TOKYO, Feb 22 (News On Japan) –
Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, who has been residing on the International Space Station (ISS) since final 12 months, mirrored on the experiments he has performed, stating, “It was an environment where we could test for future human missions to the Moon and beyond.”
Furukawa has been stationed on the ISS since August of final 12 months, partaking in numerous experiments. On the twenty first, he answered questions from Earth alongside his fellow astronauts, discussing their achievements to date.
During this session, Furukawa highlighted an experiment investigating how cells understand gravity, explaining, “If we can understand what’s happening inside the cells, we might be able to deal with the deterioration of bones and muscles that occurs during spaceflight, which could also lead to a better understanding of similar diseases on Earth.”
Regarding the experiment on remotely working a robotic to carry out surgical procedure in house, he remarked, “The challenge is the time delay between Earth and space, which will become even greater when humanity travels to the Moon or further. The ISS provided an environment where we could conduct tests anticipating such future scenarios.”
He additionally emphasised the importance of an experiment on producing high-quality protein crystals, stating, “Analyzing these crystals can reveal their detailed structures, which helps us efficiently narrow down potential proteins for new drug development.”
Furukawa’s mission is scheduled to final roughly six months, together with his return to Earth anticipated subsequent month.
Source: NHK