Experiments may start at ISS Nauka module in near future, cosmonaut says

MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. Scientific experiments in the Nauka module, which was docked to the International Space Station in summer, may start in the near future, cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov told TASS in an interview from onboard the station. Equipment is still being installed in the module, and "in the near future, when at least some of it is installed, we will start the first experiments in the Nauka module," he said. Also, the module’s system of recycling urine into water could soon start working, "and that would give the station some additional water," the cosmonaut said. The Nauka multi-purpose module was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 21 and docked with the ISS on July 29. It’s designed to implement the Russian program of applied research and experiments and provides cosmonauts with additional space for workplaces, cargo storage, and water and oxygen reclamation equipment. The Nauka module also provides Russian cosmonauts with a cabin for a third crew member, a second toilet and the European Robotic Arm (ERA) that will help to perform some operations without spacewalks. Read more