Crew Prepares for Arrivals and Expansions

Science and preparations for the arrivals of space shuttle Endeavour and a Russian cargo craft in February were the focus of the Expedition 22 crew’s activities Tuesday aboard the International Space Station.

After the crew’s daily planning conference with teams in the U.S., Russia, Germany and Japan, Commander Jeff Williams began his workday performing his fourth session with an experiment that studies changes in the astronauts’ aerobic capacity during long-duration spaceflight. NASA is interested in tracking these changes because a reduction in maximum oxygen uptake directly impacts a crew member’s ability to perform strenuous activities such as spacewalks or emergency operations.