringatestinBaikonur.Credit:GCTC

…weplantedtrees(TerryandInowhaveourowntreeonthecosmonautalley)

ThenewtreeintheavenueofthecosmonautsinBaikonur.Credit:NASA

…wetrainedourbodyandourvestibularsystemonthetilttableandtherotatingchair

Rotatingchairandtilttableduringquarantine.Tryingtogetthebodyusedtoweightlessness!#Futura42pic.twitter.com/YDxpk08YRN

—SamCristoforetti(@AstroSamantha)November22,2014

…wesignedthousandsofphotographs

Andsigningallkindsof things ispartof thepre-launchpreparationtooδ#Futura42pic.twitter.com/6c13YiLGty

—SamCristoforetti(@AstroSamantha)November22,2014

…wewenttomeetourspaceshiponemoretime;thistimeitwasalreadyin itsshroudandafterweleft, itwastransferredtotherocketassemblybuildingtobematedtotherocket

TheSoyuzTMA-15Mintheprotectiveshield.Credit:Energy

…wevisitedthecosmodromemuseumandeventheoriginallittleroomsofGagarinandKorolyov

Crew selfie in Yuri Gagarin's little bedroom at the #Baikonurcosmodrome yesterday with @AstroTerry & @AntonAstrey.pic.twitter.com/7rDaQAkRmr

—SamCristoforetti(@AstroSamantha)November20,2014

…ourrocketwasrolledouttothepad

TherocketwiththeSoyuzTMA-15MistransportedtothelaunchpadinBaikonur.Credit:GCTC

…we had a meeting with representatives of the search and rescueteams, hundreds of people and dozens of assets deployed along thegroundtrackofourascentallthewaytothePacifictorescueusincaseofneed;andalsoreadytorescueusbackinKazakhstanshouldweneedtodoanemergencylandinginthefollowingfeworbits.

…we had a meeting with the ballistic group, giving us the latestinformationfromtheirside.

To spend a few more words on that: if you're counting down to thesecond, you might want to know that start has been moved by onesecond to 00:01:14 Moscow time (that's 21:01:14 GMT, but we useMoscow local timeon theSoyuz),withamaximumacceptabledelayof10seconds.Therocketwillburnfor528seconds,thusinsertingusintoaslightlyellipticalorbitwithanaveragealtitudeof220km.Thephaseanglewill beabout 25°,whichmeans thatwewill be25° behind theStation.Sincewe'llbealsoabout200kmlower,wewillbefasterandcatchingup(that'sorbitalmechanics foryou).25° isabit less than the idealphaseangleof30°,sowewillhavetoraiseourorbitquiteabit:wedon'twanttocatchupwithStationtoofast!

About45minafterlaunchandthenagainabout45minlaterwewillgive

engineburnsofover30m/seach thatwill raiseourorbitand, that's themagicoforbitalmechanics,alsoslowusdownclosertothespeedofISS.

Later we'll have twomore small correction burns to completely fix ourorbit and then, about 3 hours and 45 min from launch we'll start therendezvoussequencewith theStation,progressivelyraisingourorbit toStationaltitudeanddiminishingour relativespeed(atdocking, itwillbeonlyabout8cm/sec!).AtaboutthesametimetheStationwillmaneuvertoturnaround180°andputtheRussiansegmentinthedirectioninflight:in the very last portion of rendezvous,wewill actually fly ahead of theStation,sointhefinalapproachwe'llbeflyinginfrontofit.

Docking is planned for 5:53 Moscow time (02:53 GMT) when we'll beabout tocrosstheequatoroff theWesterncoastofSouthAmerica.Butprobablywe'lldockabitearly:oncewe'realignedandstationkeepingat150mfromourdockingport,mostlikelyMissionControlMoscowwillgiveuspermissiontogivethefinalapproachcommandabitearlier.

Buttheway,duetomaintenanceworkattheusualPad1,wewilllaunchfromPad31.Sincewecannotgototherolloutasprimecrew,I'llseeitforthefirsttimeonlaunchnight…ehm,tomorrow!

Here'sapictureofthetraditionalblessingoftherocketthismorning.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L-1:Ancoraunanotteesaremonellospazio!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L-0:LaunchdayLogbook

TheSoyuzTMA-15Mrocketonthe31/6rampofBaikonur.Credit:OlegKononenko

Baikonur(Kazakistan),2014.11.23—Well,Itoldyouthatitmightnotbemy last pre-launch logbook yesterday. I woke up a bit earlier from theplanned5-hournapandthere'snopointintryingtogobacktosleep,sohereIam,sharingafewdepartingthought.Thedoctorswillshowupinabout 40 min to start a series of hygiene operations: before going tospace I'll be as clean as I'll ever be, outside and inside (if you get themessage,I'mnotgoingintoanydetailshere).

I'vepickedupmycomputerandcomebacktobed.Mylasttimeinabedformanymonths.Whoknowsifmybodywillmissitorwilllikesleepinginweightlessness.Thenaphasbeenweird:partofmybrainwasdreaming,partofitwasawakewatchingmyselfdream.Butthat'showthepastfewdayshavebeen:partofmewaslivingalltheevents,meetings,traditionsofthepastdays,andpartofmewasalmostwatchingamovieunfolding.

Nowalmosteverything isdone.Mybagsareneatlypackedandwillbetakentotheirfinaldestinationbymyfamily,thebackupcrewandtheever

helpfulESAsupportpersonnel.Hopefully,it'sallproperlyorganized:partoftheluggagewillgointomylandingbags,oneforthenominallandingsiteandonefortheballisticsite.PartwillgohometoCologne,partwilleventuallyfinditswaytoHoustonformyreturn.

Emailissetupwithout-ouf-officereplies:kindofcooltobeabletowrite"Sorry,I'mofftheplanetforawhile".

Many friends have made it all the way to Baikonur (you guys rock!):we'vehadachancetospendsometimetogether,albeitinthesomewhatawkward condition of having to talk through a glasswall. I could havedirectcontactwithmycloserfamily,whohavebeenmedicallymonitored.Allwillbewavingusgoodbye ina fewhoursasweexit thebuilding toboardthebusestothecosmodrome.

Inadaylikethis(well,willthereeverbeanotherdaylikethis?)Ifeelthatthemostimportantthingistosaythankyou:I'vehadmanyoccasionstothankpubliclytheorganizationsthathavemadethisspaceflightpossibleforme.ButnowIwouldliketosayamorepersonalthankstomyfamily,my friends,my teachers,mycolleagues,all themanypeoplewhohavehelpedmearrivetothisday,bysupportingmeorbychallengingme,byteachingme something or simply by being there forme. I go to spacewithallofmyself,witheverythingthatIamandIhaveexperience,andIcertainlytakewithmeeverypersonIhavemet.

I'd like to share a picture that our backup, Oleg Kononenko, took onFridayasourrocketwasraisedonthe launchpad. Icanalmostseemyseatupthereatthetop!

Don'tforgettoplayour#LaunchPadPlaylistalongwithustonightaround30-40minbeforelaunch.

Allthebest,andtalktoyoufromspace!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L-0: Qualche pensiero eringraziamento prima della partenza!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+1

ThelaunchoftheSoyuzTMA-15MinBaikonur.Credit:NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay1(2014.11.24)—Wow,wow,wow! It’s22:00hereon the InternationalSpaceStation (we’reonGMTtime),I’mapproachingtheendofmyfirstdayinspaceandIcannotevenbegintodescribetheexperienceofthepast30hoursorso.Really,Idon’tknow.

Sayinggoodbyetomyfamily,suitingupforlaunch,gettingtothelaunchpad,ridinguptheelevator,strappingin…andthenthelaunch,thiswildride to orbit and then an abrupt engine cutoff and feeling my bodywanting to float off my seat. And the first glimpses of Earth: my firstsunrise, thestars.My first sightof the ISSasweapproached (more tothatlater)andthenfloatingthroughthehatchintothewarmembracesofSasha,ElenaandButch.

ThelaunchoftheSoyuzTMA-15MinBaikonur.Credit:NASA

Thefirstclumsyattemptsat“flying”,havingourfirstmeal,Butchgivingusthetoiletbrief,TerrycallingmetowatchasunrisefromtheCupola…andsomanymoreimpressions.ItwilltakemybraindaystoprocessitallandIpromiseIwillshareasmuchasIcan!

For now, I will tell you of one moment, which was so fortunate andunexpected.Youknow,whenyouflytotheSpaceStationintheSoyuz,unlessyouare theCommander sitting in thecenter seat, youcanonlyseeyourdestination from faraway in theblackandwhitecameraview(thesameimagethatistransmittedtoMissionControlandusuallyshownduring media coverage of docking). As a left-or right seater, you onlyhaveasideviewandthere’snowaytoseetheStationuntilyou’rereallycloseandpartsof it start coming in your fieldof you.Before the flight,previous Soyuz fliers had reminded me to start looking for the SpaceStation in thesidewindowin the lastpartof theapproachandsoIdid:butIwasn’tpreparedintheleastforwhatIsawwhenwewereatabout

30-40meters.

I had released my shoulder straps quite a bit at that point, so I wasfloatingovermyseat.As I turned to lookoutside,at first I lookedbackand saw one of our Soyuz solar panels, which I had seen before ofcourse.Thenmyeyescaughtsomethingintheperipheralview.AndasIslowly turned my gaze and when I realized what I was seeing, I wasovercomebypureamazementandjoy:theSpaceStationwasthere,butnot just any view. The huge solar panels were flooded in a blaze oforange light, vivid, warm almost alien. I couldn’t help exclaimingsomethingaloud,whichyoucanprobablyhear in the recordingsofourdocking,sinceatthatpointwewere“hotmic”withMissionControl.AntonremindedmeofthatandsoItriedtocontainmyamazementandreturnto thedockingmonitoring.When I peakedagain later, theorangeglowwasgone.

Video:Futuradockingreplay(8:37)

Butchtoldmelaterthathehadheardmyamazementoncomwhen"theStationhad turnedorange.” I didn’t know,butapparently there’sonlyafew seconds during day-night transition that the Station is lit by thatamazing orange glow. And it happened to be exactly when I peakedoutside!IfeelveryfortunatethatIhadsuchauniquefirstglimpseofourhumanoutpostinspace:suchagreatwelcome!

Which was only trumped, by the way, by the amazing welcome our

veterancrewmatesSasha,ElenaandButchpreparedforus!

Immediatelyafterourarrival they tookus to theServiceModule to sayhellotoourfriendsandrelativesinBaikonurandassoonaswehaveafewminutesbreakinthecmcoveragetheystartedto“setthetable”withallthefoodtheyhadalreadywarmedforus!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+1: Wow wow wow… Stoscrivendodallospazio!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+2

SamanthaCristoforettiintheISSDestinylaboratory.Credit:NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay2(2014.11.25)—HereIam,wrappingupmyfirst“regular”dayontheInternationalSpaceStation!Inaway, it feels likeIarrivedherea longtimeago:whenyoudiscovernew things every minute and your mind is absorbing so manyexperiences and information, it feels like time expands. It’ s hard tobelieve thatweonlyarrivedyesterdaymorning, launch feelsalreadysofaraway.

On the other hand, every time I bump into something because of mybeginner’s flying skills, or every time I need to ask Butch a question(whichiseveryfewminutes),IamremindedthatIhaveonlyjustarrivedandIhavesomuchtolearn!

Butch,ofcourse,isourveterancrewmemberonthenon-RussiansideoftheStation, he’s been up here sinceSeptember.And, thankfully, he istheparagonofpatience.Hemadeitclearfromthestartthatthenumber1ruleis:don’thesitatetoaskaquestion,evenifyouknowyou’reaskingitforthe15thtime!

I’mthankful that Ihavehadthe luxuryofarather lightschedule for thisfirstday.Mostly,Ihavedonepreparationworkforupcomingexperiments.Later this week Sasha, Elena and I will install the experiment PlasmaKristall4(PK4)inColumbus,andforthatIhadtodosomecleanupandstowage reconfiguration. In itself an easy task, but quite challengingwhenyou justgot tospaceandyou’renotyet inperfectcontrolofyourbody, let alone of five big bags you have to somehow manage whileaccessingaparticularlocker.Findingaparticulariteminabag,then,canalsobechallenging,ifthatbagisalsofullofothersmallitemsyou’renotinterestedin,butwhosimplyrefusetostayinside.

In addition to the PK4-related tasks, I was also scheduled to dopreparation work for the Italian Space Agency Experiment “ Blind &Imagined”: I gatheredall the necessary equipment and temp-stowed intheJapaneseLaboratoryJEM,wheretheexperimentwilltakeplace,andIroutedsomecables.

Ialsogot todosomeself-study (wecall it onboard training) tooperatethe3Dprinterdemonstratorthatisonboard;sincethisstudysessionwasonmyschedule,IexpectIwillgettoworkwiththe3Dprintersoon!

As for flying: it’s a lot of fun, but not so easy! Especially the US Lab(Destiny) is challenging, because the rack fronts are full of equipmentsthataclumsyflyerlikemecouldpotentiallydamage.

Buthey,thiseveningIalreadyfeltalotmoreconfidentthanthismorning,sohopefullysoonI’llbeaproficientflyer.Onethingit’ssure:it’sagreatfeeling!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+2: Volo per principianti, byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+3

Samantha Cristoforetti eats asparagus rehydrated in Node 1. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 3 (2014.11.26)—(WrittenNovember 27th)With some delay, a fewwords aboutmy dayyesterdayonhumanity’soutpostinspace!

Mostofmyday’sactivitieswerededicated to the ItalianSpaceAgencyexperiment“BlindandImagined”.

I’ll confess, not the easiest experimental setup, especially for the ISSvisitorwiththeleastspacetimeever(thatwouldbeme,atleastforafewmoredays–hey,youhavetofindyourrecordswhereyoucan!).

“Blindand Imagined” takesplace in the JapaneseLaboratory JEMandrequires setting up a set of four cameras called Elite, whichmonitor aspecificvolumeinthemodule.Insidethatvolume,thesubjectperformsaseries of movements and the motion in three dimensions is trackedprecisely by theElite cameras, thanks to a series of reflectivemarkersattached to thesubject’sbody: its’ basically little spheres, thesizeofa

marble,withspecialopticalproperties.Theycliponanadhesivestripandcanthereforebeappliedontheskin:Ihadtoputanumberonthemontherightsideofmybody,fromtheankletotheforehead,includingquiteafewonthehandfor thesecondpartof theprotocol, inwhichIhadtoimaginethrowingaball toa targetwithdifferent force levels. In thefirstone,instead,Ihadtoreachforatargetinfrontofme,bendingatthehipsandtheankles,sometimewithopeneyes,sometimeswithclosedeyes.

Theexperimentisaimedatstudyingsensory-motionadaptationinspace.How does your brain adapt its strategy of controlling movement andbalanceinthisveryalienconditionofweightlessness?

Anyunderstandingwegainintothefunctioningofthebraincouldhelpusintimeintreatingpeoplewithneurologicaldisordersorinjuries.

Well, the “Blind and Imagined” investigators will draw their rigorousconclusions from the data, but I certainly have fun just observing thetricks my brain plays on me. For example, when I find myself movingalong, say, the ceiling, my brain thinks that that’s the floor, so when IhavetoturnintoasidemoduleI’mconstantlytemptedtomakeawrongturn because my brain expects it to be on the opposite side. OrsometimesIhavetomakeaconsciouseffortforasecondortwotofigureout where I am: is it the floor, the ceiling, a wall? I’m sure it will allbecomequickerwithtime,oratleastButchsaysso.

Also, yesterday I had some great rehydrated asparagus, so far myfavoriterehydratedveggiefromSelf-ServiceRestaurantNode1!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+3:Gli scherzi che vi gioca ilcervelloazero-g,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+4

SamanthaCristoforettitrainswithAREDintheTranquilitymodule.Credit:NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 4 (2014.11.27)—YesterdayTerry,Butchand Ihadadayoff tocelebrate theUSholidayThanksgiving.Ilikethethoughtofhavingadayspecificallydedicatedtogratitude and the things we’re thankful for: from my side, I was reallyhappyaboutadayoff!

Ididhavetodosomework,mainlyinsupportofourRussiancolleaguesSasha and Elena working in Columbus on the assembly of theexperimentPlasmaKristall4,butmostof thedayIcouldusetogetmyspacelifeabitmoreorganizedandtogetstartedonusingtheexercisemachines.

Mybiggest achievement has beenorganizingmy little sleeping station:it’saboutthesizeofanoldtelephoneboothanditcontainsofcoursemysleepingbag,whichItypicallyrollupandstowoutofthewayduringtheday.

Mytwopersonallaptopcomputersalsoliveinmysleepingstationandafootrail is convenient located on the floor to provide anchoring whileworkingonthelaptops.OneiscalledSSCandIcanuseittolookattheschedule, to use my onboard email, to read procedures, to downloadpicturesandvideostotheground, tosearchthe inventorymanagementsystemandmuchmore–it’sconnectedtotheonboardnetwork,soIcanevenaccessitfrommyiPad(whichalsolivesinmysleepingstation).

The second computer is completely disconnected from the onboardnetworkandcanbeused to remotely login toan imageona server inHouston:it’sourwayofconnectingtotheinternet.

IalsokeepinmysleepingstationtheclothesIamcurrentlyusing,afewhygieneitemslikedeodorant,handcreamandchapstick,awaterbagwithstraw that I can refill at thewater dispenser in the nearbymodule,mycrewnotebook.

How do I secure all this? Well, like everywhere else on Station: withVelcro, bungees and clips (withVelcro on them). Luckily,many peoplehavelivedherebeforeme(thelastone,myfellowShenaniganAlex!),soallthatisneededfora5-starspaceaccommodationisalreadysetup.

Ah,mycamerawithflashisinheretoo.Forinternalphotos,wetrytouse“ourown”cameraasmuchaspossible:itmakesiteasiertotrackphotosand download them. It’s not only about taking pictures of our life andworkonboard:veryoften thegroundwillask thatwephoto-documentapieceofequipmentoranactivity.

As I said, I also had my first workout yesterday, first of CEVIS, ourergometer,andthenonARED,theAdvancedResistiveExerciseDevise,onwhichwecanperformanumberofexercises, fromsquats tobenchpresses.Butchgaveusagreatbriefingabout thepeculiaritiesof thesemachines,especiallyARED: ifwedon’t treat it right, itwillbreakonus,whichwe reallydon’twant.Weneedexercise topreserveourmusclesandbones!

ThepicturewastakenbyButchfromtheCupola.OneofthisdaysIwilltakeacameraandshowyoutheviewfromtheotherside.Certainlythe

bestviewfromanexercisemachine,onandofftheplanet!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+4: Dormire in una cabinatelefonica,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+5

The SpinSat satellite before release with the JEM robotic arm. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 5 (2014.11.28)—YesterdayTerryandIhadonemoreday(Iassumethelastone)withalighterworkschedulethatincludedtimefororientationandforhandoverwithButch.Still,Igottodoalotofdifferentactivitiesbothonthepayloadside (that’s a fancy name for science) and on the systems side (that’sanotherfancynameformaintenanceworkontheSpaceStationitself).

On the science side, I performed an ultrasound session for the ItalianSpace Agency experiment Drain Brain. The specific hardware of thisexperimentwaslostontheOrbitalmishap,butareplacementhardwarewillbeonitswaysoonontheSpX-5cargomission.Inthemeantime,wecouldgetthesciencestartedwiththestandardultrasoundequipmentoftheSpaceStation.

Ofcourse, I’mnotable todoanultrasoundonmyown:aprivateaudiochannel was set up with the Principal Investigator on the ground, whoprovided remote guidancebasedon real-timedata from the ultrasound

machine.Hecouldalsoseea livevideodownlinkofmeperforming theoperations.Thingswentprettysmoothly,especiallythankstothefactthatinthemorningIhadassistedButchinperforminghisultrasound(amorecomplexone,requiringtwopeople)fortheexperimentCardio-Ox.Butchhadintroducedmetoagreattrickofspaceultrasound:noneedtouseamessygelontheultrasoundprobe,youcanjustusewater!

YesterdayIalsogottodomyfirstsystemsmaintenance,replacingoneofthe many components of our Water Recovery System: that’s theequipmentthatproducesourpotablewaterfrom(alreadypre-processed)urineand from thecondensate (thewater recovered from thecabinair,forexamplefromoursweatorfromourbreath).I’malsohappytoreportthat I had a chance towork in ourEuropean cargo vehicle, theATV5.Nothingverycomplex,intruth:IgottointroducesomegasfromtheATVtanksintotheStationatmosphere,increasingouronboardpressureby7mmofmercury.

I was also scheduled to do a visual inspection of our T2 treadmill, inparticularoftheelementsthatmakeupitsvibrationisolationsystem.Asyoucanimagine,wedon’twanttoimpartbigloadsonthestructureoftheStationwhenwerun:ontheonehand,topreservethelifetimeoftheISS;on theotherhand, itwouldbehard tomakemicrogravityscience if theStation was shaking while we are running! Good news, our vibrationisolationsystemisingreatshape!Still,someactivitiesrequirethattherebeno runningonT2.Justyesterday,wehadquitea fewhourson “NoT2” on the crew constraints band of our electronic schedule. That’sbecauseJAXAwasmovingtheJapaneseroboticarmforthedeploymentoftheSpinsatsatellite,whichhappenedsuccessfully.

In thepicture, youcanseepartof theSpinSatwhen itwasstill on theslide table of the Japanese airlock (looks like ametal sphere). At thattime,theJapaneseroboticarmwasabouttomoveintograbthesatellitewithitsdeployerandwetookapeakfromtheJEMwindows.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+5: I trucchi dell’ecografiaspaziale,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+6,L+7

Samantha Cristoforetti vacuumed in her apartment in Node 2. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—Missiondays6and7(2014.11.29-30)—Firstweekend in space is over, time to get ready for our first fullweekofworkontheSpaceStation.Buthowhasitbeenuphereintheselasttwodays?

Well,foronething,moreprivate,sincetheonboardcamerasarenotsettodownload livevideoon theweekend.Also,veryquiet, to thepointoffeelingstrange:callsfromthegroundareveryrareandtypicallycontainonly brief communications, for example notifying a crewmember that aSpace-To-Groundchannelhasbeenprivatized foraprivateconferencewith the flight surgeon orwith the family. I had both thisweekend, butonly because I have recently arrived on Station and facetime with theflightsurgeonisscheduledmoreoften.

In the future,except incaseofmedical issues,wewillonly talkonceaweekonaworkday.Theprivatefamilyconference,ontheotherhand,isaweeklyevent that is typicallyon theweekend.With thewebcam,you

canshowyourfamilytheSpaceStationorevenaviewfromtheCupola!

Saturdayisalsocleaningday.OurISSCommander,Butch,assignedustothedifferentnon-Russianmodules:hetookcareofNode3andPMM.TerrycleanedNode1,AirlockandLabandIdevotedmylabortoNode2,ColumbusandJEM.Granted,Ihadtheeasiesttask,sincethetoughestmodulestocleanarecertainlyNode3(wherewehavethetoiletandtheexerciseequipment)andNode1 (whereweeat).Butwe’ll rotate in thenextweeks,sowe’llallgetourshareoffun.

To clean we use the vacuum cleaner on all the ventilation grids:especiallythereturngridsgetprettydirty,becauseallthelittledebristhatfloatsinthecabineventuallygetstakenbytheairflowtoareturngridoranother. It’s very important to keep the grids clean to ensure properairflow throughout the Station. Carbon dioxide scrubbing and oxygenintroduction only occur in certain places andproper circulation ensuresthatwehaveeverywhereagoodatmospheretobreath.

Aftervacuumcleaning,weusedisinfectantwipestocleanthesurfacesofmost frequent use: the handrails, the handheld microphones, thecomputers.Andwetaketheopportunityforageneralcheck,forexampleensuring that no ventilation outlets or inlets are blocked by somethingstowedtoocloseinfrontofthem.

Inthepicture,I’mvacuumcleaningourcrewquartersinNode2.Thatismy own, in the deck location. Butch and Terry live in the port andstarboard locations andSasha lives on the ceiling crew quarter. AntonandElenahavetheirsleepingstationsintheRussianServiceModule.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+6,L+7:Ilprimoweekendnellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+8,L+9

SamanthaCristoforetti accesses a connector in theDestiny laboratory.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—Missiondays8and9(2014.12.01-02)—MysecondweekonISShasstartedandit’stimetostartcollectingsamplesforacoupleofhumanphysiologyexperiments:Microbiomeandsalivarymarkers.

Thismorning,as Iwokeupandopenedupmyscheduleon the laptop(conveniently located10cm frommynose inmysleepingunit), I havefound a friendly reminder inserted right after wake-up time: no eating,drinkingofbrushingteethbeforecollectingthesalivasamples!

I had already had a short activity yesterday: to go and gather all thenecessaryequipment,whichIhadthenstowedinmycrewquarters,soIhadeverythingreadytotakethreesamples,acollectionthatIwillrepeatdailyforthenextsevendays.

AsecondshortactivityonmytimelinecontainedthelocationwhereIhadtostorethesalivasamples.Simplyput,theygointothefreezerwithin30

minutes from collection, but where exactly? We have three MELFIfreezersonboard,eachhasfourdrawers,eachdrawerhasfoursectionsandeachsectionhasmultiplestowageboxes.Sinceit’safreezerandittakesa lotofenergy tokeep itcooled,wheneverweopen thedoorwedon’twantitopenforlongerthan60seconds.It’sworthtakingthetimetobereallysureofthelocationthesamplesgoto.That’sespeciallycrucialforretrieval,ofcourse,whenyouneedtoquicklylocatewhatyouneedtotransferoutofMELFIandlikelyintoacoldbagfortransportationbacktoEarth.

Tomorrowmorning,bytheway,Iwillalsohaveablooddraw.Sinceit’smy firstone,oneofourmedical trainerswillbeonconsole inHouston,readytoassistandansweranyquestions.

My physical trainers were also on the ground ready to give feedbacktodayformysupervisedexercisesessionontheARED:that’swhenyousetupacameraandthetrainerscanwatchreal-timeyourexerciseformandgiveyousuggestions.

The proprioception in space is quite different and you might be doingyour exercises with poor form without realizing it, leading to reducedeffectivenessoreveninjury.

ARED sure takes some getting used to: for example, when you do asquat,notonlyyoumovethebar“up”,butyouactuallypush“down”theplatformthatyourfeetarestandingon.Andtheentiremachineisfreetomoveonthreeaxes(that’showavoidinputtingloadsontostructure):thefirstcoupleof timesIdidsquatsIhadthefeeling,aftereveryrepetition,thatthemachinewasforcingmetofallforward.

Anyway,howeverhardyourworkoutwas,whenyougettobenchpressorcrunchesandyou’re layingwith yourback to theplatform,one thing issure: you have the best view a gym every had. You’re facing straightdownintotheCupolaandthroughthewindowsontotheplanet!

Amongthemanyotheractivitiesofthepasttwodays,Ihadonethatwasparticularlyfun:Ihadtoremoveaconnectorinahard-to-accesslocationon theLabendconeand for that I had to lower theLab forwardhatch.

That’squiteabigdeal,bytheway:wealwayskeepthehatchesopen,forsafety reasons. In this case, even if I did not latch the hatch, but onlyloweredit,wehadtomakesurethateverybodywasintheLaboraftofit,meaningthatnobodywascutofffromourescapevehicle(ourSoyuz)intheunlikelyeventthatforsomereasonthehatchgotstuckintheloweredposition.

In the picture you can see the hatch lowered, as I fly up to reach theconnector.Also,ontherightside,youcanseeoneoftheMELFIfreezerswithitsfourcirculardrawers.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L+8,L+9: Iniziatigliallenamentipermantenersiinformaspaziale,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+10

The SpinSat satellite in the JEM airlock before release. Credit:ESA/NASA

DalDiariodibordodiSamanthaCristoforetti(notascrittail2014.12.03):

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay10(2014.12.03)—Firstofall, I’mhappytoreportthatIhavesuccessfullyprovidedfivetubesofblood toscience thismorning, Ihavedutifullycentrifuged themandputthemin thefreezer, insupportof theexperimentsSalivaryMarkersandMicrobiome.

Terrywasassigned tosupportmehereonboardandour trainerPennywasreadytoanswerourquestionsonSpace-To-GroundfromHoustonat1 am local time! The only thing Iwill add on the topic is that,well, it’sgoodtohavetwoarms!

WithbloodandsalivesamplessafelyintheMELFIfreezer,IstartedmydaybyrepressurizingtheJEMairlock:asyoumayrecall,wedeployedasmallsatelliteusingtheJapaneseroboticarmlastweekandthesatellitehad been transferred outside via the Japanese airlock, which had

remainedatvacuumeversince.

Then I began a series of cleaning, inspection and minor maintenanceactivitiesontheBiolabrackinColumbus,theresearchfacilitydedicatedtobiologyandlivescience.ThepurposewastomakesureBiolabisfullyready tosupportupcomingexperiments.TheBiolabactivities tookabitless timethanplanned,so Iwas free tostart theprepackingactivity forthesoon-to-arriveDragoncargovehicle:wewillbeverybusyduringthetimeinwhichDragonwillbedocked,soit’snecessarytohavethereturncargo already packed and ready to be stowed quickly when the timecomes.

Ialsogot to takeasampleoutof the3-Dprinterdemonstratorwhich islocated in theglovebox.The facility runsautomatically, but a coupleoftimesperdayButchorIwillaccessthe3-Dprintertrayandremovethesamplethathasbeenprinted.AllthesesampleswillreturntoEarthandwillbecomparedtoanalogoussamplesprintedbythesame3-Dprintermodelontheground,todeterminetheinfluenceofweightlessness.

I also performeda couple of refill cycles of the urine tank in ourUrineProcessingAssembly from theurinecontainers from theRussian toilet.Probably not a dinner table topic, but if you’re curious about how wemanageurine,andultimatelywater,staytuned…likelyatopicofafuturelogbook!

Bytheway, fornoreasonwhatsoever Ihave just triedtoholdmyarmsalongmybody,inthenaturalpositioninwhichtheyhavebeenallmylifewhilestanding:it’samazinghowmucheffortitactuallytakestokeepmyweightless arms in that position. It’s not at all the natural position theywanttobein.

TheotherthingInoticedwhenexercisingisthatmyhandsgetalotmoretired from holding the bar, for example during a deadlift. I can’t quiteexplain it,butTerrysuggested itmightbedue to the fact that Iusemyhandsalldaytotranslatealonghandrails.Couldbe…

Anyway,timetosleepformenow.IhavebeensleepinglikeababyeversinceIgothere:Iletmyselffloatinmylittlesleepingcabinandhaveno

pressure onmy body at all. I think this is how I was alwaysmeant tosleep!

(In the picture you can see the Japanese airlock last week, when theoutside doorwas open the slide table extended outside to present thesatellitetotheroboticarm).

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+10: Donare sangue allascienza,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+11

Samantha Cristoforetti replenishes the waste water from the Node 3toilet.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 11 (2014.12.04)—YesterdaywasquiteanepicdayonISS,thankstoButchandTerry:onedayearlier thanoriginallyplanned, theysuccessfullycompletedamulti-day,extremely complexmaintenance taskononeofour twoCDRAs–theCarbonDioxideRemovalAssembly.

With plenty of support from the ground specialists and greatconcentrationandattentiontodetailfromtheirside,theygotourNode3CDRAbackinshapesothatwe’rebacktofullredundancy.

CDRA isavitalcomponent foroursurvivalon ISS:onspaceshipEarthplantstakecareof“scrubbing”theCO2weexhalefromouratmosphere–onspaceshipISSweneedtheCDRA.

Frommyside,IgottodothefirstrunoftheESAexperimentSkin-B:withthreedifferentinstruments,Itookaseriesofmeasurementonaspecificlocationonmyforearm(thesameweusedforpre-flightdatacollection).

First I used an instrument call Tewameter, which measures theevaporationofwater from theskinsurface: this isan indicatorofwaterlossacrosstheskin,whichinturnindicateshowgoodthebarrierfunctionoftheskinis.

Asecond instrument, calledcorneometer,measures themoisture level.And finally, by using a small handheldUV camera I could take a verydetailedpictureofthesurfaceofmyskin.

Whilescienceisthepurposeofusebeinguphere,weneedofcoursetotake care of our ship and make sure we can live up there as humanbeings.Asyoucan imagine,awell functioning toilet is certainlypart ofthat.YesterdayforthefirsttimeIgottoaccessthebowelsofourbelovedspace toilet for a relatively simple routine operation: refilling the flushwatertank.

Ofcourse,wedon’treallyhaveatoiletbowltoflush,butatthebeginningofeveryuse,whenweturnonthefantocreatethenecessarysuction,acertainquantityofapre-treatchemical,dilutedwithsomewaterfromtheflushwatertank,goesthroughthepiping–ittakesafewseconds,alightgoesoutandthetoiletisreadyfor“Number1”.

Onceinawhile,thatflushwaterneedsrefilling.Normally,weonlyneedtoreconfigurethevalvestoletwaterflowintothetanks,butthishasbeenshowntocausesomeoverpressurewhichhastriggeredfaultlightsinthepast.Thereforewenowhaveatemporarysetuptoprovidepressurereliefduringrefill,asyoucanseeinthepicture.

Something people often wonder about is: how it smells on the SpaceStation. I was actually very curious myself, because I had heardconflictingreports.Tobehonest,Ican’trecognizeanyparticularodor–itseemsprettyneutraltome,thefiltersdoagreatjob.OnlyourSoyuzhasadistinctsmell,notsureofwhat,butit’sverydeartome:wheneverIfloatinthere,itbringsmeinstantlybacktolaunchday!

Now, if you’re working close to a solid waste container, like I wasyesterdayforthetoiletwork,you’llsmellsomething.Similarly,you’llsmellsomething wherever we accumulate trash, be it in PMM for temporary

stowageorATVinpreparationofdestructivereentry.But ingeneral,nounpleasantsmellonboard!OrmaybeIjustgotusedtoitalready?

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+11: Tenere l’aria pulita e latoiletteefficientenellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+12

ChristmasdecorationsintheISSDestinyLaboratory.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay12(2014.12.05)—Wow–wheredid thisweekgo! It’s amazinghow fast time flieswhenyou’revery busy and you’re enjoying what you’re doing. On Thursday, ButchandIwerebothabsolutelyconvincedthatitwasWednesday:poorTerryhad toshowusOSTPV (ourelectronicplannerapplication) tomakeuschangeourmind!

Talking about planning, the plan for me yesterday was to complete aseriesofswabsfortheexperimentMicrobiome,forwhichIhavealreadybeen collectingurineandblood thiswholeweek. In themorning I tookskinswabsat several locationsonmy faceandarms.Later I repeatedsomeofthoseswabsafterexercisingandItooksurfaceswabsatsomehighly-touched locations on ISS: the ARED lift bar that we use to “liftweights”; the knobs we rotate to open and close the shutters of theCupola windows; the handheld microphones and so on. As usual,everythinggoes into theMELFI freezer for returnwhenever thesamplecanhitchhikearidebacktoEarth.

I also relocated a SAMS unit in Columbus: SAMS units are installedthroughout the Station and measure acceleration. If we were in aconditionofperfectmicrogravitySAMSwouldmeasurezeroacceleration.Butofcourse,althoughwefloataroundweightless,wedon’thaveperfectmicrogravityonISS;anyinputonstructure,beitfromapumprunningorfromsomeonepushingoffahandrail,causesa littleacceleration locallythattheSAMSunitscanmeasure.

Lookingbackat theworkweek, I’ve triedhard tobecomebetteratnotletting things float away: remembering to properly close a bag full ofitems,evenifI’mturningtheotherwayonlyforafewseconds;scanningthearea in3dimensionsbefore leavingaworkarea;properlysecuringthingswithVelcroorbungees,even if it seems likeagood idea to justpressthembeneaththekneesorstickthemunderahandrail…it’snotagoodidea.

Onthepositiveside,though,thefactthatthingsfloatalsomeansthatyouhavethethirdhandyoualwayswanted,orthefourth,orthefifth…Let’ssay you need both of your hands to do something, but you’re holdingsomething:well,aslongasyoudon’tturnaway,youcanjustletitfloat.A“thirdhand”willkeepitfloatinginfrontofyou,youjustneedtogiveitagentlepushifitstartstogetoutofyourfieldofview.There’ssomethingmagic indeed about aweightless environment! And it’s interesting howyouhavetolearnthat:IhaveheardseveraltimesButchtellingme“Justletitgo.”

LastthingI’lltellyoutonight:ButchhassetupourChristmastreeintheLabandevenhungsocksforthesixofus.SofromnowuntilChristmas,if we come across someone’s favorite dish when searching through afoodcontainer,wecanstickitinhisorhersock!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+12:Iltempovolavia,comeunoggettoinassenzadipeso,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+13,L+14

Samantha Cristoforetti reads the bar code of a food container. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 13 and 14(2014.12.06-07)—Another weekend has gone by and it’s time to getreadyforanewweekofworkonhumanity’soutpostinspace!

As Iwrote lastweekend,Saturday is thecleaningday. It’salso thedaywhenyouhavesomemoretimeforpersonalhygiene,whenyoucantakea luxurious bath… ehm, just kidding. But, in space terms, it’s still aluxuriousday:youmaychoose,likeIdo,toinaugurateyourfresh,clean,new towel onSunday. It’s not exactly shower size,more likewhat youwoulduseinyourhomefordryinghands,butit’sstillnice.

We also get a “shower in a bag” every second day: it’s one of thosecamping towels that you impregnate with water – most of ours comewrappedinanpouchwiththesameinterfaceforthewaterdispenserasthedrinks,soyoucandispensewaterdirectlyintothebagwithoutspillinganydropsaround.

Andwehaveapouchofliquidsoapeverysecondweek.So,recapping,washwithyourcampingtowelandtheliquidsoap,drywithyourweeklyreal towel. We also have a washcloth per week, I typically use it fordryingoffsweatduringexerciseforoneweek,thenextweekitgraduatesto spitting towel for toothpaste. I know, I’m high-maintenance: manyastronautsjustswallowit.

Hey,ifthespittinginthetowelwasalreadytoomuchinformationforyou,youmightwant to stophere,because it getsbetter.Howabout cuttingyour fingernails in space? I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I hadpostponedthisoperationuntilyesterday,becauseIwasabitintimidatedby it. How do you make sure that your don’t lose a cut-off piece offingernail in the cabin, which could end up in somebody’s eyes? Thatwouldbeverypoorspaceetiquette.Peoplehavetoldmethatyoudothatclose do a ventilation return grid, but I wasn’t 100% convinced that itwouldgo smoothly.Anyway, I’mhappy to report that itworkedgreat. Ifound a return grid with a very fine mesh and a robust airflow and Icarefully cut my fingernails just in front of it and sure enough, all thepieceswent intherightdirectionandstucktothesurfaceofthegrid.IntheendIonlyhadtovacuumclean.

Another thing we like to do on the weekend, if it sort of matches theprescribedusagerateoffood,istorefillourboxesofdishesinNode1.

Foodsuppliesareorganizedby type, likemeats, vegetables, fruitsandnuts,breakfast,etc…whenwegetanewpackageout, liketheoneI’mholding in the picture, we scan it and move it to the “deployed food”locationintheinventorysystem,sothegroundalwaysknowswherewestandwithfood.Littleboxes,liketheonesyoucanseeintheleftpartofthe pictures, serve as our kitchen shelves to store the deployed foodpackagesinNode1.There’salabelonthefrontofeachboxtonotethedate onwhich that type of foodwas last replenished: thiswaywe canmakesurewe’renotgoingthroughthefoodtoofast!

Today I have take over from Terry what we call “The Duty”, a weeklyrotation involving a number of administrative and housekeepingresponsibilities: turningon the lights in themorning, turning themoff intheevening,closingtheshuttersoftheCupolawindowsatnight,butalso

running our Daily Planning Conferences with the control centers andkeepinganeyeontheDailySummary.This latter isadocumentthat isuploadedeverymorningtoISSandcontainssomecriticalinformationforthesafetyoftheStation(forthecasewehadamajorfailureandwewentLossofComwith theground),aswellasaQ&Asection:questions forthecrewandanswers toquestionsthecrewhadearlier. Italsohasthemanningrosterofall thecontrolcenters for theshiftsof theday,sowecan always know who is on console in Houston, Huntsville, Munich,TsukubaandMoscow.

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L+13,L+14: Igienepersonaleeriordino della dispensa nel sabato del villaggio spaziale, by PaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+15

SamanthaCristoforettiwithabrinetankintheATV-5.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 15 (2014.12.08)—TodayIgot to floatall thewayback toATVagain, this timetakingwithmeabigfulltankofbrine.

Whatisbrine,youmayask?Let’sputitthisway:brineiswhatisleftoverwhen we are done “transforming yesterday’s coffee into tomorrow’scoffee”,asfellowastronautDonPettit famouslysaid(notsureifhewasquotingsomebodyelse!).

Asyoumightknow,werecycleurineonboard thanks toa facilitycalledUrine Processing Assembly or UPA. You put urine from the toilet intoUPAandyouget twoproductsout:one thatwillbecomepotablewaterafter some further work in the Water Recovery System and then thewaste, a concentrate of all the stuff in your urine that you really don’twanttobepartofyourfuturecup..ehm,pouchofcoffee.

Thebrineiscollectedintherecycletank:whenthisisfull,wetakeitoutandfloatitdowntoATVtotransferitintooneofthebigliquidtanks-of

course, oncewe’re done pumping out anywater thatmight have beenlaunchedonATVinthatspecifictank!

Only the toilet inNode 3 is directly connected to theUrineProcessingAssembly. In the Service Module toilet, mostly used by our Russiancrewmates, the urine is collected in a tank. Of course, for our waterbalanceonboardweneed toprocess thaturineaswell, soperiodicallysomefullurine tankswillmaterialize ina temporarystowage location inNode1andwewillprogressivelytransfertheurinetotheUPA.

If you’re one of those who find this somewhat disturbing or evendisgusting,trytolookatitthisway:ourspaceshipEarthis,amongmanyotherthings,agiantUPA.We’rejustnotusedtothinkabouttheprevioushistory of those molecules of water in our drink: wouldn’t make muchsense,wouldit?OnISSwedon’tthinkaboutiteither!

Bytheway,IhavetopleadguiltyandadmitthatIhavenotcontributedtothewaterbalanceatall today.But it’s foragoodreason:science! Iamdoing a 24-hour urine collection, so we’ll have to detract from ouronboardwaterallmyfilledtubes,frozenintheMelfifreezerbynow.It’soneofthosethingsthatyou’reabitnervousaboutthefirsttime,becauseit’seasytomakeamessinweightlessness,butI’mhappytosaythat itturnedouttobesmoothandeasy!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+15:“Trasformareilcaffèdiogginelcaffèdidomani”,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+16,L+17

Samantha Cristoforetti and Barry Wilmore repair an EMU suit. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 16 and 17(2014.12.09-10)—In the past two days Butch and I didmany hours ofmaintenance on an EMU suit and this was without a doubt the mostdifficultanddelicateactivitythatIhaveperformedonorbitsofar.

TheEMUistheNASApressuresuitforspacewalks–basically,it’salittlespaceship foroneperson thatcankeepyoualiveoutsideof theSpaceStation for several hours, providing oxygen for breathing andpressurization, cooling water, scrubbing of CO2, communication andprobablyafewmorethingsIamforgetting.

Oneof themost importantcomponentsof the lifesupportsystemis theFan-Pump-Separator,FPS for friends. It’sonesingle, surprisinglysmallunitcontainingthefanthatprovidesventilation,thepumpthatcirculatescooling water and the separator that removes condensate water (fromsweatandbreathing)outof theventilation loop, tokeephumidityundercontrolinthesuitandpreventfoggingofthehelmet.

TheFPShas failed on the suit that is intended to beusedbyTerry inJanuary and we flew a replacement part with us on the Soyuz, whichButch and I got to install. What makes this work so difficult is that iswasn’toriginally intendedtobeperformedonorbit,so thedesign isnotweightlessness-friendly.

Forexample,thescrewsarenon-captive:notatrivialdetailwhenyou’retrying to remove and then install tiny screws with multiple washers indifficult-to-accessplaces.

So,howdoyouapproachatasklikethis?Well,foronething,withalotofeyes: not only ours, but also of a team of specialists on the groundfollowingalongonmultiplecameraviews.ThenyouhaveapersononthegroundservingasCAPCOMforthisparticularactivity,whoisextremelyfamiliarwithall theaspectsof theprocedure:hownice that thispersonwasMarkVandeHei,fromourNASAsisterclassof2009.AlwaysnicetotalktoMark!

Then you have a very well-honed procedure and a number of videosdetailing every step, in addition to specialmeasures such as putting ameshontheheadofavacuumcleanerandhaveitplacedappropriatelytocatchanypartthatyoumightloseholdof.Andthenyouneedtotakeitvery slow and be extremely meticulous about every action and abouttracking parts and tools. Butch and I joked that we were performingsurgeryonthesuit.

So, the new FPS is in place and Butch is scheduled for the checkouttomorrow–hopefullythatwillconfirmthatwehaveafunctioningsuitforTerrytouseinJanuary.Whichremindsmethattheastronautprofessionreally requiresanextrameasureof faithand trust inyour fellowhumanbeings.Forexample,inyourcrewmates,whoreplacedacomponentyourlifewilleventuallydependon!

Of course, it’s not only trust, we do have a checkout planned: in factButchwillperformittomorrow.Soit’sstillearlytocheer,butifeverythinggoeswellitwillbeveryrewardingtolookbackatthischallengingwork!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+16, L+17: Un intervento

chirurgico…suunatutaspaziale!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+18

SamanthaCristoforettitrainsonARED.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay18(2014.12.11)—Firstof all, if you read yesterday’s logbook you’ll behappy to know that theFan-Pump-Separator thatButch and I replaced in the past two days isworkingnominally:Butchranthecheckoutprocedurewithgreatresults!Iwas in themiddle ofmy workout on CEVIS, our space bike, when hefloatedoutoftheairlocktoannouncethegoodnewswehadbeenhopingfor:believeme,Ididn’tmindabitbeinginterrupted!

Todaywespentquiteabitof timepreparing for thearrivalof thecargovehicleDragon in a couple of weeks:we had time on our schedule toreviewsomeonboard trainingmaterialabout theapproachandcaptureoperationsandweevenhadavideoconferencewiththeNASAteaminHoustonwhowillworkDragon, including the instructors responsible forourupcomingproficiencytraining,whichismeanttomakesurethatwe’llbereadytowelcomeDragontoISS.

Other than that, I feel like I have a spent a lot of time around AREDtoday, our Advanced Resistive Exercise Device. It’s the extraordinary

machinethatallowsustoperformtheexercisesthatwedoonthegroundwithweight…inweightlessness!

Thereare twomain typesofexercisesyoucandoonARED:using thebig bar, which moves the main arm upper down (for example squats,deadlift, shoulder press…) or connecting a short bar to a cable (forexample bent-over rows, bicep curls or even crunches). Today I got todive in the belly ofAREDand replace the ropes that transmit the loadfromthecablearoundanumberofpulleys.After that Imovedon todomy daily workout, except that this one was special: I had a privatizedcommunication channel with Cologne, where my sports trainer, myphysiotherapist and my flight surgeon were gathered to watch myexercise session on a private video downlink and to give pointers toperfectmyform.Veryimportantnottogethurtdoingexerciseuphere!

Unfortunately,wealsohadacablebreakonARED today:well, it’snotlike itsnapped,butwenoticedsomefraying in thesteel threads,whichmakesitunsafetouseandmakesitimpossiblefornowtoperformupperstopexercises:that’sbecausethiscableallowsthemainarmtorestonahigherstop,soyoucanforexampledosquatsorheelraises–whenyoulet go, the bar will remain high. Without this cable, there’s no way topreventthebarfromgoingallthewaydowntotheplatform,forexampleat the end of your squat set – so we are limited now to lower stopexerciseslikedeadliftorshoulderpress.Wecanstillofcoursedoallthecableexercises!

We worked until well past dinner time to replace the cable, butunfortunately there’s been a few hiccups and it’s not quite ready yet:hopefullysoon!

Hey,youmightnotice inthepicturethatIamwearinga littlesomethingonmy forehead: that’s for theESAexperimentCircadianRhythms.Forabout40hoursIhavetowearthatsensoronmyforehead,aswellasanidentical one on my sternum and the unit that records the data. Thesensorscontinuallymeasureandrecordmybodytemperature,providingdatathatwillhelpresearchersunderstandcircadianrhythmsinspace.It’squite the fashionstatement,butalsoabit itchynowand then,so I’llbehappy to have completed my duty for science and remove the

instrumentstomorrow!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+18:Mantenereinformailfisicoegliattrezziginnici,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+19

Samantha Cristoforetti and Barry Wilmore are trained to capture theDragoncargowiththeROBOTsimulator.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 19 (2014.12.12)—YesterdayButchandIstartedtoseriouslygetreadyforthearrivaloftheDragonresupplyvehiclenextweek.

ButchwillbeM1forthiscapture,meaningthathewillhavethehandsonthecontrollersoftheroboticarminthefinalstages.Atthatpoint,Dragonwill be holding position at the capture point, at a distance of about 10metersfromStationandwithitsgrapplefixtureroughlyalignedwitharmendeffector (that’s the “end” of the robotic arm,whichhas snares thatcancaptureDragon’sgrapplefixture).

After receiving a “GO for capture” fromHouston,Butchwill fly the armtowards Dragon, compensating any relative movement the vehicle willhavetokeeptheendeffectoralignedwiththegrapplefixtureand,onceon the grapple pin and at the right distance, he will pull the trigger toclosethesnaresandcaptureDragon.

While Butch will focus on this, as M2 I will support by “running theprocedure” (making sure we don’t miss any step) and by havingrecovery/responsestepsreadyforanymalfunctionwemightencounterinthedifferentstages,fromDragonmisbehavingtoissueswithourroboticarm.

Iwill also take care of comwithHoustonand Iwill support in the finalstages by givingButch information on remaining distance to cover andclosurerates,sincehewillbefullyfocusedonalignmentwiththetarget.Iwill also send Dragon the “free drift” command, probably around 2meters:atthatpointDragonwillstopcontrollingitsownattitudeandwillkeep whatever translation and rotation rates it has. We don’t want tosend the command too early, but we’re also not allowed to get closerthan1.5meterswithoutconfirmation thatDragon is in freedrift.Asyoucan imagine,wedon’twant tomakearigidmechanicalconnection toavehicle that is firing thrusters toorient itself: theStation isalsoactivelycontrollingitsattitudeallthetimeandwedon’twantDragonandStationtobefightingeachother!

Fortunately, we have a great simulator onboard to practice all this: it’scalledROBOTand it includeshandcontrollers just like theonesof thereal roboticworkstationandabigmonitorwithvirtualcontrolpanels forcameras,roboticarmandDragon.

Butch and I had our first scheduled session yesterday: our roboticsinstructorswere running the simulator setup remotely from the ground,observeourworkreal-timeandgiveusfeedbackoveraprivatizedspace-to-ground channel. Like having them onboard with us! And of course,sinceyouneverknowwhathappens,Ialsogettopracticethecapture.

Hey, I got so carried away talking to you about Dragon capture that IforgottomentionthescienceIdidyesterday:withthehelpofTerryandour remote guider Dave on the ground, I took ultrasound images ofbrachialartery,carotidarteryandheart(challenging!)fortheexperimentCardioOx.Iwillhaveseveralmoresessionsinthenextmonths,sowe’llhavemorechancestotalkaboutit.

Haveagreatweekend!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+19: Prepararsi all’arrivo diDragon,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+20,L+21

Samantha Cristoforetti practices the ISS robotic arm for the arrival ofDragon.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 20 and 21(2014.12.13-14)—My third weekend on ISS is coming to an end and Ifindmyselfbeingveryambivalentaboutthepassageoftime.Ontheonehand, days have just flown by and it seems like yesterday that wearrived.Ontheotherhand,thetimewhenIusedtowalkandsleepinabedalmostseemlikedistantmemoryanditfeelslikeI’vealwaysfloated,alwayssleptinasleepingbag,alwaysrunonthewallandliftedweightsontheceiling.Inotherwords,theSpaceStationisstartingtofeellikemyhomeandmynormallife.

Then Iget to flyahugeroboticarm lurking in thedarknessoutsideourwindow,withtheEarthpassingbybeneath,andIstillwonderifit’srealorif it’sadream.That’s right,Butchand Ispentsome time in theCupolayesterday at the controls of the robotic arm in preparation for Dragoncapturenextweek.Afterhundredsofhoursofsimulation,itwasmyfirsttimemovingtheactualStationarm!

Ihave toldyou in the last logbookaboutouronboardsimulator,Robot.Simtime isgood,but it’s important togeta feel for therealarmbeforecaptureday.That’swhySaturdayafternoonwegottopracticeso-called“offsetgrapples”.

OurtargetwasthegrapplefixtureofDextre,themultiarmrobotocurrentlylivingoutsideontheLab,andthestartingpositionwasahighoverabout5metersabovethetarget. ImessedupthealignmentforButchandhegot toadjust iton theflywhileapproachingthegrapple fixture, thenweswappedrolesandIgottodothesame.

Of course,we didn’t really grappleDextre: in fact, triggering closure oftheendeffector snareswasnot evenenabledon the hand controllers.Thepurposewaspurely togeta feel forhow the realarm responds toinputs,especiallyintermsofoscillations.Iwasactuallysurprisedbythesteadiness of the real arm: it seemed less of a challenge than in thesimulator to keep the oscillations under control. I should tell you thatoscillationsarethebigenemy,thereforewetraintogiveverysmoothandprogressivehandcontrollerinputs.Onejerkymovementandthearmcanstarttooscillatemorethanyoulikeit.

WithDragonarrivingnextweekend,wehaveabusyweekaheadofus.We’llgetprobablyhalfdaysoffonFridayandSaturdayand,ofcourse,we’llhaveafullworkingdayonSundaywiththearrivalofDragon.Infact,after Capture Dragon will be berthed to the Node 2 Nadir position, sowe’ll have it just outside our crew quarters, almost like adding anothersmall room to our living area. And this room will come already full ofgoodies!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+20, L+21: Esercitarsi con ilbraccioperafferrareDragon,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+22

Samantha Cristoforetti in his first amateur radio contact with schools.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 22 (2014.12.15)—YesterdayIhadmyfirstHAMradiocontactwithschoolpupils.Abighellotothestudentsoftheschools“ElenadiSavoia”inBariand“AlessandroVolta” in Bitonto! It was fun talking to you and thanks for the greatquestions!

Amateurradiocontactsbetweenastronautsandschoolkidshavealongtraditionon ISS, thanks toa littlearmyof volunteers inmanycountrieswhoworkwiththelocalschoolsnotonlyonthedayofcontact,butalsointheweeksandmonthsleadinguptotheevent:theyteachstudentsaboutradio technology and about space, to get them ready and hopefullyexcitedabouttheevent.

Frommyside, I onlyneeded tobe readyon theproper channelat thepropertime:itisveryimportant,becauseweneeddirectline-of-sightwiththeamateur radiostationon thegroundand thepass isonlyabout tenminutes long. A couple of minutes before the expected acquisition-of-

signal time, I started making calls to check if someone was alreadypickingmeup.EventuallyIpickedupacallfromthegroundstationandsureenough,westartedourconversation. Iheard themloudandclear,whichpositivelysurprisedme:somehowIexpectedsignalqualitynot tobeasgood.Ihopetheyhadthesamequalityontheotherside.

Onsuchcontacts, there’sno time for small talk and formalities: in lessthan tenminutes,wehad tomakesure that the20studentswhowerelinedup toask theirquestiongot theirchance.Sohere Iwas, ready togo.Andherecamethefirstquestion–areyouready?Here’sitis:

“Itisknownthatpeoplebecometallerwhentheyareinspace.Whathappens to bio-molecules? Is there any alteration in the tertiarystructureofproteins?”

Ialmostfelloffmychair…well,ifIhadhadachair.(Wonderwhatagoodequivalent of this expression would be in weightlessness… anysuggestions?)

Wherearethegoodoldquestionaboutspacefoodandthespacetoilet?Jokesapart,Iwasreallyimpressedwithallthequestions:theyshowedagreat interest and knowledge in science and technology and gavemegreathope forour futuregenerationsofscientistsandengineers.Keepupthegreatwork,girlsandboys!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+22: Terra chiama spazio, byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+23

SamanthaCristoforettiwithSpheressatellites.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay23 (2014.12.16)—Youlikely missed the memo, but I’m letting you know now: tonight is aMarangoninight!AtleasthereontheSpaceStation.

Welike to jokethat itsounds likesometrendydanceparty(Iwonder…can you dance in space?), but it’s actually quite the opposite: onMarangoni nights we’re asked not to exercise and to be particularlygentle in pushing off handrails. And we really should stay clear of theRyutairackintheJapaneselaboratory,wheretheMarangoniexperimentruns:thisexperimentalprotocolisverysensitivetoG-jitter–callthatthesmallaccelerationsweimpartonthestructure–thereforeweneedtobecareful.So,wheneveryouwantaquieteveningbeingacouchpotato,wecansayyou’rehavingaMarangoninight!

As the name implies, this investigation is aboutMarangoni convection.What, convection? Isn’t it true that you don’t have convection inweightlessness?Well, yes, if youmean the natural convection inducedby density differences: for example, onEarth hot air rises because it’s

less dense than cold air. But not in weightless conditions, becausebuoyancy is an effect of gravity! However, Marangoni convectionhappensatthesurfaceofaliquidandisinfactdrivenbysurfacetensionor, more precisely, by differences in surface tension induced bytemperature.Sounds fancy,but ifyou’veobservedoil in thecenterofahot pan moving to the sides, you’ve observed some Marangoniconvection.

Space is the perfect place for Marangoni studies: first of all, as wealreadymentioned,wedon’t havedensity-driven convection to confusethe observations. But you can also do some neat tricks that on Earthwouldn’tbepossible:theexperimentthatiscurrentlyrunningmakesuseofa liquidbridge thatcouldneverbeobtained in thatsizeonEarth– itwouldcollapseunderitsownweight!

Hey,IgotsocarriedawaywithMarangonithatIdidn’ttellyouaboutmydayatall.First I spent themorningworkingwithElenaonSpheres,asyoucanseeinthepicture.I’llwritemoreaboutSpheresinthefutureforsure,but fornowI’ll tellyou thatwedida test run inpreparationof thefinalsoftheZeroRoboticscompetitioninJanuary.WehadalotoffunandI’msurewe’llhaveevenmorefunwhenwe’llhavethecompetingstudentsoftwareloadedontheSpheressatellites!

Butchand Ialsodidanothersessionofoffsetgrapples, similar towhatwedidonSaturday,inpreparationofDragoncapture.Weevenpracticeda transition to our backup robotic workstation in the US Lab, to bepreparedforamalfunctiononcaptureday.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+23: Serata Marangoni sullaStazioneSpaziale!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+24,L+25

SamanthaCristoforettitakesimagesofaneyewithanophthalmoscope.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 24 and 25(2014.12.17-18)—ThebignewsofthedayhereontheSpaceStationisthat we’re not going to grapple Dragon on Sunday any more: as youmighthaveheard,theSpaceX-5resupplymissionhasbeendelayedforafewweeks,andnowofcoursetheteamsonthegroundareworkinghardtoreplanthedaysaheadtomakegooduseofourtimeuphereasalltheSpaceX-relatedactivitieshavedisappearedfromourtimelinefornow.

Inparticular,tomorrowwassupposedtobemostlyaday-off,inviewofavery busySundayworking onDragon arrival, but nowwe’re back to aregular working Friday and an off-duty weekend. During our eveningDaily Planning Conferencewith the control centers the typical openingcall fromHouston “The plan is onboard” was replaced by “The plan isNOTonboard”,meaning that the planning teamswere still working outthedetailsofourschedule for tomorrow– itwillbe finalized in thenexthoursanduploadedduringoursleepingperiod,sowe’llbe ready togotomorrowmorning.

Yesterday I got to work with Japanese airlock again: Butch and Iremoved thesatellitedeployer thatwas installedon theslide tableand,with the real-timeassistance from the JAXAcontrol center inTsukuba,wedidsomeinspectionworktotroubleshootananomalywithsomelimitindicators(thesensorsthattellyouthecurrentpositionoftheslidetable).

These have also been a couple of intense ocular health days for me:there’s been a great deal of focus in recent years on the eyes, sincewe’vebecomeawareofsomevisiondegradationinmanycrewmembersof longdurationmission.Thejury isstilloutontheexactcauseandit’stherefore important to gather a lot of data. I started yesterday with arelatively simple vision acuity exam, not much different from what youprobably know from your eye doctor visits. Then Terry measured thepressureofthefluidinsidemyeyebulbbygentlytappingthesurfaceoftheeyewithan instrumentcalled tonometer (did Imentionalready thatwereallyhavetotrustourcrewmatesuphere?).

And todaywegot imagesof theeyeusing twodifferent instruments: afundoscope(whichistheoneinthepicture)andatomographymachine(specifically, if you’re savvy about these things, which I am not, anOpticalCoherenceTomograph).Allthesetestsrequiretheassistanceofanothercrewmember,interactingwitharemoteguideronthegroundwhohas real time images from the equipment and a camera view of usworkinguphere.

That’snotall,though:tomorrowwe’llalsodoaneyeultrasound!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+24,L+25:Vedercichiarosullavista,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+27,L+28

Samantha Cristoforetti with a new pair of green trousers. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 27 and 28(2014.12.20-21)—I’m the Station’s night owl tonight, everybody else isalreadyasleepinourlittleringoffourcrewquartersinNode2.

IlikelisteningtothesoundsoftheStationatnight.PeoplesometimestellmethattheywouldliketoheartheuttersilencethattheyassumeIhearin space, but the famous “In spacenoone canhear you scream”onlyappliestothevacuumofspace:fortunatelyinsidetheSpaceStationwehaveabreathableatmosphereataboutthesamepressureyouhaveonEarth at sea level. Plenty of molecules nicely tight together happilytransmittingsoundthroughoutthecabin.

Thereisalwaysasignificantbackgroundnoise,duetothemanyfansandpumps running all the time: a constant humming that signals that theStationis“alive”andhealthy.Infact,ifwehadanemergency,likeafireoradepressurization,eveniftheaudiblealarmwouldn’tgooffwewouldimmediatelynoticeitbecausetheStationwouldgoquiet:thecomputers

implementanemergencyauto-responsethatshutsdowntheventilation.

Somenoiseshavetakenmebysurpriseoccasionally.LikethefirsttimeInoticed a different noise in our toilet cabin, accompanied by a distinctvibration Icould feel throughthe foot restraintson the“floor”.Turnsoutit’s a normal occurrence when the ground controllers are running theurineprocessingassemblyinacertainmode.

Oroneday,asIwasfloatingoutofColumbus,Iheardoneofourscienceracksmakinga loudhissingsoundforseveralseconds, thengoquiet. IcheckedwithCol-CC inMunich and it turned out that theywere doingsomecommandingofourElectroMagneticLevitatorfromtheground.So,allexpected!

It’s quite common for theground to send commands remotely.Most ofwhatwedouphereascrewaretasksthatrequireustobehands-ononhardware: all commanding of the station systems and scienceexperiments that can be done from the ground remotely are typicallyimplementedbythegroundcontrollersonconsoleinthedifferentcontrolcenters.Andit’sprobablybettertohavethespecialistsforeachsystemsendcommandstotheStation.

It’s also a way of saving precious crew time: for example, manymaintenanceprocedureshavesafingstepsatthebeginningtomakesurethattheequipmentisnotpoweredandisinasafeconfiguration.MissionControl isalwaysaheadofusand theywillhavesafing inplacebeforewegetachancetoask.

So, as you can imagine, running the Space Station requires a lot ofcommunicationandcoordinationbetweencrewandteamsontheground.And we can always count on dozens of specialists looking over aconstant stream of telemetry to make sure all systems are healthy uphere. Or even to help us out with little things like disabling smokedetectors:wehave todo that inmostmodulesbeforevacuumcleaningthe filterson theweekend, toavoid the riskof triggeringa falsesmokealarmwithdust,andwealwaysgetahelpinghandfrommissioncontroltogetthatdone.

Hey,I’vebeeninspaceforalmostamonthnow,whichmeansthattodaywasnew-pantsdayforme!Yep,wegetsixforthemission,sotodaywastimetoseewhatwasonoffer inmyspacewardrobe. Iactually thoughtthat Iwouldgetsix identicalpants,but…surprise!Thiswillbeagreen-pantsmonth. I love thesepants,by theway, theyareverycomfortableandpractical,withplentyofpocketsandVelcrostripestosecurethings.PocketsarealsoallrigorouslyclosedwithVelcro,topreventthingsfromfloating out. That’s because, as a rule and with no exceptions, thingsalwayswanttoflowoutinspace.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+27, L+28: Ascoltare i rumoridellaStazioneSpazialedinotte,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+29

Samantha Cristoforetti replaces an MSL rack cartridge in the Destinylaboratory.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 29 (2014.12.22)—TodayIhadashorttaskintheafternoonthatrequiredmetomeasuretheairflowvelocityataventilationoutletinATV,ourEuropeancargoship.

ATV is docked at the aft docking port of the Russian ServiceModule,which makes it the furthest place we can go to from the non-Russianmodules of the Space Station. And this is not a small Space Station!Fromthemostforwardmodule,Node2,whereourcrewquartersare,it’sabout 70-80 meters back to ATV. Since we operate on a pretty tightschedulehere,havingtogobackandforthcancausedelays,that’swhyIreallytrytomakesureIhaveeverythingIneedbeforeIheaddownthere.However, as an additional measure, I am proud to say that I haveoptimized the flight path. And here’s my conclusion, in case you’recurious: thefastestwaytoATVfromtheforwardmodules is flyingbelly“up”towardstheoverhead.

PlentyofgoodhandrailsintheLabandNode1,pluswhenyouarriveto

PMA,theadapterelementbetweentheNodeandtheRussiansegment,the deck slopes up and the passage becomes quite narrow: if you’reflyingontheoverhead,though,youcankeepongoingstraight.

ThenthereistheFGB,whichisalotoffun:it’slikealongnarrowtunnelwithcloselyspacedhandrailsalongbothwalls. In theFGBoverheadordeck wouldn’t matter, but once you get into the Service Module, theoverhead is where you want to be: the deck and the walls are full ofequipmentandstoweditemsthatwouldforceyoutoslowdown.PlustheServiceModuleinteriordesignismadeverymuchwithavirtual“upanddown” inmind,soSasha,AntonandElenaaremostly feetondeck.Byflying overhead, I can stay above their heads and get to ATV withoutgettingintheirway.

OK,thatwasprobablymoredetailthanyouwantedtoknow.Sorry,Igotcarriedaway.Buttheselittlethingsreallymakeadifferenceuphere.Likefiguringoutthebestwaytostabilizeyourselfataworksite:it’ssomethingthatwestressalotduringEVAtraining,butIhavefoundthatitisjustasimportantinside.

Today I had a tough one: I had to remove a used cartridge from theMaterialScienceLaboratoryrack,whichislocatedontheLaboverhead.But the neighboringwall has the frame of theCEVIS in front of it (ourspace bike), which is free to move to avoid transmitting load intostructuresandhencedoesn’t providea stablehold.Theotherwall hastheCombustion IntegratedRack (CIR),whichwasalso “floating” foranexperiment run andwas not to be touched at all. And the nearby rackfrontsalongtheoverheadhaveplentyofequipmentandcables.Quiteachallenge!

Andsometimes theonlyway toget stabilization is tohaveacrewmatehelp.We’renotshyuphereaboutasking toholdon tosomebody’s legwhenneeded.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+29:VolareapanciainsunellaStazioneSpaziale,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+30

Samantha Cristoforetti Inserts blood samples into a centrifuge. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 30 (2014.12.23)—Happy24thofDecember!It’sChristmasEve,ofcourse–averyspecialtime formanypeople onEarth and for us on theSpaceStation.Muchmorehumbly,it’salsothe1-monthmarkforTerry,Antonandme:onthe24th of November we arrived to our new home in space. Time flies,doesn’tit?

OneofthepeculiarthingsaboutlivinguphereonISSisthatyouhavenocommute at all. I’m fortunate that I never had significant commutes toschoolor towork inmy life,but thisbeats themall:youwakeup in themorningandyouarealreadyatwork.Ifyou’reoneofthosepeoplewhoenjoysthecommuteasabuffertime,you’dbeintrouble!

The first thing I do in the morning before even fully getting out of mysleepingbagistoopenthelidofmylaptopinmycrewquarterandchecktheday’splanontheelectronicagenda,calledOSTPV(On-BoardShortTermPlanViewer,orsomethingsimilar).

Wetypicallygettheplanthenightbefore,butchangescouldhavebeenuploadedduringthenight.Moreover,duringourpost-sleepperiodinthemorning therecouldbeveryshortactivities thatareactually reminders:forexample,nocaffeine today for2hoursbeforeacertainexperiment;remember that you’re closing up a urine collection this morning; noexercisethismorningbefore5and7(notthatIwouldbeacandidateforthat,butsomecrewmembersareearlyrisersandenjoyworkingoutinthemorning).

This morning my day started again with a meeting with… Terry theVampire! Just kidding,of course:Terry isagreatCrewMedicalOfficerandalwaysdoesanawesome jobwithmyblooddraws.Asusual,aftertaking thebloodsamplesandwaiting the30-minute coagulation time, Iput the tubes in our centrifuge for another 30 minutes, before storingtheminoneofourMELFIfreezers,wheretheywillawaitanopportunityforreturntoEarth.

A lot of human physiology experiments have a “Flight Day 30”requirement for data so, besides the blood draw, I have been doinganother 24-hour urine collection and I have been wearing again thetemperature sensors on my forehead and sternum for the ESAexperiment Circadian Rhythms. In addition I ran another series ofmeasurements on my skin for the experiment, Skin-B, which I talkedaboutintheL+11Logbook.

IalsogottodivealittlebitinthebellyofColumbusforawatersamplingactivity.Water runs in the internal cooling lines of all the non-Russianmodules and periodically we need to access the lines via dedicatedsamplingports andget somewater out. I took two samples yesterday:onewillbe returned to theground foranalysis; thesecondonewas forimmediate testingwith an ammonia test strip.Presence of ammonia inthe water would indicate some leakage at the interface between theinternal cooling lines (water) and the external cooling lines (ammonia):sinceammoniaisverytoxic,thatwouldbeaveryunfortunatefinding.Butluckilytheteststripdidn’tshowanyammoniaintheColumbuswater!

MerryChristmasfromusalluphereontheSpaceStation!

Video:ChristmasgreetingfromSamantha(Italian)(1:06)

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+30: Iniziare la giornata conTerryilVampiro,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+43

Samantha Cristoforetti and Anton Shkaplerov in the Zvezda servicemoduleatNewYear2015.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 43 (2015.01.05)—Sorry,sorry,sorry!

My apologies, I never meant for this logbook to take a break for theholidays,but this isexactlywhatendeduphappening. It’snotbeenanespeciallybusy timeuphereon ISS,but Idid takesomemore timeforpersonalmatters,friendsandfamily.

So,hereweare,almostaweek into2015already.By theway,asourLeadFlightDirectorTomaspointedout(halloTomas!)forafullmonththecalendardateandtheGMTdatematch,soIwillactuallyknowwhatdayitisforachange.

Don’tknowifIevermentionedthisexplicitly,buttheStationrunsonGMTtime, ormore properlyUTC,which corresponds to theGreenwich timezone.Wealsoliketoindicatewhatdayitisbycountingupfrom1to365.InStationjargon,todayisGMT005.MightactuallybethatGMTisnota

correctdefinitionforthis,but it’stheusageintheISSworld.It’seasytoseehowby,say,GMT072you’velosttrackofwhattherealdateis!

GMT365,ofcourse,wasprettyeasy to recognizeasNewYear’sEve.We had a grand time celebrating multiple times down in the RussianServicemodule.WestartedwithmidnightMoscow-time,ofcourse,andthenontomidnightCentralEuropeantimeandfinallyourownmidnighton Station. By the way, many have asked whether we could see anyfireworksfromspace.Unfortunately,thetimingdidn’tworkoutverywell:fromafewdaysbeforeNewYear’sEveanduntiltodaywedidn’thaveaproper,fullydarknightonStation.Itwaswhatwecallahigh-Betaperiod,atimeinwhichtherelativepositionsoftheSun,theEarthandtheSpaceStationaresuch thatwearenevercompletelywithoutsunlight. Inotherwords, for several days we were flying all the time very close to theterminator,thelinebetweendayandnightonEarth.TheSunwaseitherjust above the horizon, creating very dramatic long shadows on theplanet, or just below the horizon, with the twilight lasting until the nextsunrise.

What I loved themostwas theshadesof intenseblueandorange thatappearontheEarthhorizonjustbeforeoraftersunrise:duringhigh-Betathe time thiscolorfulstripe isvisiblea lot longer,soyoucan really restyourgazeonit.ButIdidmissseeingthecitylightsandthestarsinthedarkness,sowelcomebacknight.Wemissedyou!

Hey,atNewYear’sEveweactuallydanced,youknow?Notsurethatitlookedlikedancingfromtheoutside,butsincenobodywatchedbesidesourclosespacefamilyhere,andwewereverymuchconvincedthatweweredancing,wedanced:it’sourstory,andwe’restickingtoit!

Sasha and Anton even played songs by Adriano Celentano, a veryfamous and not-so-young-anymore Italian singer. He is to this dayincredibly popular in Russia and I have yet to meet a Russian whodoesn’tknowhismostpopulartunes.

WhichbringsmebacktoastoryfromourlaunchI’dliketoshare.Asyoumightremember,Terry,AntonandIeachpickedafewsongsthatwereplayed to us in the last 40 minutes before launch. Anton decided to

include a fewCelentano songs and selected one of his favorite tunes,without having any understandingwhatsoever of the lyrics. So imaginemysurprisewhen,sittingontopofarocketwiththehatchclosedandtheaccesstowersretracted,Ihearthesewordsinmyheadphones:“E’inutilesuonarequinonaprira’nessuno,ilmondol’abbiamchiusofuoriconilsuocasino!”whichtranslatesas“Nopointinringingthebell,nobodywillopenthedoor;wehavelefttheworldanditschaosoutside”.Talkaboutpickingtherightsoundtrack!

Not onlywe had locked theworld outside (or theworld had locked usinside), butwewere space-bound!After a few hourswe arrived to theSpaceStation– thatwasanearlymorning42daysago,by theway.Agoodoccasion for a friendly reminder from your friendlyExpedition 42:“42”istheanswer,sodon’tpanicandalwaysknowwhereyourtowelis!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+43:Capodannonellospazio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+44,L+45

SamanthaCristoforettichangesthetoilet'spre-treatmentfluidofNode3.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 44 and 45(2015.01.06-07)—Today it’s Christmas again! That’s right: Russia, apredominantlyOrthodox country, celebrates Christmas on January 7th,so last night we had a Christmas Eve get together with our Russiancrewmates.

On theSpaceStation this is typicallyadayoff in theRussiansegmentonly,buttodayTerry,ButchandIalsogotafreeday,becauseweexpectto work on the weekend following the arrival of Dragon. We werethereforefreetojoinSasha,ElenaandAntonontheirvideoconwiththeirfamilies,whohadgatheredinMissionControlMoscow.

FatherIoav,theverykindStarCitypriest,evenbroughtinasmallchoirto singChristmas songs to us, including the Italian favorite “Tu scendidallestelle”beautifullyperformedwithimpeccablepronunciation!

Lookingbackatyesterday,IperformedathirdrunoftheESAexperiment

Skin-B, studying the effects of space environment on the skin: if youmissedit,ItalkedaboutitingreaterdetailintheL+11Logbook.

Ialsogot todive intothebowelsofourspacetoiletagain: inthatsameL+11 Logbook I mentioned refilling the flush water tank, this time Ichanged the pre-treat tank. Pre-treat is a fluid that is added in smallquantity to flush water and provides some chemical treatment of theurine. There is a component, called dose pump, that provides thenecessarypre-treatquantityatthebeginningofeveryuse.Infact,everytimeweturnonthetoilet(whichmeansturningonthefanthatprovidessuction)weneedtocheckforthedose-pumplighttocomeonforafewsecondsandthengoout.Ifitdoesn’t,thereisaproblem.ThishappenedtomejustthispastSunday,actually:thedosepumplightdidnotgooutandaredfaultlightcameoninstead.Aftersometroubleshootingleadbyspecialistsontheground,theconclusionwasmadethatthedose-pumphadfailedandTerryhadthereplacementonhisscheduleforMonday.

Beforethiscouldbesuccessfullycompletely,theNode3toiletwasoutofservice. Luckily we do have redundancy onboard: the Russian servicemodulehasanothertoilet–infactthatwastheoriginaltoiletofthespacestation and the toilet in Node 3 is exactly the same design with somemodificationstoaccountforurinetransferdirectlytotheUrineProcessingAssembly.

Ofcourse,it’sreallypreferableforustousetheNode3toilet:notonlyit’salotcloser,butweavoiddisturbingAntonandElena,whosleepnotveryfarfromtheRussiantoilet.

As you know, we’re also ready to receive the Dragon cargo ship heresoon. In preparation for berthing, I got to do something which did feelsomewhatdisturbingforamoment:IunlatchedtheNode2hatch,whichis where Dragon will be berthed. Right now, of course, it leads tovacuum. We do that to avoid any issues with the latch-unlatchmechanism on ingress day: several science payloads on Dragon aretime-criticalandadelayinhatchopeningandtransfercouldcausealossof science. Of course, the hatch opens to the inside, so even if themechanismisunlatched,thereisnowayitcanopenagainsttheinternalpressure of theSpaceStation.But I guess I’mnot the first one to feel

strangeaboutunlatchingit:theincludeareminderthatthereisaforceofabout 39,000 lbf keeping the hatch closed when the modules ispressurized. Btw, this alsomeans that hatches opening to the outsidewouldbeaverybadidea(yes,I’mthinkingofyou,“Gravity”).

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+44,L+45:ÈdinuovoNatale,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+46,L+47

SamanthaCristoforetti andBarry "Butch"Wilmore in theATV-5.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 46 and 47(2015.01.08-09)—We’re not scheduled to work here on the SpaceStationthisweekendafterall,exceptfortheusualcleaningactivities.Asyoumight have heard, theDragon resupply vehicle is not here yet, sowe’renotrushingtogeturgentcargooutandgetthesciencestarted.Thegoodnewsisthatit’soffthegroundnow.Hurrahandcongratulations!

SoButchandIwillhaveafinalon-boardtrainingsessiontomorrowtogetus ready to captureDragononMonday.OnTuesdaywe’ll ingressandstart a challenging few weeks of intense scientific and logistics work,beforewesendDragonbackattheendofitsmission.

ThemissionofATV5willalsocometoanendnextmonthandthat’sofcourseabigvehicletoload.

Mostofitstimeonboardithasremainedquiteempty,becauseofcenterofmassconsiderationsincaseofanemergencyundocking.Fortunately

inthepastweekswe’vehadpermissiontoprogressivelymovemoreandmore trash to ATV, which has freed up a lot of space in our stowagemodule,thePMM,andmadeitaloteasiertofindthingsinthere!Infact,the unfortunate mishap of the Orb-3mission back in October was notonly a loss of cargo, but alsomeant that we have quite a bit of trashonboardnowthatwouldotherwisebegonebynow.

Yesterday Butch and I installed adapter plates on top of the filledstowagecompartmentsonthewallsofATV–morebagsoftrashwillbesecuredtotheseadapters,sothatwefilltheinternalvolumeasmuchaspossible. As you can see in the picture, it’s starting to look a bit likecavingworkinginthere,it’skindoffun!

OnThursday,IalsoworkedwiththeSpheresagainmostoftheday–youcan find more on Spheres on L+23 Logbook. The finals of theZeroRobotics competitions are approaching fast (good luck!), but thiswasaactuallyaseriesoftestrunsusingasmartphoneanditscamera,attachedtooneoftheSpheres,tonavigate.

I also did some work with our acoustic dosimeters, taking 24-hourmeasurements of the noise levels in specific locations on ISS. Beforethat,weallcarriedapersonaldosimeterwithusfora24-hourperiod,soweallhadabigmicattachedtoourcollar.Verystylish!

The loudest place on ISS is by far the immediate vicinity of the T2treadmillwhensomeoneisrunningonit,especiallyafastrunner.That’swhy there isa recommendation towearearplugswheneverwerun:wehave custom made earplugs with speakers that protect us from thetreadmill noise and at the same time allow us to listen tomusic whileworkingout.

Besides the dosimeters, in the past holiday weeks we’ve been taskedwithseveralactivities thatneed toperformedperiodically tomonitor theISS environment and equipment. One day Terry, Butch and I were allgoing systematically through the modules: Terry was verifying thecondition of all our emergency equipment (the oxygen masks and fireextinguishers stowed throughout ISS);Butchwas takingwater samplesfromthecooling lines;and Iwasmeasuring theairflowvelocity through

the ventilation grids, which the ground analyzes to determine if there’sanyblockageorcloggingofthefilters.

Iguessit’sliketheperiodicinspectiononyourcar,exceptthattheISSisinfinitelymorecomplexandwecan’ttakeittoagaragetogetitfixed!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+46,L+47:PreparareATV-5perl’ultimoviaggio,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+48,L+49

SamanthaCristoforetti receivestheastronaut'sgoldpinfromTerryVirtsonChristmasDay2014.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 48 and 49(2015.01.10-11)—Dragon has definitely been in the center of ourthoughtsthisweekend.

Firstofall,asyoucanimagine,afterseveraldelays,wewereveryhappywhenwe saw the successful liftoff yesterday. To bemore specific, wewatchedareplay,weweren’tabletowatchthelaunchlive,althoughwewere“tunedin”onNASATVatthattime.

Yes,youheard it right,wecanwatchTVuphere…sortof.There isavideoconferencingsystemandononeofour laptops, locatedinNode1whereweeat,MissionControlcanstreamaTVchannelonourrequest.I’mnotmuchintoTVmyself,somostofthetimewewatchESPN,aUSsports channel that Terry and Butch are very fond of. But for specialeventsliketheDragonlaunchwerequestNASATV.

Unfortunately this isnotan interruption-freeservice,and I’mnot talking

about commercials. The videoconferencing system (like our email,internetaccessandtwoofourfourSpace-to-Groundchannels)onlyworkwhen our Ku-Band antennas have coverage. Interruptions are quitefrequent and can range from a few minutes to even a full hour. TheDragonlaunchoccurredduringoneofthosegapsincoverage,whichwecallLOS(Loss-Of-Signal).

Anyway,back toourmain topic,getting ready forDragonarrival.ButchandIhadafinaltrainingsessiontodayinwhichwepracticedthecapture.IhavewrittenaboutthecapturechoreographyandourrespectiverolesinL+19Logbook,incaseyoumissedit.

AsM2, one of my big responsibilities will be to watch out for any off-nominal signature and be ready to run the appropriate response: wewouldcallthat“runningthemalfunctioncue-cards”.

TodayIwroteanumberonthecuecardnexttoeverymalfunctionandIasked our instructor on the ground to call out a number during theapproach and capture, so I could practice mentally determining theappropriate response, without really interfering with Butch’s capturepractice.

SinceduringoneoftherunswewereinKu-LOS(seeabove)andhadnocomwithour instructor,Butchstartedunexpectedlytorandomlycalloutnumbers while he was flying the arm. Great training! And by the way,althoughwe train for theworsescenarios,weall countonDragonandthearmworkingflawlesslytomorrow.AndTerrywilltakesomeawesomepictures:hespentalotoftimetodaysettingupcamerasandknowinghisskills,itwillbegood!

Hey, one little thing I would like to share from our past Christmasholidays,actually fromChristmasday.Terrywasso thoughtful to flyupforme a golden astronaut pin, which you get when you actually fly tospace,andhegave it tomeasaChristmaspresent.Thatwassoniceand totally unexpected.AndButchgaveme theSoyuzMach-25patch.Don’tIhavewonderfulcrewmates?

Italiantranslationof this logbookentry:L+48,L+49:UnregalodiNatale

daastronauta,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+50

Samantha Cristoforetti e Barry Wilmore nella Cupola durantel'avvicinamentodelcargoDragonCRS-5.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 50 (2015.01.12)—My50thdayinspaceandcertainlyabigdayhereonISSyesterday–asI’msure you’ve heard, Dragon has arrived! We now have a new roomattachedtoNode2nadir,rightnexttoourcrewquarters:allthetimeI’vebeenuphere therewasahatch tovacuum there,now I canmake theturnand“divedown”intoDragon.Ourhomeinspacejustgotbigger!

Approachandcapturehappenedinthemorningand,at leastfromwhatwe could tell from our perspective, everything went really well. It wasquite touching towatch this vehicle approach ISSand to discernmoreand more details as it came closer, a messenger from Earth bringingsuppliestotheonlysixhumanscurrentlynotontheplanet.

Iwasimpressedathowsteadyitwasasitcameupfrombelowus:youcouldhardlynoticeitcontrollingitspositionandattitude.Asitstoppedatthe last holding point at 30 meters it felt already so close, I couldn’tbelievethatitwouldgetstill20meterscloserbeforewecouldgrappleit,

but of course out there we don’t have many references to gaugedistance. It arrived at the capture point, at 10 meters distance, duringorbital night, with the red and green lights on the sides reflectingbeautifully on the solar arrays. Just after sunrise we got a “GO forcapture”fromHoustonandButchsmoothlymaneuveredtheroboticarmonto the grapple pin and pulled the trigger to initiate the capturesequence.Ihadallthemalfunctioncuecardsready,butfortunatelytherewasnoneedforthem.Everythingwentperfectly!

After that we safed the arm and ground took control to maneuver theDragon to itsberthingpositionat theNode2nadirport.Once theboltsthatcreateasolidmechanicalconnectionweredriven,Ireceivedagotoleakcheckthevestibule:ifyou’rewonderingwhatthatis,let’ssaythatit’sthespacebetweenthedoors.

Wehaveahatchonourside,Dragonhasahatchonitsside:whenthehatches are open, we need a pressure-tight “corridor” in between thatallowsus togo through; that iscalled thevestibule.Justafterberthing,thevestibule isatvacuum: ifyouthinkabout it, it’soutsideof thehatchon our side and outside of the hatch on the Dragon side. Before weequalize pressure andopen the hatch, it’s important tomake sure thatthe vestibule doesn’t leak. For that purpose I opened a patch betweenthe vestibule and the ISS cabin atmosphere and pressurized thevestibule to260mmHg, thenverified that thepressure remainedstablefor 20minutes. At that point, I fully equalized pressure and Terry andButch took over to open the hatch and work on reconfiguring thevestibuleforthetimeDragonwillstayonISS.

Atsomepoint,oncethehatchonoursidewasopen,Terryinvitedmetosmell the“smellofspace” in thevestibule. It’ssortofa joke,ofcourse,space itself doesn’t smell. But it’s apparently the typical smell ofhardware thathasbeenexposed tovacuum.Notapleasantodor, I tellyou:I’dsaythedominantcomponentis“burned”withatouchof“rotten”.Buthey,ifthatmeansthataspaceshipcametovisit,I’lltakeitanytime!

Video: themoment when Samantha smells "the smell of space" [subsENG/ITA]

Video: Expedition 42 - Samantha and the smell of outer space [subsENG/ITA](0:34)

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+50: L’odore dello spazio, byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+51,L+52

ThesleepingbagbySamanthaCristoforettiintheDestinyLaboratoryonthenightoftheammoniaalarmontheISS.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 51 and 52(2015.01.13-14)—Helloeverybody,nowthatthingshavemostlyreturnedtonormalonISS,it’stimetocatchupwiththelogbooksoftheweek.Andwhataweekithasbeen!

Lookingback toTuesday,wegot to ingressDragonandunloadall theurgentcargo,mainlyeverythingthatneededtobeincoldstowage.Andthen on toWednesday when, as youmight have heard, we had quitesome excitement here onboard and in the control centers around theworldastheammonialeakalarmwentoff.

IhadjustfinishedamonthlyvideoconferencewithmyESAmanagementand I was about to start a review of the installation procedure for theAirwayMonitoringexperimentonthelaptopinmycrewquarters,whenallthespeakersthroughouttheStationstartedtotransmittheonetonesuretocatcheverybody’simmediateattention:theemergencytone.

[Video:imagesfromoutsidetheISSandradiocommunicationsbetweenastronautsandcontrolcentersintheearlystagesoftheammoniaalarm

Video:Expedition42-2015-01-14-AmmoniaLeakAlarm(41:23)

IcameoutofmycrewquartersandlookedattheLabaftbulkhead,theclosestCautionandWarningPanelIcouldputmyeyeson,andthereitwas,thethirdlightfromtheleftwaslitred:evenwithoutreadingthelabel,Iknowthatthethirdlightisthedreadedammonialeak.NotthatIcherishthethoughtofhavingafireoradepressurization(theothertwoscenariothat can trigger an emergency alarm), but ammonia, I am told, can killyoureallyfast.Icouldn’tdistinguishanyammoniaodorinthecabin,butIcertainly didn’t sniff around much: I immediately grabbed an oxygenmask,put itonandheadedtowardstheRussiansegmenttogetherwithTerry,ButchandSasha.ElenaandAntonwereintheRussiansegmentalreadyatthetime.

After making sure that nobody was left behind, we closed the hatchisolating the Russian from the American segment of the Station andstarted to prepare the ammonia measurement equipment and theammoniarespirators.BeforeIgoanyfurther,ifyou’reinterestedinsomebackground(likewhythereisadangerofanammonialeak,orwhytheRussiansegment isa safehavenorhow theammonia response lookslike),youcantakealookatmytrainingLogbooks:L-140andL-142.

Backtoourstory…afewminutesafterthetonewentoff,Houstoncalled

and declared it a false alarm, so we stood down from the emergencyresponse and came back to the US segment, finding it of courseunusuallyquiet,sincethevehicleauto-responsehadshutdownalloftheStation’smanyfans.

Whyafalsealarm?Well,lookingatthetelemetryfromStation,theflightcontrollerscouldn’tinitiallyfindanyconfirmingcuesthattherewasindeedan ammonia leak and everything pointed instead to a computermalfunction. But that was just the beginning of a long day foreverybody…

Aswewerestartingtorestowtheemergencyequipmentandgetbacktonormal,wereceivedtheunexpectedcallfromCAPCOM:“Ammonialeak.Execute emergency response. Ammonia leak, execute emergencyresponse.Ammonialeak,executeemergencyresponse”.

Aswe learned later,Houstonhad in themeantimestarted toseesomesignatures in the telemetry that could possibly indicate a real leak ofammonia into the cabin, in particular a slight increase in the cabinpressure:attheveryleast,arealleakcouldnotberuledoutatthatpointanymore.

SoweputonourmasksandtookrefugeintheRussiansegmentagain.Even more than the first time, I believe that the thought did crosseverybody’s mind as we closed the hatch: we might never reopen itagain.

We went through the full ammonia response procedure and, afterswapping the oxygen masks for the respirators with ammonia filters,could confirm with Draeger tubes that the atmosphere in the Russiansegmentwasuncontaminated,hencesafetobreath.

WedoffedtherespiratorsandeventuallyweallgatheredintheRussianServiceModule,eagertohearwordsfromHoustonaboutthesuspectedleak. We learned that to mitigate the possible leak, the pump in theexternalcooling loopBhadbeenshutdownandthat the looppressurehadbeen reduced,butwewere relieved tohear that theammoniahadnot been vented from the loop into space: a possible scenario in a

situationlikethis,butalsoanactionthatwouldcrippletheSpaceStationforalongtime.

Followingtheshutdownoftheloop,athermalclockhadstartedforalotof equipment onboard: if not shut down within a certain time, it wouldoverheat.Socontrolcentersinseveralcountrieswerebusytryingtodoapowerdown that would have as little impact as possible on Stationsystemsandscience.

SamanthaCristoforetti and the ISS crew in the Russian section of theISSduringtheammoniaalarmof2015.01.15.Thealarmsaremarkedinredonthecomputerscreens.Credit:NASA

I thinkyouget thepoint: thecontrolcentershad thehard job fromnowon.Wewere safe, doingwell andwith very little to do, exceptwaiting.Knowing what a stressful time the guys and girls on the ground werehaving,wetriedtokeepquietandneveraskedforanyupdate,patientlywaitingforthemtocallus,whichofcoursetheydidperiodically.

Ateveryupdate ifbecamemoreandmoreclearthateverythingpointedtoafalsealarm,butwewerenotsurethatwewouldbeallowedtoleavetheRussiansegmentbeforethenextday.

In all of this time, our Russian colleagues were incredibly hospitable.Theyevengaveusthreefoodcontainersthatwecoulduseforourselves,sowewouldn’t feelbadaboutdigging into theircontainersoraskingallthetime.WhenthepowerwasrestoredtothepoweroutletsIcouldgiveaquickcall tomy family to let themknow IwasOK.AndElena letmeborrowher internet-accesscomputer,soIcouldwriteashort tweetandmakesureeverybodyknewthatweweredoingfine.

(IT)Grazieatutti,stiamotuttibenequinelsegmentorussoesiamoalsicuro.Peraggiornamentiseguite@NASAe@Space_Station

—SamCristoforetti(@AstroSamantha)January14,2015

Wedidn’tknowwhatinformationthemediawerereportingandwewereconcernedthatpeoplemightbeworriedaboutus.

Eventually, in theearlyevening,we received instructions to reopen thehatch and go back. To be really safe, we all put on our ammoniarespirators.Houston directed us to send two people forward to sampletheatmospherefirstandButchdecidedthatheandTerry,astheSoyuzright seaters,would go.After a fewminutes they called back declaringthatthereadingswerenegativeandwehadthefinalconfirmation:therehadbeennoammonialeak!

BarryWilmoreandTerryVirtsshortlyafterentering theUSOSsegmentoftheISSontheemergencynightof2015.01.14.Credit:NASATV

Afteradayofwaiting,wewerereadyforaction:wequicklygatheredallthe used emergency equipment, restowing what would be reused,trashingwhatneededtobediscarded.WetaggedupwithHoustonabouttheoxygenmasks:howmanyhadweusedandhowbesttoredeploytheremainingmasksonStation tomakesurewewereready torespondtoany other emergency. And we took a few actions that could not beperformed remotely by the ground to safe equipment following thepowerdowns.

Finally,wegotreadyforbedtime:sinceventilationhadnotbeenrestoredinNode2,ColumbusandJEM,wecouldnotsleepinourcrewquartersandhadtocampoutintheaftmodules.IsetupmycampingspotintheLab: camping in weightlessness is really easy, you just attach your

sleepingbagtoahandrailandyou’rereadyforagoodnightsleep!

By the next day, we were ready to jump back into the busy scienceprogramofthenextweeks,thankstothequickre-planningworkdoneontheground.

By theway, as unfortunate as this event was, inmanywayswewerelucky:Dragonwas fully berthed, all the urgent cold stowage itemshadbeen removed, none of us was working on an experiment that wouldsufferdamageifdelayedorleftunattended.

That would have been the case, for example for the ESA “T-Cell”experiment,whichIperformedonTuesday:hadtheammoniaalarmgoneoffonthatday,wewouldhavelostthescience.So,intheend,wewerelucky:must bebecause, onExpedition 42,wealways knowwhere ourtowelis!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+51,L+52:Allarmeammoniaca?Nientepanico!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+53

SamanthaCristoforettiwitha fruit fliescassette fromtheFruitFliesLabexperiment.Credit:ESANASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay53(2015.01.15)—Afterthe unplanned excitement of Wednesday, we woke up on Thursdaymorningtoreturntorelativenormality.Relative,becauseexternalcoolingloop B was still shut down and unpressurized: due to the possiblepresenceofgasbubblesafterWednesday’sevents,there-pressurizationwasadelicateprocessthatwouldtakethegroundafewdaystoperformsafely(LoopBisbackonlineasoftoday,Sunday,asI’mwritingthis).

Ventilationwas restored thatmorning,meaning that campingwas overandwewouldbeabletogetbackintoourcrewquarters,butcooling inNode2 reliesonLoopB, so itwasgoing tobeabitwarmer fora fewnights(IthinkthatIdidn’tmindthatpartatall).

Wealsohadnocooling inNode3,wherewehaveour treadmillT2,sowedidourdailycardiovasculartrainingintheLabonCEVIS,ourspacebike. The other modules had cooling because it had been possible totransitionthemto“single-loop”,whichentailsconnectingthetwointernal

coolingloopsandhavethemrejecttheircombinedheatloadviaexternalloopA,theoneunaffectedbythepreviousday’sevents.

BecauseoftheloopBsituation,wewerealsodidnothaveallthepowerchannels available, causing some limitations, but nothing dramatic: inJEMandCOL, forexample,weonlyhadhalfof the lightsworkingandone of the two communication panels available. Nothing that wouldpreventthescienceactivitiestopickupthepaceagainandshortlyafterour morning planning conference with the ground, Butch, Terry and Iwere getting started with our respective experiments and the SpaceStationwasaverybusylaboratoryagain!

Samantha Cristoforetti with the Fruit Flies Lab experiment. Credit:ESA/NASA

I had been tasked with setting up the Fruit Flies Lab. Yes, Dragon

broughtupsomelivingcompanyinformofaboutahundredfruitfliesor,to be formal, Drosophila Melanogaster. Actually, by now we probablyhavemore:thepointistoobservemultiplegenerationsandtheshortlifespanoffruitfliesmakesthatpossible.Andsincewesharewiththosetinyfellowsabout77%ofthegenesknowntobeinvolvedindisease,theyareaveryinterestinganimalmodel!

The flies came up in cassettes, that you can see in the pictures. As Iretrievedthemonebyonefromthefoamcutoutsintheirtransferboxes,itwasgoodtoseethat theywerealiveandhealthy:asfarasIcouldtell,theywereveryhappyastrofliesinspace!

Eachflycassettewasmatchedtoaspecialfoodchangeoutplatform,withwhich I could insert fresh food without breaking containment, whilesimultaneously extracting larvae for preservation in ourMELFI freezer.Afterthefoodchangeout,Iinsertedeachcassetteinaspecificlocationinone of the Nanorack facilities: as it’s commonly done in life scienceexperiments,halfofthecassettewerestowedinacentrifugetosimulatenormalEarthgravity,whiletheotherhalfwasstowedinastaticlocation,henceinweightlessness.

Moreover, each cassette was paired with a small camera unit thatmonitorsthefliesbehaviorandprovidesanartificialday/nightcycle.

Itwasaverygratifyingwork,lookingforwardtothenextfeedingcycle!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+53:Astromoscerinispaziali,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+55

Samantha Cristoforetti, Elena Serova and Barry Wilmore in the 2014ZeroRoboticsfinalontheISS.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 55 (2015.01.17)—Iknow, I’m a bit latewith the logbooks, but bearwithme, I still want tobringyoubacktolastweekonemoretime,becauselastFridaywehadavery special event on the Space Station: Butch, Elena and I had thepleasureandhonor tohost in theJapaneseLaboratory thefinalsof the2014ZeroRoboticscompetition!

ToparticipateinZeroRobotics,highschoolstudentsneedtowritecodethat will control a SPHERES satellite – on Earth, of course, only insimulations, but for the teams that made it to the finals, their codeactuallycontrolsoneoftherealSPHERESunitswehaveontheSpaceStation.

SPHERESdeterminetheirpositioninspacethankstofivebeaconsthatwedeployintheJEM,thusdefiningthevolumeinwhichthesatellitescanoperate.SmallthrustersallowtheSPHEREStomovearoundandrotateas needed. Working gas for the thrusters is CO2, coming from small

tanksthatwecanquicklychangesoutwhenempty.

At the beginning of every runwe set two satellites in a predeterminedinitialpositionandorientationandthenletgo,lettingthecodeofthetwocompeting teams take control. While watching mostly the SPHERESmoving around the cabin,we could also keepan eye on the computerdisplay showing the virtual environment in which the satellites weremoving,whichincludedanasteroidinthemiddleofthevolume:thetasksfor the satelliteswas to take pictures of this asteroid.But thatwas notenough: to actually gain points, they needed to point their antennas toEarthandtransmitthepictures,allthewhiledodgingsolarflarebytakingrefugeinasafezonebehindthesatellite,orelseriskhavingtheirstoredpicturescorruptedoreventhesatellite(virtually)damagedifhitbyaflare.

Video:Expedition42-SPHEREScompetition(6:40)

Don’t thinkthatwritinggoodcodewastheonlyskill requiredhere:ZeroRobotics isverymuchastrategygameaswelland itwas fun towatchthedifferentstyles,somemorecautious,somemoreaggressive.

Fuelmanagementwasabigconcernaswell:foreachrunasatellitehadanallocatedamountofCO2,once thathadbeenconsumedtheywouldnotbeable to fire the thrustersanymore.Unless, that is, thesatelliteswouldstartmovingoutside theallowedvolume, inwhichcase thecodefromMITwouldtakeoverandfirethethrusterstobringthemback.

MITrunsSpheresandtheZeroRoboticscompetitionsandmostoftheUSfinalistswere gathered therewatching the finals live,whilemost of theEuropean finalists were at the ESA facility ESTEC in the Netherlands,includingateamwhocameallthewayfromRussia!

AndseveralmoreRussianfinalistsweregatheredinMoscow.

Actually,aftertheinitialstagesofthecompetitionlastyear,teamshadtojoin forces in alliances of three: I believe all of the alliances includedteamsfromtheUSandfromEurope,whichIthoughtwasgreat.

For the record, the Zero Robotics 2014 champions are theLakeElevenVADARS, the alliance of Team Lake (US), Cora’s Eleven(Italy)andVADARS(US).Heartfeltcongratulations!

And to all who participated, we’re very proud of you up here: for yourenthusiasm and dedication in participating in a game that tested yourskills, your creative thinking and your ability to work in a team evenacrosscontinents.Youguysrock.Andfor2015…GOZeroRobotics!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+55: La competizione ZeroRobotics:sietefortiragazzi!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+57,L+58

Samantha Cristoforetti wearing the sensors of the Drain Brainexperiment.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 57 and 58(2015.01.19-20)—Thishasbeenoneofthoseweekswhenthesubjectoftheexperimentisoften…me.

Human physiology has definitely been very present on my scienceschedule,startingalreadyontheweekend,whenIgot todosomedatagatheringwhile sleeping! In fact, Dragon has broughtme a very fancynightwardrobe:avestfortheWearableMonitoringexperimentthatIhadtowear for two nights in a row for the first data gather. This vest hasbeen custom-made forme and is a very tight fit, because it integratesinstruments that need to be adherent to the body: electrodes, for a“classic” electrocardiogram, and a three-axis accelerometer to monitorthemechanicsoftheheart,namelytheopeningandclosingoftheheartvalves. The hypothesis to be tested here is that tiny variations in thecardiacfunctionscausemicro-awakeningsthatcompromisesleepqualityon ISS. Although I have to say, from a purely subjective and non-quantitativepointofviewofcourse,thatIfeellikeIsleepgreatuphere!

Early in themorningonMonday itwasalso time for the firstsessionofDrainBrain.Actually,wealreadyhadanultrasoundsessionearlyon inthemission,butforthisparticularsetofmeasurementswehadtowaitforthereplacementhardwaretobedeliveredonDragon, followingthe lossoftheOrbital-3mission.SpecificinstrumentsforDrainBrainincludethreestrain-gauge pletismoghraphs, which look like collars of a stretchablematerial,asyoucanseeinthepicture.Theyareactuallysensorsabletomeasure blood flow in the veins in a very simple and non-invasivemanner, which is not dependent on the skills and interpretation of theoperator,as isthecasewithultrasound.Whilewearingthesecollarsonmyneck,armandleg,Iperformedaseriesofbreathsat70%ofmylungcapacity, either remaining still or stretching and flexingmy hand ormyankle. While doing that, I was breathing into our Pulmonary FunctionSystem and the software, via a graphic interface, was giving meinstructionsonwhen tostartexhalingor inhaling.Themaingoalof theexperimentistostudyhowthereturnofbloodfromtheheadtotheheartchanges inspace,sincewedon’thavegravityeffectshelpingwith that.It’s something that we know little about for now and a betterunderstandingof thesecirculatorymechanismscouldpotentiallyhelp inunderstandingsomedegenerativediseasesofthebrain.

SamanthaCristoforetti works on the Fruit Fly Lab experimentwith fruitflies.Credit:ESA/NASA

AfterDrainBrain,Imovedontothesecondin-flightsessionoftheCardioOx experiment, taking ultrasound images of the carotid and brachialarteries andDopplermeasurements of blood flow. And towrap up thehumanphysiologyday,IalsodidanotherdatacollectionforSkin-B,thatIhavetoldyouaboutbefore.Andsincemanyoftheseexperimentsneedamatching sample collection, on Tuesday I performed a 24-hour urinesample collection and “Terry the Vampire” (a close friend of “TerryScissorhands”thehairdresser)gotdodrawbloodfromme.

Buthey,asyouknow,there’snotonlyushumansonISS!No,no,don’tgetexcited, I’mnotawareofanystow-awayalien livingonboardnorofanyUFOflyingcombatairpatrolsinthearea,butwehaveofcourseourfriendlyfruitflies!Someofthecassetteswithflyandlarvaedidendupinthe freezer at this point, but I putmore cassettes in the centrifugeandstaticpositionof theirdedicated facilityand thismulti-generationproject

iscontinuingon.ForsomeofthefixationoperationsIgottobuildanduseadisposableglovebox,asyoucanseeinthepicture:Ididn’tevenknowwehadthoseonboard,theSpaceStationisalwaysfullofsurprises!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+57, L+58: La lunga giornatadellafisiologiaumana,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+59—L+65

Samantha Cristoforetti with the Epigenetic experiment. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days from 59 to 65(2015.01.21-27)—Lotsofexperimentsfillingupmydaysthispastweek–sorry I didn’t keep you updated much, but it’s really busy up here onhumanity’soutpostinspace!

Some experiments were old acquaintances, like “Circadian Rhythms”,and several were new entries, like ESA’s “AirwayMonitoring”. I talkedabout this latter pretty extensively in my training logbooks, like forexampleinL-129Logbook.

Fornow,aftersometeethingproblemswiththehardware(whichisquitecomplexandpartlyusedonboardforthefirsttime),TerryandIgotalltherequired data for the “normal” pressure session: in a few weeks we’llperform the reduced pressure measurement, for which we will lockourselvesupintheairlockandlowerthepressurearoundus.

Youknow,Idon’tthinkthatthereanylaboratorytechniciansontheplanet

whogettoworkonsuchawiderangeofscienceaswedo:Iassumethatall laboratories on Earth are more specialized and the scientists andtechnicians well trained on discipline-specific tasks! We, on the otherhand,don’thaverefinedskillsandwideexperienceonanyofthescienceactivitiesweperform:insomecaseswe’vehadatrainingsessionmanymonthsago,inothercaseswegetsometrainingonboard,likevideosorslides.

And of course some astronauts have a background in experimentalscience, but theyarenot themajority:most of us rely on verydetailedprocedures and, for themost complex operations, on real-time supportfrom thegroundby theexperimentdevelopersand/or the investigators.Sometimestheyonlytalktousviatheregularcommunicatorsondutyinthecontrolcenters,liketheEurocomforESAactivities,whilesometimesthey are even enabled to talk to us directly on a space-to-groundchannel,whichinthatcaseisdedicatedonlytothem.

My own background in science is limited – what you get with anengineering degree – and if I had chosen an education in science,insteadofengineering,itwouldhavebeenphysics,soeventhenIwouldhave hardly had a chance to work with cell cultures and multi-generationalexperimentsonfruitfliesandworms.AndI’mnotsurethatIwouldbecutforitasmyfull-timejob–itprobablyrequiresmorepatiencethanIpossess-butIdohavealotoffunworkingontheseexperimentshereonISS!

For example, on Monday I got to work again on the experiment“Epigenetics”.My little friends in thiscasearenot fruit flies,butanotheranimal commonly used in research as amodel for larger organisms: amillimeter-long worm called Caenorhabditis Elegans, for friends C.Elegans.Andjustlikewiththefruitflies,wewantthemtomakebabies:atotal of four generations will grow onboard and specimen of eachgeneration(adultsandlarvae)willbepreservedinthefreezerforreturn.

DragonbroughtuptheC.ElegansinstartersyringesandIinjectedtheminto culture bags last week to start incubation. Then on Monday Iextracted thebabiesusinga special syringeequippedwitha filter, thatwould not let the bigger adult worms go through. The first generation

adults remained in the original culture bag and were frozen, while Iinserted the second generation babies into another culture bag to letthem further incubate. The purpose of the experiment, as the namesuggests, is tostudy inheritedepigeneticchanges: thatmeanschangesin gene expression, but not in theDNA itself. Let’s put it thisway: theenvironmentcannotchangethegenesinyourDNA,butitcanaffecthowyour genes are expressed, or “activated”. The worms will adapt toweightlessnessandthatwillcausechangesintheirgeneexpression,sothe question is: how, if at all, will these changes be inherited by theoffspring?

Fascinating,isn’tit?

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L+59-L+65: InuovipiccoliamiciCaenorhabditisElegans,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+66,L+67

ATV-5 and a Progress cargo in the orbital night photographed bySamanthaCristoforetti.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 66 and 67(2015.01.28-29)—InthelastlogbookI’vementionedthattheISSisaverybusylaboratorythesedays,withmanyexperimentsgoingoninparallelinmultiple disciplines. At the same time, this is also a spaceport wherespaceships full of goods come and go. And right now, we have twovehicles,DragonandATV,whicharegoingtoleaveinthenextcoupleofweeksandneedtobereadiedfordepartureandreentry.So,foracoupledays I have (mostly) doffed my virtual lab coat, I have rolled up mysleevesandgottenintocargo-packing-and-loadingmode.

Loadingavehicle for reentry into theatmosphere isadelicateprocess:theoverallmassandhow thismass isdistributed (hence the centerofmass)needtobeknownquitepreciselyinordertoproperlycalculatethereentryburnsforthedesiredreentrytrajectory.Thatisespeciallytrueforavehiclethat isrecoveredonEarth, likeDragon,but it’salsoextremelyimportant for ATV5, because this shipwill perform a special controlledreentryintheinitialphasestogatherdatathatwillhelpprepareforSpace

Stationde-orbiting (when that timecomes,which isnotany timesoon).I’msureyou’llbeabletoreadeverythingaboutATV5’ssocalled“shallowreentry”ontheATVblog!

Asyouprobablyknow,ATVisdestroyedintheatmosphere,soweloaditwithtrash:waste,packingmaterial,oldclothesanddiscardeditems.Andwearemakingsurethatwefill ituptothemaximum,becauseaftertheloss of the Orbital -3 mission on launch last October, the logisticsonboardhasbecomechallenging:wehavealotof“stuff”(verytechnicalspace term), thatwas supposed to be long gone by now!Also for thisreason, we are even putting a limited amount of trash into Dragon,although this vehicle is recovered intact on the ground (or morespecificallyintheocean)andthereforeitsmainjobistotakereturncargobackhome.

But how does this all work, if the distribution of mass needs to be soprecise? Well, actually I don’t quite know. There is some miracle ofplanningandcoordinationhappeningonthegroundandwereceivetwoproductsonboard:acargolist,thatlistsallthebags,theircontent,wheretoget them,where toput themandspecialpacking instructions;andachoreographymessage, that tells you inwhichorder todo thepackingand,again,anyspecialinstructions(liketakingpictures,reportingaserialnumber, packing an item in a particular direction). If there’s any freespace in the bags, we fill it up with filler foam that cargo goods werelaunchedinandwithziplocsofoldclothes.Andthenhopefullytheywillfitintheirassignedstowageareas–whichofcoursehavealocationcode,sowealwaysknowexactlywhereeachbagissupposedtogo.

[Video: some moments of the ISS rotation maneuver on Wednesday,beforethedeboost]

Video:Expedition42-ISSchangeofattitudeonJanuary28,2015(1:40)

OnWednesday,aswewerebusyplanning, flightcontrollers flipped theStationaround180degrees– insteadof flyingwithNode2forward,weendedupflyingwiththeRussianServiceModuleleadingtheway.Itwasabsolutelyunnoticeabletome– infact, Ihadforgottenabout it. IwouldhavenoticedimmediatelyifIhadlookedoutoftheCupola,ofcourse,butthatwasnotpossible,becausetheshuttershadtobeclosedalldayduetotheseriesofmaneuvers.Here’sanewpsychologicaldisorderforyou:CupolaWithdrawalSyndrome!

So,whydidwefly“backwards”onWednesday?Well,wehadtopointthethrustersofATVforward,sothattheycouldbefiredtobraketheStationjustalittlebit,enoughtolowertheapogee(thehigherpartoftheorbit)byacoupleofkm.WetypicallyuseATVtodojusttheopposite–raisetheorbitperiodically,withaso-calledreboost–butthistimea“deboost”wasnecessary to make our orbit just right for the next Progress vehiclecomingup.

The deboost lasted about 4min: I floated still in the US Lab and I letmyself being propelled to the other side of the module as ATV waspushingtheStationaroundme.Itwasfun!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+66,L+67:CargoinpartenzaearrivoallospazioportoISS,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+68—L+71

Samantha Cristoforetti replaces a waste urine recycling tank. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days from 68 to 71(2015.01.30–2015.02.02)—Well, here we are. Tenweeks have passedalready:don’tknowwhat’sgoingonuphere,buttimeisgoingbywaytoofast!

OnFridayIhadanotherdatewithourspaceworms,theC.Elegans,asIwrapped up the week with a session of the experiment Epigenetics: Iseparated again baby worms and adult worms, as I wrote about in arecent logbook, so now we have the third generation growing in theincubator,halfofthesamplesinweightlessnessandtheotherhalfinthe1Gcentrifuge.

Ialsotookcareof theColumbusinternalcoolingsystemlastFriday.Asyouknow,weusewatertoremoveheatfromequipment(viacoldplates)andfromthecabin(via theairconditioningsystem)andperiodicallyweneed toadd theantimicrobialagentOPAto thewater tomakesurewedon’thaveanymicrobialgrowth in the lines.Actually,Terrydidmostof

thework lastweek: Iwasonly taskedonFriday togetawater sampleafter theOPA had been added. Thatwaterwill return to Earth and beanalyzedon thegroundtocheck thatwehave indeedthedesiredOPAconcentration.

Samantha Cristoforetti in the Dome with the Intercultura t-shirt. Credit:ESA/NASA

OnSaturdaymorning I usually sleep in – I’m a night owl, not an earlyriser–butthistimeIwasupat8foraveryspecialappointment.Igottotalk on the HAM radio with students in Italy for a pass of about 10minutes:thepupilsoftheinstitute“G.Bearzi”inUdine(hello!)andaveryspecialgroupofyoungmenandwomenfromallovertheworldwhoarejuststartingtheirexchangesemesterinItalianschoolsthankstothenon-profit Intercultura or, internationally, AFS. I wasmyself an Intercultura-AFS exchange student, spending a school year in the US, while mycrewmate Terry spent a summer in Finland! And to all the exchange

studentsontheplanetwhowillreadthis:Iamproudofyou,Ihopethatyou’ll enjoy your adventure, that you’ll smile through the difficult times(theywill come) and that you’ll recognize that this is a great gift and itbringswithitresponsibility.AndI’mextremelygratefultothefamilieswhomakethisallpossiblebyhostinganexchangestudent:thankyouforyourgenerosity,yourock!

OK– back tomore down toEarth topics, so to speak: urine.Not veryglamorous,Iknow,butitwasatthecenterofmythoughtsandmydeedsformostofMonday.WithATV5scheduled to leavesoon,anumberofbrinetransfersintotheATVfluidtanks,nowemptyofpotablewater,wereplanned.Brine,asyoumightremember,iswhatisleftoverafterrecyclingurineandit’sfinalwasteproduct.TransferringittoATVtakescareofourdisposalneed,atthesametimeisalsohelpswiththemassandcenterofmassissuesthatIhavetalkedaboutinapreviouslogbook.

Inthepicture,I’mswappingarecycletankfullofbrineforanemptyone.Abigmonster,isn’tit?

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+68-L+71: Un altroappuntamento con i nostri vermi spaziali, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+72,L+73

SamanthaCristoforettiwiththevacuumconnectiontubeofthevestibuleNodo1-PMM.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days from 72 to 73(2015.02.03-04)—Today is Saturday and, wow, this has been a busyweek!Not somuch time to keep you updated on ourwork and life uphere,unfortunately.Buthey,wecanstillcatchupalittlebit,solet’sseewhat’shappenedontheISSearlierintheweek.

This past Tuesday I did something that we don’t quite do every day: Idepressurized a part of the Space Station to vacuum. Not an airlock,thoseactuallyexistforthatpurpose.

A vestibule: that’s the small volume that is created when two ISSmodulesare joined together. Just like if in yourhomeyouhadnotonedoor between rooms, but two, with a little space between them whichbecomesalittle“room”ofitsownifyouclosebothdoors.OnISSwecallthat little volume between hatches “vestibule”. Imagine you wanted tomakesurethatboththosehatchesdonotleak–thebestwaytodothisleakcheckistodepressurizethevestibulebetweenthem.Ifairgetsinto

thevestibule,raisingthepressure,there’saleakinthehatchseals.Hereis how it goes: you connect the vestibule volume to a vacuum accesspoint and vent all the air overboard; then you measure the residualpressure,whichwillbeveryclosetozero(inmycaseitwasabout3mmHg)andthenyouwait24hoursandcheckthepressureagain.Ofcourse,thereisnosuchthingasaperfectlytightseal,someleakagewillalwaysoccur.

Inthecaseofthevestibule,myprocedurecalleditagoodleakcheckifthe increase inpressure in thevestibuleafter24hourswas lessthan5mmHg. Ibetyou’recuriousbynow…whathatchesdidwe leakcheckandwhy?Well,I’mnotsureifyou’veheardalready,butwe’regoingtodosome remodeling soon on the Space Station. Time to freshen up theroomdistributionabit!OurPMMmodule,which iscurrentlyattachedtoNode1nadir,willberelocatedtoNode3forwardandtheNode1nadirportwillgetaluxuryupgradethatwillmakeitcapableofreceivingvisitingvehicles.Sowedid the leakcheckon thevestibulebetweenPMMandNode1,tomakesurethatthosehatchesdonot leak,becausetheywillbe exposed to vacuum when we do the relocation later this year. Inaddition, justbefore the leakcheckTerryand I installeda feedthrough:that’ssomething thatallowsacableconnection togo throughahole inthepressureshell–youplugthecableononeside,let’ssayinside,andthen you plug the continuation of the cable to the other side of thefeedthrough,let’ssayoutside.Thefeedthroughisinsertedinaholeandhassealstomakesureairdoesn’tleakout.

You’llbehappytohearthatthevestibulepassedtheleakcheck,soboththehatchesandthenewlyinstalledfeedthroughareingoodshape.Goodnews, ah?By theway,what you see in the picture is the long jumperhosethatweusedtoconnectthevestibuletovacuum:ithadtoreachallthewayacrosstheLabtothevacuumaccesspoint.Maybeit’sjustme,but connecting something to vacuum is definitely something thatcommandsattention:there’snothingparticularlycomplicatedinthesetuptodepressurize the vestibule, but I diddouble-checkand triple-check itbeforeopening theequalizationvalve thatactually vented thevestibuleatmosphereintospace.Infact,Ievenhadafeelingforamomentthatmyearswerepopping,whichwouldbeasignof thepressure in thecabin

dropping;butthepressureindicationswerestable,soitwasprobablythehissingsoundfromtheongoingventingplayingtricksonmyeardrums.

Wednesdaywas one of those “keep-the-Station-in-shape” kind of daysforme.Besidestearingdowntheleakchecksetup,Iworkedforexampleon an a periodic environmental monitoring activity that checks ourpotablewaterforcoliformandothermicrobialgrowthinsamplesfromourpotablewater lines after 48 hours of incubation. Luckily, I could reportzeromicrobialcoloniesonthemicrobialcapturedeviceandnomagentacolor in the coloform detection packet, indicating a negative result.Alwaysgoodtohaveconfirmationthatourdrinkingwaterissafe!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+72, L+73: Il vuoto in unastanza,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+74,L+75

The release of a Cubesat from the Japanese ISS robotic arm duringExpedition42.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—Missiondays74e75(2015.02.05-06)—WehavesentDragonbackhomeyesterday!I’lltellyoumoreaboutthisinthecomingdays,butfornow,I’lljustsaythis:lookingbackatthepastweekssinceDragonarrival,it’sverygratifyingtothinkofalltheworkwe’ve done, from the experiments to the loading and unloadingoperations, up to the last-minute transfer of cold samples from thecoolers and freezers to cold bags for return. It’s also nice to catch ourbreath today, though: since we had to work hard all weekend, we’regettingthisWednesdayoff.Aniceandwelcomesurprise!

Butnowlet’sgobacktolastweekoncemoretocatchupwiththereleaseofsomethinga lotsmaller fromasomewhatsmaller roboticarm:a tinyCubesat,withthedimensions10cmx10cmx10cm,wasdeployedbytheJapanesearmonFriday.Prettycooltosee!

Therewerealotofpreparationactivitiesthedaysbeforetherelease, inclose cooperation with the JEMControl Center in Tsukuba, Japan. As

you might remember if you’ve been reading this logbook, the JEMmodulehasitsownsmallairlock:wecanopenthedoortotheinsideandslide a table into the cabin. The week prior to the release Butch hadinstalledon this table thesatellitedeploymentsystemwith theCubesatinside.OnThursday lastweek I got todepressurize theairlock.By theway, just like the big airlock for spacewalks, the Japanese airlock hasprovisionstorecovermostoftheair intotheSpaceStationvolume:justthelastbitofair,whentheresidualpressureintheairlockbecomestoosmall (around2PSI),mustnecessarilybevented intospace.Once theairlockwasatvacuum,Iopenedtheouterhatchintospaceandslidoutthetablewiththesatelliteanddeploymentsystem.Atthatpoint,roboticcontrollers from Tsukuba grabbed the deployment system with theJapanese robotic arm and, once they had a firm grip, I got a GO torelease it fromtheslidetable,sothat thearmcouldget fullcontrolof itandmoveittothedeploymentposition.MynexttaskwastotakepicturesofthedeploymentandIhavetosaythatthisonemademeabitnervous:youonlygetonechancetoget it rightandthatsatellitegoesawayfastonce it’s released!Reallydidn’twant tomess thisup,canonly imaginewhat a disappointment itwould be for the studentswho developed theCubesatnottohavepictures.

Talkingaboutstudents,onWednesdayIalsogotachancetotalkontheHAMradiotoagroupofschoolpupilsfromtheschools“Locatelli-Oriani”and“Bachelet”intheMilanarea:thanksforyourgreatquestionsandyouhardworkpreparingforthis!

OnFridayIgottospendquitealotoftimeinourbigairlockworkingontheEMUsuits (thesuits for spacewalks). Inparticular, Iworkedon thecooling water loops of both suits that will be used in the upcomingplannedEVAs by Terry andButch, “scrubbing” thewaterwith differentkinds of filters and adding iodine formicrobial control. After that I tookwatersamplesthatwerereturnedonDragonforanalysisontheground.Theloopscrubcanalsobeusedasanopportunitytodosomechecksonthesuitsandgettelemetryontheground,sobothsuitswereconnectedtoalaptoponwhichweranadatagatheringapplication.

Hey, on Friday I also got to talk to Mission Control Moscow, whichdoesn’thappenveryoften tousnon-Russiancrewmembers.Asweget

ready for ATV undocking this Saturday, I ranwithMoscow a checkoutprocedurefortheATVremotecontrolpanelthatwewillhavedeployedintheRussianServiceModulewhenATVdeparts.We’llonlyneedtosendcommands toATV in caseof an off-nominal situation, so I’m confidentthatwewillnotreallyneedthecontrolpanel,butwe’llbeready!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+74,L+75:AbbiamorimandatoacasaDragon!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+76—L+79

The Dragon CRS-5 freighter just before being released from the ISSroboticarm.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days from 76 to 79(2015.02.07-10)—It’s beenquite a historic day here on ISS: the last oftheAutomatedTransferVehiclesoftheEuropeanSpaceAgency,ATV-5GeorgeLemaitre,hasjustdepartedandisnowsafelyseparatedfromtheStation,ontrackforadestructivereentryintotheatmospheretomorrow:it’stakingawaytonsofwasteanddiscardeditems,thusgivingusquiteareliefonISSintermsstowagespace.

Butwe’ll have time to talk about thedeparture ofATVandall thepre-departure ops in a future logbook, today let’s go back a few days andlookat thedepartureofanothervehicleearlier thisweek:Dragon!LastweekendwasreallybusyhereonStationaswegotthelastthingsreadyto be loaded. I wrapped up the “Epigenetics” experiment on Saturday,fixating the lastgenerationofourC.Eleganswormsfor return toEarth.Scientists on theground tooka look at the culture bags in the cameraand reported that, judging from thecolor, thewormshadbeengrowingjust fine, so hopefully there’s now three generations of space-born

C.ElegansonEarth.

Theweekendwasalsothetimetoreinstall inDragonanumberofcold-stowagefacilities,calledPolarandGlacier:thesemoveablefridgesflyupanddownpoweredbytheDragonpowersupply,butinbetweentheyareactually installedonStation.Moving them isquite time-critical,becausewedon’twant themtoremainunpoweredformore than30minutes,soTerryandIworkedtogetheronatimedchoreographythatallowedustooperateinparallel,minimizingpower-offtime.

Last but not least, there was a last-minute entry on our timeline onSundaymorning:theremovalofafan-pump-separator(FPS)onaEMU,thesuitforspacewalks.InL+16,L+17LogbookIhavetoldyouabouttheFPS,sinceButchand I replacedoneback inDecember.Unfortunately,the FPS has failed on another suit. We don’t currently have sparesonboard,but itwasdecided that the failedoneshouldbe removedandreturnedonDragonforanalysisontheground.Doingitthesecondtimewasnotasdauntingasthefirsttime,especiallysincewedidnotinstallanew one, but it was still a challenging task to remove all the hard-to-reach, non-captive screws andwashers!Wewere gladwhenweweredone and could hand it over to Terry, so he could properly pack it forreturn.

Talkingaboutpacking,thatwasthebigtaskforMonday.Inthemorningitwascold-stowageopsagain,asTerryandIpackedandloadedsixcoldbagswithsamples fromourMELFI freezers.Coldbagsare likecoolerswith a very thick insulation, in which samples for return are stowedtogetherwithcoldbrickstokeepthemcooluntiltheycanberetrievedonEarth and put in an actual freezer again. For each cold bags we haddiagramswhichshowedexactlyhowtheyhadtobepackedand,insomecases,inwhatpreciseorientation.

Unfortunately, that’soneof those things thatworksa lotbetterwith thehelpofgravity,becauseuphere there’snothing tokeepall those itemswhereyouput them,untilofcourse thebag is fullandthe lidwillpresseverything in place. Also, as you can imagine, packing cold bags isnecessarilyalastminuteoperation:wepackedthemonMondaymorningandonMondayafternoonweclosedtheDragonhatch.TerryandButch

then installed thecontrollers for themotors thatdrive theboltskeepingDragonattached to ISSwhile I, In themeantime, tooka trip toATV toinstall theBreak-UpCamera,whichwillactuallyobserve thebreakupofATVfrominsidetomorrow!

Tuesday,ofcourse,wasreleaseday.Afterasuccessfulleakcheckofthehatches, making sure that neither Dragon nor ISS would have a leakwhendemated,Butchdroveoutthebolts,disconnectingDragonfromus,andthencontrollersonthegroundstartedtoflytheroboticarmtomoveDragontothereleaseposition.

Intheearlyevening,TerryandIwerereadyattheroboticworkstationintheCupolatoperformthereleaseandsendDragononitswayhome.Atthe release time, I ungrappled it and backed away the arm to a safedistance of about 4,5 meters. At that point, Terry sent the DepartcommandandDragonperformed its first burn, commencinga slowbutclearly visible separation from ISS. Really strange to see it go, afterhavinghaditasourneighborhereinNode2forseveralweeks.Buthey,we’llgetanotheronesoon!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+76-L+79: La partenza di unvicino,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+80—L+82

Samantha Cristoforetti and Aleksandr Samokutyayev close the ATV-5hatch.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days from 80 to 82(2015.02.11-13)—AfterworkingonatightschedulethroughtheweekendtogetDragonreadyfordepartureandthentoreleaseitonTuesday,onWednesdayweweregivenadayoff.Hurrah!

I’manightowl,soIliketosleepinwhenIcan.OnTuesdaynight,beforegoing to bed, I took a last look at Wednesday’s schedule for aconfirmationthat therewasnoneedtosetmyalarm.Confirmed!SoonWednesdaymorningIslidmyarmsoutofmysleepingbagaround9:30and, as usual, openedmy laptop to check the schedule and the DailySummary, a message from ground controllers containing informationabout thestateof theStationandanyquestions/answers/messages forthecrew.ImaginemysurprisewhenIsawanactivityonthescheduleat7:30 in the morning. How could I possibly have missed that the nightbefore?Andweren’twesupposedtohaveadayoff?AndhowbadwasitthatIhadn’tdoneityet?ButourCommanderButchisalwaysupat5inthemorning,sohewouldhavewokenmeupifneeded,right?So,don’t

panic,let’sseewhatthisisabout…

Now,takealookatthepicturewithasnapshotofthatactivity.I’llletyoubethejudge:ourgroundteamshavesomesenseofhumor,don’tthey?Wedidmissthereadingsessiononthatday,andI’msorrytoreportthatIdidnot findaHitchhiker’sGuide toGalaxy in the indicated location,butwe’llmakethishappensomehow!

An activity of the ISS Daily Summary on 11 February for the crew ofExpedition42.Credit:ESA/NASA

ThursdayandFridaywewerebacktoanormalworkschedule.Igottobethe operator for Butch on a number of eye exams, part of the OcularHealth research for which he is a subject: I supported his ultrasound,opticalcoherencetomographyandfundoscopeexams,takingimagesofhiseyesinmorewaysthanIwouldhaveeverimaginedpossiblebeforeISStraining.I’llalsodothesameexamsthiscomingweek,butIdothemlessfrequentlythanButchandTerry,becausemineareapurelymedicalrequirement,whilemycrewmatesalsoserveassubjectof thisresearcheffortfocusedonocularhealth.

ThenwehadtogetreadyforATVundocking.

SashaandIhadanOn-Board-TrainingsessiononThursdayinwhichwereviewed all the pre-departure procedures and our monitoring tasks.ThenonFridayweclosedthehatchesonATVandISSsideand…youguessedit,I’msureyouknowhowthesethingsworkbynow…wedidaleakcheck.

We depressurized the vestibule between the hatches and then wemonitored the pressure change for 30 minutes: had the pressureincreased, either the ATV hatch or the ISS hatch would have beenleakingairintothevestibule.Actually,MissionControlMoscowtookcareofthedepressurization:vestibulesontheRussiansideshaveavalvethatcan be commanded from the ground to vent the air to space.And ourhatches passed the leak check with flying colors: up to 1 mm Hg ofpressureincreaseisallowedandweonlyhadachangeof0,5mmHg.

Thatwasit,theverylastATVwasreadyforundockingthenextday!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+80-L+82: Niente panico, egodeteviilvostrogiornolibero,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+100,L+101

Samantha Cristoforetti with the 100 days badge in space. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 100 e 101(2015.03.03-04)—TheLogbookisback!

Sorry for the very long Loss of Signal, it’s been a busy time: threespacewalksin8dayscanreallyfillyourdaysandI felt thatIneededtofocusonmytask100%.

Having to runseveralhoursofairlockopsandget twocrewmates “outthedoor”safelyandasquicklyaspossibleissomethingthatcommandsattention:byfarthemostdemandingthingIhavedoneonorbitand,thefirsttime,definitelysomewhatstressful.

Spacewalks are usually covered quite in detail on the internet, so I’msureyouguysalreadyknowmorethanIcouldpossiblytellyou.AndasfarasmyjobasIVisconcerned,ifyou’recuriousyoucantakealookatsome training logbooks about Prep-and-Post classes, where we trainairlock ops and pre-breath protocols. Check out for example L-70

Logbook.

Of course, some things are hard to practice on the ground. Take theSAFERs,forexample,thejetpacksthatareattachedtotheEMUsuitsforanemergencyself-rescue incaseofdetachment fromstructure:on thegroundwe learnhow tooperate the latches that keep themsecured tothesuit,butit’sawholedifferentstorytoactuallyhandlesuitandSAFERinspace.Heavy,bulky thingsdon’thaveweightuphere,but theysurestillhavemass,henceinertia!

Anyway,everythingwentwell,ButchandTerrydidastellar joboutside,Antonwasaprecioushelp intheairlockandnowwe’reallcatchingourbreathsaswesettleintoalesshecticworkpace.

Also,we’reapproachingfasttheendofExpedition42,whichmeansthatButch, Sasha and Elena are getting ready for their fiery ride back toplanetEarthnextweek.

Terry, Anton and I will be on our own up here for a couple of weeks,beforeScott,MishaandGennadyjoinustowardstheendofMarch.

Yesterdayoursoon-to-departcrewmatesactuallyputontheirSokolsuitsfor their pre-reentry leak checks and I have spotted Elena and Sashapracticing the Soyuz manual reentry on a simulator in the ServiceModule.

Andwe’re getting return cargo ready: today, for example, I took watersamplesfromallourpotablewaterdeliverystationsandstowedthemforreturnonSoyuz.

Preparations for the next crew’s arrival have also begun. Yesterday Iworked on stowing some cargo delivered on the Russian Progressresupplyvehicle,whichincludedScott’sclothesandhygieneitems.

We have our little space wardrobe in Node 2, close to our sleepingcabins: each one of us has a big rigid bag with our personal clothingsupplies,mostlyorganizedinZiplocsthatcovertwoweekseach(wecallthose“bricks”).

Butch,efficientasalways,hadalreadyclearedhisbag,soScott…ifyouhappentobereading…yourclothesarealreadynicelyorganizedinNode2overhead!Notsurethattheyareenoughforayear,though:Ibetyou’llhavemorecomingalongtheway.

Hey,bytheway,yesterdaywasour100thdayinspace!Well,technicallythat’strueonlyforme,sinceTerryandAntonhadbeeninspacebefore,but forsure itwasour100thday inspacetogether.Abitscary, isn’t it?Comparedtothetimebehindus,thetimewehaveleftalreadylookslittle,onlyacoupleofmonthsleft.

OfcoursetherearethingsfrommyEarthling lifethat Imiss–ashowerbeingprettyhighonthelist–butitwillbereallyhardtoleavetheSpaceStation.Inthepast100daysIhavegonefromuncontainableexcitementandconstantdiscoverytofamiliarityandasenseofquietaffectionfortheStationitself,ourcrewandtheteamsonthegroundspreadallovertheworldwith whomwe interact every day. It feels like home and, by theway,ahome inwhichyoucan floatand thatoffersanunbeatableviewoutofthewindow!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+100, L+101: 100 giorni nellospazio!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+129

Samantha Cristoforetti trains for manual piloting of the Soyuz. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay129 (2015.04.01)—Asyou’veprobablynoticed, Ihaven’tbeenwritingmuch thispastmonth–myeveningshavebeenjustflyingaway,dividedbetweentheirresistiblepulloftheCupola,otheroutreachprojectsandmanylittlepersonalthingsthatneedtobetakencareof.

During the day the Space Station keeps us really busy with science,maintenance,housekeeping, logisticsandmaintainingourproficiency inemergency responses, robotics,Soyuz flying…youname it.Thevarietyofthingswedouphereismindblowing,ifIstoptothinkaboutit.

Oh, and by the way, we also had a Soyuz undock earlier this month,takinghomehalfofourSpaceStationpopulation.Well,atleastintermsof human presence – I’m sure themicroorganisms living up here,whooutnumberusbyordersofmagnitude,wouldclaimthatit’s“their”SpaceStation and don’t care much if three biped mammals are replaced bythreedifferentones.We,ontheother,docare.

ItwashardtoseeSasha,ButchandElenaleaveafterbeingsocloseforfour months and we did become just a little bit apprehensive whencommunicationwith theirSoyuzwas lostduring theengineburn,whichwassomewhatunexpected.SowewerehappytohearfromMoscowthatthesearch&rescueteamshadmadecontactwiththecapsuleandevenhappiertoseeourfriends’smilingfacesastheygottheirfirstbreathsoffreshairinKazakhstan.

Incaseyou’rewondering,wesawthemonNASATV,likemanyofyou,Ireckon. Not sure I mentioned before, but we can get a TV stationtransmitted liveononeofour laptopswhenwehavesatellite coveragefortheKu-Bandantennas.

ForacoupleofweekstheSpaceStationfeltevenbiggerthanusual,withTerry,AntonandIastheonly(human)inhabitants.Notonlyweretherefewerpeoplearound,butofcoursewewereonlygettinghalfoftheworkdone, so there was less com on space-to-ground. Overall, if felt a lotquieter.Andnowwe’rebacktosix!

Scott, Gennady and Misha have joined us last week and have addedtheirpersonalitiestothemixtocreatethenewdynamicofExpedition43.It’ssuchaninvaluableopportunitytobepartoftwodifferentcrews:intheend, it’s thehuman interactions thatdetermineourexperienceuphere,soinawayit’slikehavingtwospacemissionsinsteadofone.Andifyouhave such awesome crewmates as I have had on Expedition 42 andhavenowonExpedition43…well,lifeisgood!Also,TerryandIhaveitreallyeasyintermsofhandover:Scotthasalreadybeenuphereforsixmonths just 4 years ago, so he really doesn’t need the amount ofguidanceandcoaching(andpatience!)thatwerequiredatthebeginningfromButch.Scottisbasicallyalreadyautonomousandhasalreadygivensomeinputsthathaveimprovedourlifeandwork.Alwaysgoodtoaddanewperspectivetotheequation!

So,hereweare, it’sApril 1st alreadyand,barring changes,mySoyuzwill undock onMay 14th.Withme onboard, unless I hide reallywell. Ihaveonly42daysleftonISS,whichisofcourseacoolnumber,butit’salsonotmuch.IfIsoundalittlesadsayingthis,it’sbecauseIam.

Anyway, with so little time left I am committed to resume regularlogbooks:thereissomuchstillthatIhavetosharewithyou!IthoughtI’dstartbysharingsomepictureoflifeandworkfromthepastfourmonths:checkoutthecaptionsforsomeinsight.Talktoyousoon!

ISStoiletmaintenance

ISStoiletmaintenance.Credit:ESA/NASA

Oursolidwastecontainergetschangedoutwhenit’sfull,typicallyevery11/12days.Toeasilykeeptrackofhowlongitlasts,wewritethedayonit.On thewallof the toiletcompartmentyoucanseeurine tubesandaurinecollectionbag:wedrawurinefromthebagintothetubesandthenput the tubes in the freezer. When one of us has a 24-hour urinecollection, the “equipment” Is typically deployed like that in the toiletcabin.

AMELFIfreezerintheDestinymodule

AMELFIfreezerintheDestinymodule.Credit:ESA/NASA

This is one of ourMELFI freezers, wherewe keep samples like urine,bloodorsaliva,butalsocoldbricksthatwillpreventsamplesfromgettingtoowarmduringthetriphome.Thedrawersaretypicallykeptataround-90C–glovesareamust!

OnaworktableinNode2

OnaworktableinNode2.Credit:ESA/NASA

Wehave twoMaintenanceWorkBenches inNode2.Whennot inuse,they canbe rotated flat against thewall.Whenwedomaintenanceonportableequipment,orevenprocessingandanalysisofwatersamples,thisisapracticalplacetosetupshop.Fourcrewquartersarejusttomyleftinthepicture:mineisinthedeck.

Themaintenanceofanoxygengenerator

Themaintenanceofanoxygengenerator.Credit:ESA/NASA

Quite often, though, we do maintenance and inspection work onequipment without removing it from its installed location. This, forexample, is the OGS, our Oxygen Generation System. It producesoxygenfromelectrolysisofwaterandinjectsitdirectlyintothecabin.

WiththeNASA3Dprinterinaglovebox

WiththeNASA3Dprinterinaglovebox.Credit:ESA/NASA

Wehada3DprinteruphereearlierinExpedition42.Printjobsweresentfrom theground,weonlyhad to remove theprintedobjectandget thetray ready for the next run. That facility, the Microgravity ScienceGlovebox(MSG),hasbeenusedforotherexperimentsinthemeantime.You’ll have to askTerry about thedetails, though, he’s beenourMSGguysofar.

SamanthaCristoforettiwithaportableglovebox

Sometimes you don’t need the big glovebox, a portable facility cansuffice.Thisgloveboxcanbeeasilyassembledwhenneededand thendisassembleandstowedaway.

SamanthaCristoforettiwithaportableglovebox.Credit:ESA/NASA

Anultrasoundtotheeye

Anultrasoundtotheeye

Anultrasoundtotheeye.Credit:ESA/NASA

Ocular health is a big thing on the Space Station. Adverse effects ofmicrogravity on the eyes have been observed on many crewmembersandnowthehuntisopenforafullexplanation.Periodiceyeultrasoundsare part of that effort. Another crewmember serves as operator and aremote guider on the ground gives instructions based on the liveultrasoundimageandlivedownlinkfromthecabincamerapointedatthesubject. Color-coded buttons are great for giving instructions to peoplelikeus,whohaveminimaltrainingandexperience.

AtworkwiththeJEMmoduleairlock

AtworkwiththeJEMmoduleairlock.Credit:ESA/NASA

OnceinawhilewegettoinstallhardwareontheslidetableoftheJEMairlock,sothat itcanbetransferredoutside.Typicallywehaveinstalledminisatellitesencapsulated in theirdeploymentsystem. In thiscase, I’minstalling theRobotic RefuelingMission, a technology demonstrator forautomatic refuelingofsatellites inorbit.A lotofdelicatecomponents tobehandledwithoutmostrespect!Bytheway,onthefarrightyoucanseea screen from WorldMap, the software we use for Earth observation.ShowourflightpathontheEarth'ssurface,passpredictions,andmuchmore. The four green rectangles on the other laptops indicate thecommunications situation on our four space-to-ground channels forreception and transmission.Green indicates that all iswell, the loss ofsignalisgray.ThatcommunicationsdisplaycanbecalleduponeachofthePCS laptops,which are connected to theStation's control line andprovide telemetry and command capability. Since in most cases thegroundcontrolremotelyexecutesthecommands,wekeepalmostallourPCSjustlikethat,withthedisplayofthecommunicationssituationopen

to full screen. They are strategically positioned so that there is one insightwhereverweareontheStation,sowecanalwayscheckifwehaveornotcommunicationwiththeearth.

TheassemblyoftheMARESexperiment

TheassemblyoftheMARESexperiment.Credit:ESA/NASA

Clear the cabin, we’re deploying MARES! This facility will supportinvestigationintotheeffectsofmicrogravityonmuscles.Ithashadafewteethingproblems,butwehadasuccessfulcheckoutacoupleofweeksago.Itwasfuntoassemble“themonster”,asweaffectionatelycallit,andtoruntests.Thebiggestchallenge,however,wastomakeallthepiecesfitagaininsideonerackvolumeafterdisassembly!Tetris,anyone?

WiththesamplesoftheTripleLuxBexperiment

WiththesamplesoftheTripleLuxBexperiment.Credit:ESA/NASA

TripleLux B is an ESA investigation into the effects of microgravity onimmunecells,whichtakesplaceintheBiolabfacilityinColumbus.Biolabhasrequiredsomeunplannedmaintenancework(asmokedetectorquitedeepinthebellyoftherackhadtobereplaced)butluckilyitwasbackinshape before the cell cultures expired. TripleLux B operations weresuccessfullycompletedyesterday.NextupinBiolabisTripleLuxA,withthecellculturescomingsoonwithSpX-6.

TrainingformanualpilotingoftheSoyuz

TrainingformanualpilotingoftheSoyuz.Credit:ESA/NASA

To drive home the point that we’ll be heading home way too soon,recentlyAntonandIhadanOBT(On-BoardTraining)onSoyuzmanualdescent.JustlikeinthesimulatorinStarCitywegottoflymanualreentryprofiles: we just had to get used to pushing buttons on the laptopkeyboard, insteadof thebigbuttonsof the realmanualdescentcontroldevice.

GroupphotooftheExpedition42

GroupphotooftheExpedition42.crew.Credit:ESA/NASA

WetookagrouppictureofExpedition42beforeSasha,ElenaandButchdeparted.Ourmotto:Don’tPanicandalwaysknowwhereyourtowelis!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+129: Mi rimangono solo 42giornisullaISS!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+130

Samantha Cristoforetti performs an OCT scan by Scott Kelly. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay130(2015.04.02)—Hey,I’msureyou’veheard:wehavetwonewcrewmembershereonISSwhowillremainonboardfor,nokidding,anentireyear!

Mightbethefirstofseveralextendedexpeditionsandthemaindriverofcourseistheobservationofhumanphysiologyandhealthduringalongerperiod of the time than the standard 6-month missions, so it’s notsurprising that Scott and Misha are already being put “under themicroscope”moreextensivelythan,say,TerryorI.

There’sawiderangeofinvestigationsthatwilltargetnumerousaspectsof their adaptation process and all of those experiments need start-of-missiondata.

Todaywasabigdayofocularhealthresearch! In fact,myworkingdayendedwithback-to-backsessionsinwhichIsupportedScottandMishaintakingfunduscopeimagesof theireyes,butevenbeforeourmorning

Daily Planning Conference I was already tasked with the setup of ourOpticalCoherenceTomography(OCT)machinefortheireyescans.

Gennady assistedMisha, before it wasmy turn to assist Scott. Imustconfess that I dread these events a little bit: getting good scans is notalwayseasyandit’snotuncommontohavetorepeatthemmultipletimestogetasatisfactoryresult.Itcanbesomewhatfrustratingfortheoperatorandtiringforthesubject,whohastokeephis/hereyesopenandstillforalongtime.

Wehaveawesome remoteguiderswho run theshow from theground,but theyget the imagestreamed fromour laptopwithaneversoslightdelay that sometimesmakes it difficult togive real-timeguidancewhentheimagechangesfast.Allthatsaid,Ireallyhadnothingtoworryabouttoday. Scott is a natural at this! He is just the perfect subject (at leastcertainlymuchbetterthanme):hisgazewassosteadythatonlyminimaladjustmentsof the lenspositionwereneededduring thescans tokeepthepropereyelayersinview,makingmyjobsoeasy.Thanks,Scott!

Between eye research sessions and a few other small tasks (liketroubleshooting one of our Merlin fridge), today I also had threevideoconferenceswithpeopleontheground-abitunusual,typicallytheyarespreadoutintheweek.BesidestheweeklyvideoconferencewithmyflightsurgeonBrigitte,IgottotalktoESAfolksatCOL-CCandESTEC:themissiondirectorand lead flightdirector,aswellas theEurocomondutyandthemissionscienceofficer.Similarly,intheeveningScott,Terryand I had our weekly conference with Houston and Huntsville for theNASAperspectiveandupdateoncurrentoperationsfromtheleadflightdirectorandtherestoftheExpedition43team.

If you are someone who follows the live-feed from the Space Station,including the space-to-ground communications, youmight have noticedthat you don’t hear such conferences: that’s becausemission controlsputs restrictions in place, so that nobody beyond the parties involvedlistens to the conversation. As you can imagine that’s particularlyimportant for the periodic medical and psychological conferences, butalso for theweekly family conferences, aswell as remoteguidance forexamsonhumansubjects,likeanultrasoundortoday’sOCTscans.

Ialsogot toworka littleonwaterbalancetoday.AsI’msureweknow,we recycle all the water onboard thanks to a facility called WaterProcessingAssembly(WPA).Well,WPAhasbeenhavingsomehiccupslately,soit’snotcurrentlyproducingpotablewater.But…don’tpanic!Wehaveplentyofwaterinthelinesandplentyoffullwaterbags.However,while the specialists on the ground develop a forward plan totroubleshootWPA, there’s a bit of work to be done tomaintain properwaterbalance.

Checkthepicturecaptionsformoreinfo!

Thecontrolsofabagofiodizedwater

Thecontrolsofabagofiodizedwater.Credit:ESA/NASA

Wekeepwaterinthesebags,calledCWC-I.Theletter“I”(andthecolorpurple on the label) indicate that it contains iodinatedwater - iodine isadded to our potable water for microbial control, but is eventually

removed in thepotablewaterdispenserbeforewater isdeliveredto theend user (us).It’s important to have proper labels on the bags: brownlabels, for example, indicate condensate (recuperated water beforereprossessing). If you put the condensate in the "purple bag", that bagwouldbecontaminatedandyouwouldnolongerbeabletokeepdrinkingwater.

Abagofiodizedwater.Credit:ESA/NASA

AnOCTscanbyScottKelly

AnOCTscanbyScottKelly.Credit:ESA/NASA

Scott and I working on his first scans with the Optical CoherenceTomograph.Hewillrepeatthesescanseverymonthforthenextyear!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+130: Sotto la lente diingrandimentoperlascienza,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+131,L+132

Samantha Cristoforetti works on the Aniso Tubule experiment. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 131 and 132(2015.04.03-04)—Yesterdaywasa relativelyeasyday,which isalwayskindofniceattheendoftheweek.NotthatIdidn’thaveafullschedule-wealwayshaveactivities fromourmorningDailyPlanningConference,orDPC, (somewhere around 7:30 in themorning) to our eveningDPC(somewherearound19:30).However,taskscanbemoreorlesscomplexandmoreorless“routine”.

Running a new experiment that has not been performed before,whichrequires a complicated setup, a lot of coordination with the ground ordelicate operations is of course a lotmore demanding than performingtasksthatIhavedonebeforeandthatIcanperformautonomously–let’ssay sampling the water or removing/installing lockers in our Expressracks(modularracksthatcansupportavarietyofscienceoperationsandarecontinuouslyreconfigureddependingoncurrentandupcomingops).

Simple or routine tasks that do not require a lot of support from the

controlcentersareusuallyinsertedinourscheduleas“pinkactivities”–thewritingispinkonourplanningviewer,indicatingthatyoucandothemwheneveryouwant,aslongastheyaredonebytheendoftheday.

Fornon-pinkactivities,onthecontrary,thereisanexpectationthattheybeperformedmoreorlessontime.Sometasksareeven“blue-boxed”–athickborderlinearoundtheactivityontheviewerindicatesthatthetimeistobestrictlyobserved.Typicalblue-boxedactivitiesareliveinterviewswithmediaorpublic callswithVIPs,which requireacomplexsetupontheground toprovideaudioandvideoconnectionwith thepartyon theothersidefortheagreedtime.

Mostexperimentsarenotblue-boxed,but theyarealsonotpink.That’sbecause very often specialists very familiar with the experimentoperations,andsometimes theprincipal investigatorhimself/herself,areavailable on space-to-ground for any assistance or real-timetroubleshooting thatmight be required. Inmany cases, youdon’t get asecondchance togetanexperiments right (at leastnotuntil you flyupnew samples or equipment), so it’s important to have the maximumsupportavailableincaseproblemsareencountered.

Talking about science, today I worked a little bit with the JAXAexperimentANISOtubule.I’veperformedseveralrunsofthisexperiment,each one consisting (frommy side) of a sequence of activities spreadovermultipledays.

AtworkontheAnisoTubuleexperiment.Credit:ESA/NASA

Let’ssaythattodayisday1:youretrieveanewsamplechamber,liketheoneinthepictures,andwithasyringeyouslowlyinject1,5mlofwater.ThenyouputthechamberinMELFIfor96hoursat+2C!Thissimulateswinter and promotes good germination of theArabidopsis seeds. Thenthe chamber is moved to ambient temperature for about 4 more days(spring has arrived!) and finally, after adding more water, two days ofobservationinthefluorescencemicroscopebegin,withscientistsonthegrounddirectlystudyingliveimagesfromISS.

We have known for a long time that plants grow differently inweightlessness.Sincetheydon’t“feel”gravityuphere,theytendtogrowathinnerandlongerstem.Infact,theANISOscientistshaveevendonethe opposite on the ground, putting seeds in a centrifuge and showingthatin“hypergravity”theygrowshorterandthickerstems.Thedifferenceislikelyduetodifferentorientationofmicrotubulesintheindividualcellsthatchangetheirshape.Ifinditfascinatingthatsomethingassmallasa

cellwouldbeaffectedbygravity,butitis!

Aparticulargroupofproteins,calledMAPs,controltheorientationofthemicrotubulesandhencetheshapeofthestem.Now,youcan’treallyseemicrotubules and MAPs directly in the fluorescence microscope, buttheseArabidopsisplantshavebeenengineeredinsuchawaythattheyalsoproduceafluorescentproteinthataccuratelymimicMAPs:andthatdoesthetrick!Nowyoucanusethefluorescencemicroscopetoindirectlyobserveproteinsthatyouotherwisewouldnotsee.Fascinating,isn’tit?

Soundsabitparadoxical,butmicrogravityisreallyagreatplacetostudygravityresponseofplants,which in turncanhelpoptimizingagriculturalpractices. I don’t haveabackground in life sciences, so this is all verynewtome,butIhopeyoufinditasintriguingasIdo!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+131,L+132:Inmicrogravitàperstudiareglieffettidellagravità,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+133

Theconeat theendofColumbuswithbags tobringback toearthwithDragonSpX-6.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 133 (2015.04.05)—Quiet Easter Sunday here on ISS, no work at all on my schedule,althoughIdidalittlebitofworkoffthe“tasklist”.Oh,Idon’tthinkIevertoldyouaboutthetasklist,timetochangethat!

Thetasklistisapoolofactivitiesthathavebeenpreparedbytheground,butdon’thaveahighenoughprioritytobeputontheregularschedule.Ifwewant todosomework inour free time,or if time freesupbecausesomeactivity could be completedquicker thanexpected, or becauseaplannedactivitywasaborted,wecanbrowsethetasklistandfindusefulthingstodo.

Some are bigger tasks of several hours, others are little housekeepingtasks,likereplacingthebatteriesortheshellofalaptop,orreconfiguringstowageinpreparationofanupcomingactivity.Packingandunpackingacargovehicleisalsooftenonthetasklist,incasewewanttoworkaheadduringourfreetime.

Andsincebeinglatewithpackingisreallynotanoption,wealwaysgetahead start: the stowage specialists on the ground send up pre-packgather lists well before a vehicle actually shows up, so we can startgettingreturnbagsready.InthepictureyoucanseetheNode2endconewithallthebagswealreadystartedtopackforDragon.CompareitwiththewayitlooksaboutamonthagoforourExp42crewpicture!

ThecrewofExpedition42.Credit:ESA/NASA

Recordingvideomessagesoreducationalvideosforoutreachpurposesisalsotypicallyonthetasklist,aswellasacoupleofproceduresthatarepermanent entries: changing the solid waste container and the urinecontainer in our space toilet. After the first couple of times, you don’treallyneedaprocedureforthat,butanactivityalsohasastowagenoteattached,whichinthiscasetellsyouwhichnewcontainerstoget,wheretofindthemandwheretostowtheremovedones.

Asyouknow,everyitemistrackedontheSpaceStation:bypartnumber,barcode,serialnumber…orallthreeofthem!

Thingsstillgetlostoccasionally,unfortunately.We’reallhumansandassuchareprone tomakingmistakes: if somethingendsup in thewrongplace(intherealworldorintheinventorysystem),whoknowswhenit’sgoingtobefound!Also,thingsaccumulateovertimethatshouldactuallyhavebeendisposedofalongtimeago.Notunlikemostpeople’shomes,we can’t afford to accumulate things that are no longer necessary,because we need the space for new hardware to support the scienceprogram.

TheEuropeanlaboratoryColumbus,afterhavingbeenonorbitforabout7 years now, has seen a little bit of that. When I arrived back inNovember therewere quite a few stowagebags on the rack fronts: somuch science going on, so little space to stow the equipment! LuckilyATV5 andSpX-5 took away some bags thatwere no longer used andsomeoptimizationoftheavailablevolumeintheendconehascleanedupthecabinquiteabit.

In order to optimizemore, on theweekends I have been doing photo-audits of our main stowage rack in Columbus, the Deck 4 rack. ThestowageteamatCOL-CC,theCOSMOs,wanttohavethefullpictureofwhat’s in those lockers, inorder todeviseaconsolidationplan thatwillhopefullysavesomespace!SoIhavebeensnappingaway…patiently,locker by locker, bag by bag, item by item, nicely showing all thebarcodesandserialnumbers.

Andyouthoughtthatbeinganastronautwasallglamourandadrenaline,didn’tyou?

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+133: Non solo glamour eadrenalina,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+134,L+135

Un'esercitazionedicatturaconilbracciorobotico.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 134 and 135(2015.04.06-07)—ThearrivaloftheDragonresupplyvehicleisnowlessthan a couple of weeks away and it’s amazing to watch the Stationgettingreadyforit.

IwishIcouldsaythat Ihavetheoverallpicture,but that’suptopeoplewaysmarterthanmewhositinthecontrolcentersandruntheshow.Uphere,we just try todoourbest inperformingourdaily tasks,but theseare of course all pieces of a puzzle that will eventually become a fullvisiting vehicle mission, from capture to release, with a significantcomplementofsciencetoperformwhileDragonisberthedtoISS.

Yesterday I installed new software on several laptops, so they will bereadytosupportnewscience.TodayIspenttwohoursgatheringfromallover the Station into one single bag all the equipment required for aspecific experiment, so that everything will be readily available whenthoseoperationsstartafewweeksfromnow.AndofcourseTerryandIcontinuetoprepareforthecaptureofDragon.

Todaywasour“offsetgrapple”practice,atwo-hoursessioninwhichwecould practiced flying the real arm, instead of the simulator. I’ve talkedabout “offset grapples” inmyL+20,+21Logbook: check it out, in caseyoumissedit!

Un'esercitazionedicatturaconilbracciorobotico.Credit:ESA/NASA

WhenthelastDragonarrived,Butchperformedtheactualcapture.ThistimeIwillbetheprimeroboticoperator,soIwillbeatthecontrolsofthearm,whileTerrywillberesponsible forcommunicationwith theground,running the procedures and the malfunction cue cards (the latter willhopefullynotbeneeded).

And speaking of malfunctions, on our last “almost-grapple” today wepracticedtheresponsetoa“safingevent”occurringthearmendeffectorisalreadyoverthepin,soveryclosetopressingthetriggertocapture,orevenshortly thereafter.Thearmwill automaticallygo intoa safemodefollowingamalfunction,makingit impossibletocommandthejoints,theendeffectororthearminitsentirety.

[Video,acceleratedby10X,showsthegriptestswiththeroboticarmof2015.04.01]

Video:Expedition43-TestingtheCanadarm2roboticarm(2:48)

Luckily, it’s really ‘two arms in one’: granted, there is only one set ofbeams and joints, but there’s otherwise full redundancy on all thecomponentsthatallowthearmtofunction. Inorder tomakeuseof thatredundancy and complete the capture on the backup string, we wouldhave to move from the Cupola to the Lab, where we have a secondroboticworkstation.Oncaptureday,thatsecondworkstationisina“hotbackup” mode, meaning that literally one button press is sufficient tomakeitprimeandputitincontrolofthearm.Wouldn’tyoulovetohavethatkindofredundancyonyourcarwhenthatredlightappears?

Ah,yesterdayIalsospentsometimeonmyperiodicfitnessassessment.We do that on our bike, CEVIS, once a month, using a dedicatedprotocol,whileourelectrocardiogram is recordedandbloodpressure ismeasured every five minutes. Based on this data, specialists on theground canmake an estimation of our VO2max, which is a commonlyusedmeasureofcardiovascularfitness.Thetypicaltrendobservedin6-monthmissionsisasignificant,quickdecreaseofVO2maxearlyonandthen a slow recovery through the dailyworkouts on bike and treadmill.And the closer we are to returning to Earth, the more critical it is toexercise,tobereadytofacegravityagain.

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+134,L+135:AicomandiperlacatturadelprossimoDragon,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+141—L+144

Samantha Cristoforetti works with the Columbus Modular CultivationSystem.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days from 141 to 144(2015.04.13-16)—Well, as you might have heard, Dragon’s arrival hasbeendelayedafewdays.HadthelaunchoccurredonMonday,itwouldalready be berthed to Node 2 right now and we would already haveopenedthehatchandstartedtogeturgentcargoout.

But hey, in the space business flexibility is paramount! The launchslippedbyoneday, delayingarrival to ISSby twodays… that’s orbitalmechanicsandphasinganglesforyou.

But if you think that we had two free dayswhilewaiting for Dragon tocomeknockatourdoor, I’mafraidyou’renotacquaintedwith the folkswhoruntheISSops:theyalwayshaveaslipplan!Alaunchisdelayed?Voila’, old plan is taken out, new plan is put in. Ready? Go! Yes,wheneverthingsheavilydependonaninherentlyuncertaineventlikethelaunch of a rocket, mission managers, flight directors and plannersalways fully prepare twoplans: that requires a lot of extrawork on the

ground,butitensuresthatnopreciouscrewtimeonISSiswasted.

In thiscase theyhadprettymajorplans instore for thecaseof launchslip.IkindofgotthatfeelingonTuesdayalready:whentheygiveyouonefullhour tostudyaprocedureyou’lldo thenextdayand then theygiveyouanotherhourtogatherhardwareyouwillneedforthatprocedureandthen they tellyounot tobother taking toolsoutof the toolbox, just taketheentiredrawerinstead…whenallthathappensyoustarttothinkthatyou’regoingtogetyourhandsdirtyonsomemajorwork.WhichIlove!

“Don'tchoose,takethewholedrawer”.Credit:ESA/NASA

WhileTerryandScottwerebusyontheirownmajoractivitywiththeEVAsuits,IspentthedayinNode3reconfiguringtheintermoduleventilationducting in preparation ofmoving the PMMmodule later this year fromNode 1 nadir to Node 3 forward. Basically, we need a way to getventilation toPMM in its futurenew location.Never thought ifwouldbepossible to fit so many bags full of hardware in Node 3, in the prettycramped space between ARED and the toilet cabin, but somehow itworked.Andat2amHouston-timespecialistsonthegroundwerereadytosupport,withagroundmodeloftheequipmenttoreplicateanyissueshadwerunintoproblems.Fortunately,withtheexceptionofacoupleofstuckfasteners,everythingwentsmoothly:kudostotheteamforhavingsuchagreat,user-friendlyprocedureready!

Dragon slip also carved some time to work on the European ModularCultivationSysteminColumbus.Igottode-installanumberofmodulescalledRotorBasedLifeSupportSystems–self-containedboxesthatareattachedon the rotors of this facility. Theywill hitch a ride toEarth onDragonandtheywillberefurbishedandlaunchedagain inthefuturetosupportfutureplantexperiments.

Ah, I also worked a little on a Kubik, the stand-alonecentrifuge/incubators that we sometimes operate in Columbus forexperiments on cell cultures. I wrapped up the experiment Stem CellsDifferentiationbymovingtheexperimentcontainerstocoldstowageanddownlinking Kubik data to the ground. As the name suggests, thisexperiment studies human mesenchymal stem cells, which candifferentiate into several cell types to build bone, fat, cartilage,musles,tendons.Now,ifyou’reastemcellandyouhaveallthischoice,howdoyouknowintowhatyouneedtodifferentiate?Whataregoingtobewhenyou “growup”?Thatdependsonwhatkindofsignalsyouget fromso-calledsignalingmolecules.Vitamin-Disoneofthosesignalingmoleculesand inparticularweknow that it is involved in tellingstemcells to turnintobonecells.Bonelossisabigissueinmicrogravity,asyouknow,sothisexperimentobservestheeffectivenessoftheVitaminDsignalingbycomparingstemcellsdifferentiationinpresenceorabsenceofVitaminD.

Prettycool,ah?

Bytheway,notsurehowmuchsunlightyougetwhereyoulive(wedon’tgetmuchuphere),butifyouhaven’tdonesoalreadyandgetachance,atyournextblooddrawitcan’thurttocheckyouVitaminDlevels!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+141-L+144: C’è sempre unpianoalternativo,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+145—L+147

Samantha Cristoforetti working on a Kubik centrifuge-incubator. Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days from 145 to 147(2015.04.17-19)—Well, the big news of the past few days is of coursethat Dragon has arrived! It’s always very special to watch a vehicleapproachStation.

AsbigasISSis,thishumanoutpostinspaceisonlyatinyspeckofmetalinthevastnessofLowEarthOrbit:andyetonFridaymorning,asTerryandImonitoredfromtheCupola,acargoshipfromEarthfoundusandcameknockingatourdoor.

IenjoyedwatchingDragongettingbiggerandbigger,ascontinentsandoceanspassedbybeneath,butIalsoconsciouslytriedtodetachmyselffrom the romantics of it all to remain focused onmymain task ahead:operatingtheroboticarmtocaptureDragon.

It’s something I have practiced hundreds of times on the simulator,mostly with the virtual vehicle moving around a lot more than a real

Dragonusuallydoes,butdoingitforrealisofcoursequitedifferent:let’ssaythatit’soneofthosesituationswhenitdoesn’ttakemuchtobecomeveryfamousforallthewrongreasons!

Fortunatelyeverythingwentwelland,aftercapture,thegroundteamtookcontrol of the arm to slowly berth Dragon to Node 2 nadir – it’s nowbasically an extra room just outside our crew quarters. On Friday Iperformed the vestibule leak check. As you might remember, thevestibule is thatspacebetweentheberthedvehicleand the ISS,a littlecorridorthatisformedwhenthetwoarejoined.BeforeweopenthehatchofISSweneedtomakesurethatthevestibuleisnotleaking,hencewepressurizea little, toca.260mmHg,andthenverify thepressureagainafter a certain interval of time. Vestibule passed the leak check, thenScott and I opened the ISS hatch and worked a couple of hours ongetting the vestibule ready, mainly removing components that are notneeded while Dragon is berthed and are in the way of… opening theDragonhatch!

Scott and Terry opened the Dragon hatch yesterdaymorning and thatwasthebeginningofaweekendofintensework,gettingouturgentcargoand starting the science activities, many of which are on a very tightscheduleduetodegradationofsamplesastimepasses.

AssoonasthebigbagswereoutoftheDragoncentervolume,mytaskwas to retrieve a new Kubik, the stand-alone centrifuge-incubators Imentionedinthelastlogbook,andgetitsetupandconfiguredtosupporttwo cell biology experiments, Cytospace and NATO, both of whichstarted yesterday afternoon and will continue autonomously for a fewdays, when it will be time to remove the experiment containers fromKubikandputtheminthefreezer,waitingforreturntoEarthforanalysis.

Cytospace,asthenamesuggests,looksatthecellularcytoskeleton,thestructures within the cell that give it its shape. How does microgravityaffect theshapeof thecell?And,most importantly,howdochanges inthe cell shape affect gene expression? This sounds like a complicatedconcept,butintheenditsimplymeansthattheshapeofthecell,whichis changed bymicrogravity, likely affects theway the cell does its job.Andwe’re really interested inunderstanding thisbetterbecause…well,

we’re made of cells and what happens in the cells determines whathappens in our body as a whole. And vice versa, what we observe inentire systems of our body, for example in term of bone loss orimpairmentof the immunesystem,canbeexplainedbychangesat thelevelofthecell.

NexttimeI’lltalktoyouaboutNATO!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+145-L+147: Arrivato DragonpossiamoiniziaregliesperimentiCytospaceeNATO,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+148

Samantha Cristoforetti injects the culture medium in the BRIC 21experiment.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 148 (2015.04.20)—Busydayofscienceandlogisticsformetostarttheweek.

Dragonunpackingcontinues,yesterdayIhadonehouroftransferopsonmy schedule. Looking at Dragon you may think we have made quitesomeprogressalreadyintheunpacking,butinrealitywehavecheatedabit.Manybagshavebeen retrievedand temporarily stowedon ISS,sothatwecouldaccessothercargowithurgentscience.Butofcourse,theywon’tunpackthemselves…andsomeofthemarehuge,believeme.WecallthemMObagsandIcouldcomfortablyfitinsidethesmallestofthem!

Today Ialsodealtwithaspecial typeof cargo, thePolar fridges.Theyneed to be transferred to ISS, but since they are powered up insideDragonandcontainrefrigeratedgoodsandsciencesamples, theyneedto bemoved and reinstalled quickly, tominimize the time they remainunpowered.

AlsotodayIhadtwoscienceactivitiesfortheexperimentsBRIC21andSyntheticMuscle.BRICstandsforBiologicalResearchinCanisters:youcanseeonetheBRICunitsinthepicture.

This particular run investigates microbes and how they adapt to thespaceenvironment,withspecialattentiontothedevelopmentofantibioticresistance.You’veprobablyheardthatthisisquiteasourceofconcerninhealthcare these days and we really need to understand better howpathogensbecomeresistancetoantibiotics.

Doing research with pathogens on ISS carries some complications,becauseyouneedtoprovidethemicrobialculturewithagrowthmedium:if thecrewhastodothismanually,as it’soften thecase, theoperationhas tohappen in theglovebox toensurecontainmentof thehazardousmicroorganisms.Here’swhereBRICscomeinhandy:usingadedicatedtool,asyoucanseeinthephoto,astronautscanpushapistonandinjectthe necessary mediums without ever breaking the three levels ofcontainment required by ISS safety standards. It’s very quick andefficient!

ButIbetyouwanttohearaboutSyntheticMuscle…well, turnsoutthatDragon brought us some samples of a special material that could beused to replicate muscle tissue. It’s an electroactive polymer: you canmakeitcontractandexpandbyapplyingdifferentelectriccurrents.Itsuresoundsalotlikemuscletome,doesn’tit?

ApplicationsonEarthareinthefieldofprosthetics,ofcourse,butwe’realsotestinghowthismaterial reactswhenexposedtocosmicandsolarradiation up here, because it could potentially be used in robots toenhancetheirmobility.Cool,ah?

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+148: Nuovi affascinantiesperimenti: BRICS 21 e Synthetic Muscle, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+149

SamanthaCristoforettiworksontheOsteo-4experimentinaglovebox.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 149 (2015.04.21)—Anotherdayofscienceyesterdayhereonhumanity’soutpostinspace!

First,you’llbehappytohearthattheBRICsItalkedtoyouaboutinthelast logbookarehappilychillingoutat-98°Celsius inoneofourMELFIfreezers: after I activated the experiment on Monday, the microbialculturesremainedatambienttemperatureforabout24hoursandthenitwastimetoputthemincoldstowage,wherethey’llremainuntiltheycanbereturnedtoEarth.

Yesterday I also performed the third and last run of the Osteo-4experiment,whichcameuponDragonlastweek.It’sasetofthreetrays,eachonehosting threebioreactorswith a cultureofmousebonecells.Theaimistoinvestigatethemechanismofmechano-transduction,whichbasically means that bones tissue “senses” mechanical forces andrespondswithaparticularbehavior.That’sprobablywhywelosemassinspace: in weightlessness there isn’t much load on or skeleton, so the

responseofourbodyistoreducebonemass.Ifweonlycouldconvinceourbodythatwe’llgobacktoEarthwithinafewmonthsandallthatbonemass will come in handy! To try and send that message we putmechanicalstressonourbonesbyworkingouteverydayonamachine,ARED,thatsimulatesweightlifting.

WiththeOsteo-4experimentinaglovebox.Credit:ESA/NASA

Anyway,backtoourexperiment,thepointistostudygeneexpressioninosteocytesinmicrogravity:that’sbecauseosteocytes,whicharethemostcommon cells in bone, are themechanosensors of the bone; they areresponsible for sensing mechanical loads and inducing appropriatebiologicalresponses.Howthismechanismworks,however,isstillabitofamystery.HerecomesOsteo-4intoplay!

As formy contribution,my jobwas to remove the bioreactors from thetraystheyareinstalledin,toreconfiguretheductingtoclosealltheloopsand thenput thebioreactors in cold stowage.Whatmade it abitmorecumbersome than it otherwisewould be is that, as you can see in the

picture, I had towork in thedisposable glovebox…mygoodold friendfromthefruitfliesexperiment,remember?

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+149:Capirecomeingannareleossapermigliorarnel’efficienza,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+150

SamanthaCristoforettireplacestheUrineProcessingAssemblyrecyclingtank.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay150(2015.04.22)—Hey,Ididn’tforgetthatIpromisedtotalktoyouabouttheNATOexperiment!

On Wednesday I wrapped up NATO by removing the experimentcontainers from the Kubik incubator and putting them into the MELFIfreezer,theirbiologicalstatebeingfrozenuntilresearchersonthegroundcangetholdofthemanddotheirpost-flightanalysis.

The full name of the experiment isNanoparticles and Osteoporosisand, like Osteo-4 from the last logbook, it studies the bone. But whileOsteo-4isinterestedindeterminingthemechanismsthatmakeusloosebonemass inmicrogravity,NATOwant toseewhatwecandoabout itand,inparticular,ifaparticulartypeofnanoparticlescouldbeeffectiveincounteractingboneloss.

See, it’s not very intuitive, but bone is a living tissue that is constantlydestroyed and reformed. Cells called osteoclasts destroy bone, other

cells called osteoblasts produce newbone.As long as destruction andproductionareinbalance,everythingisgood,butinweightlessnessthisbalanceisdisturbedandosteoclastswin.That’salsowhathappenswhenpeoplesufferofosteoporosis,unfortunatelyacommonproblem!

NATO observes in vitro the effects of adding to bone tissue variousdoses of “strontium-containing-hydroxyapatite-nanoparticles”, or nHAP-Sr.SomegroundstudieshavesuggestedthataddingnHAP-Srcouldbeeffective in impeding osteoclasts in their bone-destructing job, whichwould promote a more favorable balance in the bonedestruction/production cycle. A promising research for us astronauts inspaceandforpeopleonthegroundsufferingfromboneloss!

But it’snotscienceall the timeuphereofcourse.WedoneedtokeeptheStationupandrunning,whichalsomeansperiodicallychangingtheRecycleTank inourUrineProcessingAssembly,orUPA.Youcanseethe UPA in the picture, it occupies the deck area beneath our spacetoilet. What’s left of our urine after being processed in UPA, a densegreenishandnot-so-pleasant-smellyliquidcalledbrine,iscollectedintherecycletank,whichofcourseneedstobeswappedwhenfull.

ButIdidendthedaywithanothercoolnewexperimentcalledNematodemuscle.I’lltellyouallaboutitnexttime!

Italian translationof this logbookentry: L+150:NATO, lenanoparticellechecontrastanolaperditaossea,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+151—L+154

The cultures of C. Elagans of the Nematode Muscle experiment ofExpedition43.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days from 151 to 154(2015.04.23-27)—After working on a number of new experiments earlylastweek, onThursday I spentmost ofmydayworkingon cargoops,mainly unpacking those gigantic bags that, as I mentioned earlier, wemoved out of Dragon and temporarily stowed on Station while weunloadedurgentscience.

Youcannevertellhowlongitwilltaketounpackabagjustbylookingatthenumberofitemsitcontains:evenafewitemscantakealongtimeifthe stowage locations are challenging. Let’s say, for example, that youhavetorotatearacktogettoastowagecompartmentthatislocatedintheaft, curvedpart of the rack, theone that liesagainst the cylindricalhullofamodule.

Rotatinga rack in itself isnotcomplicated,butoftenyouhave tomovestuff out of the way of the rotation path: bags, cables, computers,cameras…andthenputthembackonceyouaredone.Imaginerotating

partofyourwallathometoaccessasecretroomintheback,exceptthatyouhaveplentyofstuffattachedtothewallandtotheceiling!

Atworkon fixing the first twoculturesofC.Elegans: inone the larvaegrow inmicrogravity, thesecondculturewasplaced in thecentrifuge tosimulatethegravityconditionsoftheEarth.Credit:ESA/NASA

Anyway,IoweyousomewordsabouttheNematodemuscleexperimentI worked on last week. First of all, please welcome back to theInternational Space Station our good old friends, the C.Elegans. Yes,thanks to their verywell understoodgeneticmakeup, these tinywormsareaverypopularmodelorganism,onandofftheplanet!RemembertheEpigeneticsexperiment?

But let’stalkaboutthisnewexperiment.Asthenameimplies, it’saboutmuscle, and specifically muscle atrophy. It’s very clear by now thatmuscle atrophy is a consequence of spaceflight and it makes sense

intuitively,butwedon’tunderstandyet thebasicbiologicalmechanismsthatleadtolossofmusclemass.

See,weastronautscancounteractthesenegativeeffectsbyworkingouteveryday,becausewearehealthy.Butwhataboutsickpeoplewhoarebed-ridden? Understanding the molecular mechanisms that causemuscleatrophycouldbeusefulinfindingwaystohelpthem!

Likesoofteninscience,Nematodemuscleisafollow-upexperimentthatbuildsonpreviousspaceresearch.

The team has already established a few years ago that if you fly C.Elegans to space they will have a reduced protein concentration inmuscles and in the cytoskeleton (the “bones” of the cell). Also, quiteinterestingly, theirmetabolismwill shift toanenergy-savingmode.Nowthequestionis:howdocellsreceivesignalsthatinducethosechanges?How is the message conveyed? And, for those of you who are intobiology, I’ll add that the insulin/IGF-1 signaling, in particular, will beinvestigated,soseeifitcanaccountaloneforthemetabolicchanges.Ormaybe,onthecontrary,there’smoreouttheretofindoutabouthowcells“getthemessage”.Fascinatingstuff!

Thefinalproduct:twofasteningtubesreadyforcoldstorageat-98°CinourMELFIfreezer!Credit:ESA/NASA

Theweekend,bytheway,wasprettyquietuphere.WeevengotmostofFriday off to recover fromworking twoweeks straight,whichwasnice.TerryandIareheadinghomeinjustacoupleofweeksandthere’sstillalottobedonetowrapupourSpaceStationlifeandgetthingsreadytowelcomethenextinhabitantsofouroutpostinspace.

P.S. Many thanks to +Dmitry Meshkov who is now translating thislogbookinRussian,startingwiththemostrecentones.

And of course, renewed thanks to the Italian, French, Spanish andGermantranslatorsof#SamLogbookfortheircontinuingamazingwork.Youguysrock!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+151-L+154: Bentornato C.Elegans!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+155,L+156

ThedockingportofthePirsmoduleremainedfreeduetothenon-arrivaloftheProgressM-27M/59P.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 155 and 156(2015.04.27-28)—Anotherweekhasgonebyon ISS,oneofmy lastonboard.Timesureflieswhenyou’rehavingfun!

Well,thebiggestnewsofthispastweek,asI’msureyou’veheard,isthattheRussianresupplyvehicleProgress59Pdidn’tmakeittoISS.

On Tuesday morning we received a call from Houston saying thatMissionControl-Moscowhaddownmodedthemissionprofiletoatwo-day rendezvous, as opposed to the standard 6-hour profile that wouldhavehadProgressdocktoISSbyearlyafternoon.

Ofcourse,there’salotofminorissuesthatcanforceatransitiontoa2-dayprofile,soatthatpointwestillexpectedtoseeProgresspullupinitsparkingspotbyThursday.Weknownow that59Pwillnevermake it toISS.MissioncontrollersinMoscowhavevaliantlytriedalltheycouldwiththeavailable telemetryandcommandingcapability,butunfortunatelyall

effortstorecovertheresupplymissionhavebeenunsuccessful.

Thefocusofthecommunityhasnowshiftedfromtherecoveryattemptstoanalyzingthemishapandfindingthecause.We’llknowmoreonceourRussian colleagues will have concluded the investigation which,inevitably,willtakeawhile.

In themeantime, teamsareassessing the impacts to the ISSprogram:what is the consumable situation? How about trash removal capabilitythathasbeenlost?WhataretheimplicationsforthenextSoyuzlaunchand,consequently,theimpactsonISSactivities?

Asyoucanimagine,it’sacomplicatedproblemand,asisoftenthecase,I’mhappythatI’mjustanastronautandI’monlyresponsibleforcarryingoutmy tasksuphere.Peopleon thegroundhaveamuch tougher job,especiallythesedays!

The good news is thatwe’re not going to run out of food, water,oxygenoranyothervitalconsumablesanytimesoon–wehaveplentyonmargin.Onhumanity’soutpostinspacenoastronautisgoingtobedhungry!

Andwe’rebusyasusualkeepingtheSpaceStationinshape,transferringcargo and, of course, doing science.On Tuesday, in particular, as theProgress story unfolded, I spent most of the day working on the finalsessionof the ItalianSpaceAgencyexperimentDrainBrain:ultrasoundsessioninthemorning,plusbreathingsessionswiththepletismographsmorningandafternoon.Ifthisdoesn’tringabell,youmighthavemissedmyL+57,L+58Logbook,whereItalkedaboutDrainBrain!

Congratulationstotheteamonthecompletionoftheexperiment!

Italiantranslationofthislogbookentry:L+155,L+156:Progress59Pnoncel’hafatta,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+157,L+158

Samantha Cristoforetti among the material to bring back to earth withDragonSpX-6.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 157 and 158(2015.04.29-30)—Anotherweekend is over, only one left on theSpaceStation.Thebigeventoftheweekendofcoursewasthefirstespressobrewing,whichwecannowevenenjoy in3D-printedzeroGcups…I’lltellyouallaboutthatinanotherlogbook,Ipromise.

Fornow,Istillhavetocatchuponlastweek’sactivities!

WednesdaywasthedaywhenwedeclaredvictoryonDragonunpack…andseamlesslymovedontothenextfight:packingandloading!

As youmight remember,wehaddonea little bit of pre-packingbeforeDragon even showed up, pre-staging bags with a nice green “SpX-6Return”labelandauniquenumberontheNode2forwardendcone.Nowit’s time to fill up those bags with more return items and, of course,preparemanymorebags.

It’s nice to be able to start loading things into Dragon. With both thenewly arrived cargo and the cargo thatwill be returned stowedon ISSright now, the logistic situation can be challenging: in PMM, our mainstowagemodules,most rack fronts are coveredwith big bags securedwith bungees, so getting things in and out of the actual stowagecompartmentstakessomeworkandpatience!

As for science, Wednesday and Thursday I worked mainly on theongoingTripleLux-AexperimentandonmylastsessionofCardio-Ox.

Cardio-Oxistheshortversionofthename,bytheway.Ifyou’recuriousabout the full name of the experiment, here it is: “Defining theRelationshipBetweenBiomarkersofOxidativeand InflammatoryStressand the Risk for Atherosclerosis in Astronauts During and After Long-durationSpaceflight.”

Ifyouhadthepatiencetoreadthroughtheend,thenamereallysaysitall! It is reasonable to suppose that spaceflight, due to exposure toradiation, altered food intake, reduced physical activity and an overallstressfulenvironment,maycausean increased levelofoxidativestressandinflammation.

Both these undesirable conditions can be indirectly measured bydetermining the concentration of certain molecules in blood and urine:thesemoleculesarethe“biomarkers”intheexperimenttitle.So,thefirstresult of the experiment is to actually quantify oxidative stress andinflammation and for that purpose I have provided several blood andurinesamplesduringthemission.

But the second part is: how do oxidative stress and inflammationcorrelate with the risk of atherosclerosis? To determine that, I haveperformedseveralremotely-guidedultrasoundobservationsofmycarotidand brachial arteries, looking for structural and functional changes thatareconsideredgoodpredictorsofatherosclerosisrisk.Bytheway,thisisalongtermstudy:thelastpost-flightsessionwillbe5yearsafterflight.

Not sure Iwill still bewriting logbooks at that point, but just in case, ifyou’recurious,lookforthatR+1825entry!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+157, L+158:Rimane solo unweekendsullaStazioneSpaziale,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+159,L+160

Samantha Cristoforetti with some laboratory equipment for humanresearch.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission days 159 and 160(2015.05.01-02)—Fridaywasoneofthosedayswhenperiodicbathroomvisitsareabitmorecomplicatedthanusual…itwastimeforanother24-hoururinecollection,followedonSaturdaymorningbyablooddraw,thistimewith“ScotttheVampire”whohelpedmefillupseventubesofblood.

Thesecollectionswere insupportof theCardio-Oxexperiment,which Ihavetalkedaboutinthelastlogbook,aswellasthe“BiochemicalProfile”and“Repository”projectsoftheJohnsonSpaceCenter.

Thesearenotactualexperiments,but ratheraimatprovidingdata thatcanpotentiallysupportavarietyofresearch,bothcurrentandfuture,intothehumanadaptationtospaceflight.

“Biochemical Profile” tests urine and blood samples for a number ofproteinsand chemicals,whichare known to be significant indicators ofthemetabolicstateofthebody(biomarkers):adatabaseiscreatedand

datacanbemadeavailabletoresearcherswhorequestittosupporttheirinvestigations.

“Repository”isasimilarconcept,butwithaneyetothefuture.Urineandblood samples are collected and stored long-term under controlledconditions andwill bemade available in the future to researcherswhomakeasolidscientificcase forhaving them. In the futurescientistswillbeabletotestthosesampleswithmoreadvancedanalysismethodsandtheymightevenbeinterestedinbiomarkersthatarestillunknowntoustoday!

I concluded my 24-hour urine collection with the first toilet visit onSaturdaymorning,butthreehoursafterbreakfastIdidfillonemoretube,together with a saliva sample, for the Italian experiment Bone MuscleCheck,whichaimsatvalidatingtheanalysisofsalivasamplestoquantifythe reduction of bone andmusclemass. If reliable biomarkers can befound in saliva, onedoesnot have to rely onmuchmore invasive andtime-consumingblooddraws!

Inthepictureyoucanseesomeofour laboratoryequipmentforhumanresearch,includingtheurinecollectionbag.Asyoucanimagine,peeingin a cup wouldn’t work very well up here. I remember testing a newfemale adapter onmy very first parabolic flight almost exactly 5 yearsago–inthecabinoftheZeroGaircraft,butinsideaspecialtent!

I’ll also confess that I had some urine collection devices with me inBaikonurandIpracticedwiththembeforelaunch.Intheend,there’stwothingsthatyoureallywanttobeveryfamiliarwithwhenyou’reabouttolaunchtospace:yourspaceshipandeverythingthathastodowithusingthetoilet!

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L+159,L+160:Scott ilVampiro,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+170

SamanthaCristoforetti inSoyuzsuitbefore thepostponed returnof theSoyuzTMA-15M.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 170 (2015.05.12)—Haveyouheardthenews?

Today,Roscosmos,theRussianSpaceAgency,hasofficiallyannouncedthat our landing is delayed until early June,whichmeans that…Terry,AntonandIgettostayafewextraweeksinspace!

As I’mwriting this I justcan’tbelieve thatouroriginal landingdatewastomorrowandIwouldnowbeabouttojumpinmyISSsleepingbagforthevery last time. Isuppose Iwasn’tmentally ready to leavequiteyet,partlydueforsuretothefactthatthischangeofplanshasbeenintheairforquitesometime.

After the loss of Progress 59P two weeks ago, we all immediatelyrealized that thenextSoyuz launchwould likelybedelayedtobuy timeforafull investigation, implementationofanycorrectiveactionsdeemednecessaryandpossiblythelaunchofanotherunmannedvehiclefirst.

Whether our returnwould bepostponedaswellwas less clear: on theonehandthereareobviousadvantagesinhavingafullcrewcomplementonboard,on theotherhandwehad just lostacargo resupplyshipandconsumablesmighthavebeenanissue(turnedouttheyaren’t).

AswewaitedfortheISSpartneragenciestomakeadecision,wewerescheduledlastweekforalltheactivitiesrequiredtokeepusontrackforanominallanding:weperformedaleakcheckofourSokolpressuresuits(leakcheckpassed!);wefitcheckedourKentavrcompressionshorts;wecontinued topre-gathercargo forourSoyuz, includingourpersonal1,5kgallocationandwepackedour fewotherpersonal items for return toEarthonDragon.AntonandIrefreshedourmanualreentryskills.Sinceafinaldecisionaboutdelayingourlandinghadnotbeenmade,wehadtobeready.

HowevertheSoyuzthrusters’test,whichwasscheduledearlyonFridaymorning, was canceled and at that point it was clear that we weren’tgoinghomeonMay13th.Readyandhappytostay!

Andnoworries:Istillhaveunderwear,socksandevenoneofmybonusfood containers left. I’m really glad that I saved some of those basicsupplies,justincase!IwasalsoabletorecoveracoupleofbrandnewT-shirts that I had already used towrap someDragon return items: theymighthavesomeglueresiduefromthegraytapeonthem,butthey’lldothetrickifIneedthem!

TalkingaboutDragon,lookslikeTerryandIwillunexpectedlybearoundfor the fullSpaceX-6mission:we’rediligentlypackingand loadingbagsclearingspaceonISS,whichisalwayswelcome.

We’re also doingmore preparatory work tomove PMM to the Node 3forward location and… who knows? The actual move might actuallyhappensoon, insteadofnextsummer.Sincewe’renotgoinganywherefor a while, the planners will find ways to make good use of our timeonboard.

And I would be thrilled about enjoying, even for a few days, a 360degreesunrestrictedviewfromtheCupola!

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+170: Sentita la notizia?Qualche altra settimana nello spazio!, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+200/1

Samantha Cristoforetti takes the samples from the Stem CellDifferentiationexperimentfromtheMELFIfreezer.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit-MissionDay200(2015.06.11)—Afterasummerofrehabanddebriefs(andyes,2weeksofvacation),timetowrapup thestoryofmymission to ISS.This is the firstentry ina finalseriesoflogbookslookingbackatdeparture,landingandre-adaptation!

Looks like this time theymean it: after adelayof onemonth, this timetheyreallywantustogohome.

Itwasanearlywake-upforourvery lastdayonISS: themorningDailyPlanningConference,ourtagupwiththecontrolcenterstostarttheday,wasscheduled for 1am!Butwedidgo to sleep in theearly afternoonyesterday, in fact we have been sleep shifting for a couple of days.Undocking is not until 10:18 am, but there's a lot to do beforewe cansendthatcommandtoopenthehooksthatkeepourSoyuzattachedtotheSpaceStation.Andifyou’reimaginingustakingourtimetosayourmental farewell, leisurelysavoringour last fewhours inspace…well,ofcourseyou’renot,youknowbetterthanthat!

In fact, themorning was busy as ever. Scott and I were in ColumbusevenbeforeDPC,assistingeachotherwithourblooddraws.Thiswasaso-called“ambientblooddraw”,meaningthatthetubesdon’tgointotheMELFI freezers, but return toEarthon theSoyuz instead.Theywill beretrieved from the descent modules right after we are extracted. Theblooddraw in itselfwasnodifferent thananyotherwe’vedone,but thepacking instructions did look daunting, especially regarding someparticular tubes that Scott uses for his Twin Study. I will be forevergratefultohimforofferingtotakingcareofallthepackingonhisown,soI could save some time for a final tour of the Space Station. ThanksScott!

However, I did get my share of packing as well. Remember the StemCellsDifferentiationexperimentfromtheL+141-L+144Logbook?Well,thosesamplesneedtogohometodayaswell,soIgottoretrievethemfromMELFI andpack them in insulatedpouches for return.There isn’tmuchspaceintheSoyuzdescentmodule,asyoucanimagine,sowetrytopack thingsas compact aspossible. In caseof early-retrieval items,weputthenumberofthepackageonagreenlabelandwealsotakeapicture, thatwill bemade available to the retrieval teamat the landingsite,so theyknowexactlywhat to look for.Ofcourse,Anton is loadingtheSoyuzexactlyaccordingtothecargoplan:havingthecenterofmassintherightplaceisimportantinaspacevehicle,especiallyifit’syourridebacktoEarth!

Bytheway,it’snotonlybloodthatIhavebeendonatingtosciencetoday.Firstthingafterwakingupforthelasttimeinmyfloatingsleepingbag,Itook three different saliva samples – a 10-min routine that I haveperformed many times by now for the experiments Microbiome andSalivarymarkers.Oh,anddon’tforgeturinecollection!Iwillbefillingouturine tubesandputting them into theMELFI freezerat every voiduntilhatchclosure.Theglamourofspaceflight…

Picture:retrievingtheStemCellDifferentiationsamplesfromtheMELFIfreezer.

Logbookwrittenon2015.09.01.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+200/1: Non siamo rimasti agoderci con comodo le ultime ore nello spazio, by Paolo Amoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+200/2

Samantha Cristoforetti and the crew of the Soyuz TMA-15M greet theastronautsontheISSbeforedeparture.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay200(2015.06.11)—Thisisthesecondentryinafinalseriesoflogbookslookingbackatdeparture,landingandre-adaptation!

Inspiteofthebusypre-departureschedule,Ididfindthetimeforonelasttourof theSpaceStation: just aquick float-through, trying to soak it inand fix it all in my memory. Oh, and one flight last across the Lab,pushingoffthehandrailsontheoneendjusttherightwaytoflystraightto theotherhatchway.Seemssonatural, thoseclumsy firstdayswhenflyingwasachallengearemanymonthinthepast.

ItrashedmylasttoiletryitemsleftinNode3andalsoafewlastpiecesofclothingleftinmycrewquartersfromthenight,afterwhichIonly"owned"the clothes I was wearing. I logged off my personal laptops: shouldanyonewriteanemail tome inspace fromnowon, Iwillnever read it,sinceIwillneverhaveaccesstothisemailaddressagain.ItookonelastlookinColumbus,tomakesureIwasleavingitingoodshape.Silly,ina

way,IhavenomoreformalresponsibilityforColumbusthanforanyotherplace on Station, but I guess I have always felt a bit in charge of thispieceofEuropeinspace.Finally,IshowedScottwherehecouldfindmyleft-over bonus food. I ran out of olive oil a few days ago: I guess it'sreallytimetoleave.

At 6 am I joined Anton in the Soyuz for to perform a few checks andactivationtasks.Everythingwentsmoothlyandquickly.ThenitwastimetostowsomewaterandalastminutesnacksintheorbitalmoduleoftheSoyuz, verify that all the checklists were present and wait for hatchclosingtime,around7am.

Wehadsaidourgoodbyeslastnight,takingourtimeoverdinner,butitwasstillanintensemomentwhenweexchangedonelasthugwithScott,Gennady andMisha. Evenmore so,whenAnton andGennady closedthehatches.Foramoment Ibecameacutelyawareof the fact that lifewould continueon ISS,butwewouldno longerbepart of it.But therewas no time to linger on that thought, nowwe had to focus on gettingsafely back to Earth. The nice thing about spaceflight is that there isalways a hatch closure to signal unambiguously that something hasfinishedandit'stimetofocusonwhat'scomingnext.

First priority: get all the pre-departure operations done properly and intime,startingwith the leakcheckof theSoyuzandStationhatches.Asyoucanprobablyguess,ifyou'vebeenfollowingthislogbook,todothatwe needed to depressurize the vestibule, the space between that twohatches.Forsafety(shouldtheSoyuzexternalhatchactuallyleak)weallwenttoourplaceinthedescentmoduleandclosedthehatch,toisolateourselvesfromtheorbitalmodule.ThenIsentthecommandtoopenthevestibule venting valve and we watched the pressure in the vestibuledroptoalmostzero.AlthoughwewerestillsolidlyattachedtotheSpaceStation, there was now vacuum separating us from our friends inside.[cont.]

Logbookwrittenon2015.09.03.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L+200/2:UnultimosguardoallaStazioneSpaziale,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+200/3

SamanthaCristoforetti inSoyuzsuitbefore thepostponed returnof theSoyuzTMA-15M.Credit:ESA/NASA

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay200(2015.06.11)—Thisis thethirdentry ina finalseriesof logbooks lookingbackatdeparture,landingandre-adaptation!

[cont.]Afterdepressurizingthevestibule,weobservedforafewminutesthepressureindicationsforthedescentmoduleandtheorbitalmoduleofourSoyuz:bothstable,sotherewasnoobvious,fastleak.(Notthatwewereexpectingone!).

Of course we needed to check for a slow leak as well, before wecommittedtoleavingtheStationandrelyingontheSoyuzhatchtokeepourairinside.Thefullleakcheckwouldtake30min,withmeasurementsof thevestibulepressure recordedevery5min,butsince therewasnofastpressuredropitwassafeforustoreopenthehatchofthedescentmoduleandfloatbacktotheorbitalmoduletodonourSokolsuits.

Iwent first,aswehadplanned.AntonandTerrystayed in thedescent

modulewhile Iused theSoyuz toilet. Iwanted toemptymybladderaslateaspossible:Ididwearadiaper,butIwasn’tsureIwouldbeabletouseitintheseveralhoursofweightlessnessthatstilllaybetweenusandthedeorbitburn.Somehowdiapersandweightlessnessdon’tgetalongforme,asIhadexperiencedduringascent.

Iputonmybiomedicalbelt indirect contactwith theskinand thenmySokol underwear, periodically calling the vestibule pressure readingsfromthemanovacumetertoAntonandTerry,sotheycouldreport themto the ground. Over the course of 30 minutes, the maximum allowedpressureincreasetocallthehatchesairtightwas1mmHg.

AntonjoinedmeintheorbitalmoduletohelpmedontheSokol.Tomakethingsfaster,IbasicallyheldontokeepmyselfasstillaspossibleandletAntontakecareoftyingandzippingupeverything.Oneofthecoolthingsabout being an astronaut: you can let somebodyelse dress you as anadultandnobodylaughsatyou!

AsAntonpointedout,wedidn’thaveawhole lotof time.BecauseofatestoftheKursantennas,whichwouldruninthebackgroundduringourundocking,thegroundwasgoingtosendtheactivationcommandoftheguidanceandnavigationsystemoveranhourearlierthantheynormallywould on a typical departure day schedule. We were already talkingMoscow-time at that point, since this the time onwhich we run Soyuzops:thenightbeforewehaddiligentlywrittenthesignificanttimesinourchecklists,basedontheradiogramsentupbyMissionControlMoscow.NotonlyvacuumseparatedusnowfromtheSpaceStationbut,inaway,alsothreehours!

After I was all dressed up inmy Sokol, which would keepme alive incaseofdepressurizationduringre-entry,Itookalastsipofwaterfromabag thatwould stay in the orbitalmodule, grabbed one last snack andthen floated tomyseat in thedescentmodule. Itdidn’tescapeme thatthoseweremylastfewsecondsoffreefloating:oncestrappedininmyseat,Iwouldn’tunstrapuntilafterlandingonEarth.[cont]

Photo: in theSokola fewdaysbeforeundocking forapreliminary leakcheck.

Logbookwrittenon2015.09.04.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+200/3: Il bello di essereastronauta: farsi vestire da qualcun altro senza che nessuno rida, byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+200/4

SamanthaCristoforetti intheSoyuzTMA-15Mduringthelaunch.Credit:Roscosmos/NASATV

ISSSpaceOutpost.EarthOrbit—MissionDay200(2015.06.11)—Thisisthefourthentryinafinalseriesoflogbookslookingbackatdeparture,landingandre-adaptation!

Strappingin intheSoyuzisnotasquickasfasteningyourseatbelt: thespace is cramped, the position uncomfortable, some of the straps arehardtoreach.Additionally,asIhadlearnedduringourSokolleakcheck,beingweightlessdoesn’tmakeitanyeasier,sinceyourbodydoesn’tstayput in the seat.So Iwasgladwheneverythingwasdone: oxygenandventilation hoses attached, com and biomedical cables connected,shoulder, lap and knee straps fastened. I didn’t tighten them, since itwouldstillbeseveralhoursbeforethedeorbitburnandourre-entryintheatmosphere.Inspiteofthephysicaleffortofstrappingin,Istilldidn’tfeeltoowarmintheSokol,soIdidnotturnonthesuitventilation,enjoyingafewmoreminutesofquietness.

Over the radio came the dear, familiar voice of our Soyuz instructor,

Dima,whowouldbeonspace-to-groundfromMoscowtoday,justlikehehadbeenour“controlcentervoice”forhundredsofhoursinthesimulatorbackinStarCity.HeaskedmeforthestatusofoursuitdonningopsandI reported that I was strapped in and Anton was helping Terry in theorbital module. Then I selected the page on my command-and-controldisplay showing the technical parameters of our vehicle. Everythinglookedgood,exceptthatourCO2levelwastrendinghigh,closeto4mmHg. Iwasabout toreport it,butMissionControlMoscowwasobviouslywatching it already via telemetry:Dima instructedmeover the radio toactivate our CO2 scrubbing now, a bit earlier than it would have beenforeseeninthechecklist.

A fewmore pressure reports fromTerry andAnton,which I relayed toMoscow, and the leak check was deemed complete and passed:undockingfromtheISSwassafe.Bytheway,Ishouldaddthatwehadalso performed a check of the attitude thrusters a few days beforeundocking. First, the flight controllers had taken the ISS in drift mode,meaning that theStationwouldallow itself tobebrought slightly out ofattitude by the Soyuz thrusters firings, without actively trying tocompensate for those disturbances. Then Anton and I had taken ourseatsintheSoyuz,wehadconfiguredSoyuzsystemssothatthemanualcontrols would control thrusters firings and Anton had deflected thecontrollersinallsixdegreesoffreedominsequence,givingusachancetomakesurethattheywouldreactproperlytoallcontrolinputs,boththeinprimaryandbackupcontrolloop.

Backtothedepartureday,itwasnowTerry’sturntostraphimselfintheseat.Withina fewminutesAntonalso joinedus in thedescentmodule,closingthehatchthatseparatedusfromtheorbitalmodule.

Once we were all strapped in, we put on the gloves and closed thehelmet to start the leak check of our suits. First we turned the blueregulator valve on our chests to the closed position and the simpleventilationflowfromthefansblewupoursuits justslightly.ThenAntongavea short 5-seconds countdown, at theendofwhichhe started thestopwatch,asIsimultaneouslyopenedthevalvethatstartedanoxygenflow intooursuits.Weeachmonitored the increaseofsuitpressureon

our wrist manometer and reported when we reached 0,1 atm and 3,5atm,so thatAntoncouldwritedown the “filling times”.Thegroundwasalso following along, sincewehad locked-in the transmit button beforestarting the leak check. After reaching 3.5 atm each of us let the suitdeflate,controlling the flowratewith theregulatorvalve inorder togivetimetoourears tocompensatefor thepressuredrop.ThenweopenedourhelmetandIclosedthesupplylinefromtheoxygentanks.Wewouldnotremovetheglovesanymoreuntilafterlanding.

Good news: all of our suits had “filled up” within the required time,passing the leak check. Another potential hurdle on our departureschedulewasbehindus!

Photo: from this screenshot from our launch video you can see howcrampeditisintheSoyuz!

Logbookwrittenon2015.09.07.

Italian translation of this logbook entry: L+200/4: Non è facile comeallacciarelacinturadisicurezza,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.

L+200/5:Ganciaperti,lasciamodavverolaStazioneSpaziale!

TheSoyuzTMA-15MwithSamanthaCristoforettionboardmovesawayfromtheSpaceStation.

ISS Space Outpost. Earth Orbit—Mission Day 200 (2015.06.11)—[cont.]Asyoumighthaveguessed,therewasonelastleakchecktobeperformed before undocking: the leak check of the hatch between thedescentmoduleand theorbitalmodule.Eventually,wewould separatefromtheorbitalmoduleandthedescentmodulehatchwouldbetheoneprotectingusfromvacuum!

Rightnow,ofcourse, thepressureacrossthehatchwasroughlyequal:afterall,wehad just closed it a fewminutesearlier.Toperforma leakcheck,wehadtocreateapressuredifferentialandtodothatwewouldvent some air from the orbital module into space via the relief valve.Antonselectedtheclosingcommandonhisdisplay,sothathewouldbeabletoreclosethevalvewithasimplebuttonpush.Oncethatwasdone,I opened the relief valve. On our life support display we watched thepressure in the orbital module drop, until Anton sent the command to

closethevalve.Wehadcreatedapressuredifferentialofabout150mmHg and nowwewould check for any pressure equalization across thehatch:maximumacceptablepressuredropinthedescentmodulewas25mmHg in 25minutes.At the end of themonitoring timewewerewellwithinthatrequirement:leakcheckpassed!

Finally, itwas time towait.Patiently.Foralmostanhour: abuffer timeinsertedinourtimeline incaseofproblems.Let’s imagine, forexample,an issue with the suit leak check: we would have disconnected andreconnectedthegloves,openedandreclosedthehelmet,makingreallysurethatnodebriswascaughtinthesealingsurface,andthenwewouldhave performed the leak check again. Or let’s say that the descentmodulehatchwouldhavefailedtheleakcheck:wewouldhaveequalizedthepressure, opened thehatch, verified that the sealing surfaceswereintactandcleanandthenreclosedforanotherleakcheck.Allthingsthatrequire time. But since everything had gone smoothly in our pre-departureops,therewewere,fullystrappedinourseats,waiting.

It’snicenottoberushed,butofcoursethe“sitting”positionintheSoyuzisnotthemostcomfortableone,evenforasmallpersonlikeme–Icanimaginehowpainful itcanbeforbiggercrewmemberstosit forso longwiththekneesbenttowardsthechest!

We talked, we joked, we took some glances out the windows, wereviewed procedures for the upcoming reentry, we thought about ourfriends on the Space Station, still so close, but already belonging toanotherworld.

Then,at13:17:30MoscowtimeIsentthecommandtoturnontheSoyuzdockingsystem.Oneminutelater,at13:18:30Isentthenextcommand:HooksOpen.TheelectricalmotorsofthedockingsystemstartedtodrivethehooksthatkeptusattachedtotheSpaceStationtotheopenposition.Within a couple of minutes the hooks were fully open and the spring-loaded pushers imparted to our Soyuz a separation velocity: on theperiscope view in front of Anton’s central seat we could observe thedockingportfurtherandfurtheraway.Thatwasit,wewereleaving.GoodbyeSpaceStation!GoodbyeScott,Misha,Gennady![cont]

Photo:ourSoyuzdepartingfromISS

Logbookwritttenon2015.09.10.

Italian translationof this logbookentry:L+200/5:Ganciaperti, lasciamodavverolaStazioneSpaziale!,byPaoloAmoroso—AstronautiNEWS.