What does the crew on the ISS do?

The presence of a permanent crew affords the ability to monitor, replenish, repair, and replace experiments and components of the spacecraft itself. The crew of the ISS also provide opportunities for students on Earth by running student-developed experiments, making educational demonstrations, and allowing for student participation in classroom versions of ISS experiments, and directly engaging students using radio, video link and email. For example, on 2007, following the relocation of the P6 truss and solar arrays, it was noted during the redeployment of the array that it had become torn and was not deploying properly. An EVA was carried out by Scott Parazynski, assisted by Douglas Wheelock, the men took extra precautions to reduce the risk of electric shock, as the repairs were carried out with the solar array exposed to sunlight.