After On Sunday, the astronauts have successfully completed the third and final spacewalk of the STS-124 mission, today the crew members will maneuver the newly activated robotic arm on the Kibo laboratory to its stowed position. They also will perform a checkout of the arm’s brakes.

The Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) is a robotic arm system, designed to support and manipulate experiments and perform maintenance tasks on the Kibo unpressurized facilities.  The JEMRMS is actually composed of two arms, a 10-meter-long (33-foot-long) main arm (MA) and a 2-meter-long (6-foot-long) small fine arm. (Note that the small fine arm will not be launched on STS-124, it will be delivered to the station on a future mission.)

Both arms have six independent joints and provide great dexterity in movement, which is very similar to the human arm. The robotic control workstation, known as the JEMRMS Console, is used for manipulating the JEMRMS. Remote television cameras are mounted on both robotic arms, and they enable the crew to control the JEMRMS from inside the JPM. 

Using these robotic arms, the space station crew can exchange exposed payloads and ORUs installed on the EF and ELM-ES. The main arm will primarily be used to transfer large objects, and the small fine arm will handle the smaller, more delicate items.  The JEMRMS is designed to operate for more than 10 years in orbit.

The JEMRMS also incorporates a modular design which allows many major components to be exchanged or replaced in case of failur. Some of the arm subcomponents can be repaired by intravehicular activity (IVA) operations, but repair of the main arm can only be performed by EVA.

The crew will manipulate the JEMRMS from a robotic control workstation, called the “JEMRMS Console,” installed in the JPM.

The crews also will work in the Quest airlock of the International Space Station to replace battery charger modules. The modules charge the batteries that provide power to U.S. spacesuits during spacewalks. Flight managers elected to replace the modules, which have shown slightly increased toxicity levels due to their age.

The shuttle and station crews are scheduled to take a break from their activities at 5:02 p.m. EDT for the traditional joint crew news conference.

The crew will have off duty time on flight day 11, relaxing for a portion of the day before transferring spacewalk equipment and at least one spacesuit back to Discovery.  At the end of the day, the two crews will bid farewell to one another and close hatches between Discovery and the station, leaving Chamitoff on the station while Reisman begins final preparations for his return to Earth.

On flight day 12, Discovery will undock from the station.  Ham, flying the shuttle from the aft flight deck, will guide the orbiter on a fly around of the complex so the crew can capture detailed imagery of the newly installed Kibo andthe station’s new configuration. 

Once Discovery’s maneuvering jets are fired to enable it to separate from the station, Ham, Nyberg, Garan and Fossum will take turns with the shuttle’s robotic arm and the OBSS to conduct a late inspection of the shuttle’s heat shield, a final opportunity to confirm Discovery’s readiness to return to Earth.