ISS Crew Begins November With Science, Checkouts<br /><br />November began with a wide range of activities for the International Space<br />Station's Expedition 10 crew. Commander Leroy Chiao, who is also the<br />Expedition 10 NASA ISS science officer, conducted a session with the Binary<br />Colloid Alloy Test 3, which is studying the long-term behavior of<br />colloids -- a system of fine particles suspended in a fluid -- in a<br />microgravity environment, where the effects of sedimentation and convection<br />are removed. Crewmembers will even out the samples, photograph the growth<br />and formations of the colloids, and downlink the images for analysis.<br /><br />Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov checked out a Russian plant-growth<br />experiment and trained with the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in<br />Microgravity (ADUM) medical experiment. ADUM seeks to better understand the<br />ability to quickly and remotely transmit medical data to the ground. The<br />application may also find benefits on Earth, allowing for much quicker<br />injury diagnosis for patients at remote locations by doctors based at<br />hospitals.<br /><br />In other activities, Chiao also took readings throughout the Station for a<br />routine noise level check and took inventory of flight crew equipment.<br />Sharipov inspected circuit breakers and fuses in the Pirs Docking<br />Compartment. Also, both crewmembers spent an hour familiarizing themselves<br />with the Space Station.<br /><br />On the ground, Expedition 9 is in Star City, Russia, for several weeks of<br />post-flight debriefings and medical exams before returning to Houston in<br />mid-November.