EXPOSE-E (EXPOSE-EuTEF) is an ESA payload dedicated to the study of exobiology. EXPOSE-E, located with other European payloads on the EuTEF pallet, has been successfully installed outside the Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station, commissioned and put in its nominal operation status. It contains samples of interdisciplinary astrobiological experiments exposed to the space environment for the sake of increasing the knowledge of the origin and of the evolution of life within a planetary context.The operational tasks for the EXPOSE-E payload are performed within the European Ground Segment, and mainly shared by two User Support and Operation Centers (USOCs): MUSC and ERASMUS. The MUSC (Microgravity User Support Centre) located in Cologne/Germany acts as EXPOSE-E Facility Support Center. In this role, MUSC is responsible for EXPOSE-E Monitoring and Commanding, telemetry analysis, data archiving and data distribution to the EXPOSE-E Principal Investigators (Pls). ERASMUS, located at ESTEC in the Netherlands, is the Facility Responsible Centre (FRC) for EuTEF platform. ERASMUS holds the overall responsibility for the operation of the EuTEF class-1 payload and the nine experiments it accommodates. ERASMUS has a direct telemetry and command interface to the Columbus Control Center (Col-CC) and provides the TM/TC interface between MUSC and Col-CC. This paper will present the applied operational scenario and first experience gained during the beginning of EXPOSE two years mission.
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