What activities did the crew accomplish during their spacewalk?
Another Successful Spacewalk
The International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 65 crew completed a spacewalk on Thursday, marking the end of a busy week. This was the second spacewalk for the crew, which is comprised of NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Thomas Pesquet.
During the spacewalk, Kimbrough and Pesquet installed a modification kit that will allow a new set of solar arrays to be installed on the space station later this year. McArthur and Hoshide were in charge of providing support from inside the space station. The spacewalk lasted 6 hours and 45 minutes and was successful with no major issues.
Preparing for Another Spacewalk
After completing the spacewalk, the crew began preparations for another spacewalk scheduled for June 25. During this spacewalk, Kimbrough and Pesquet will install the first of six new roll-out solar arrays that will eventually replace the current space station solar arrays. The new solar arrays will provide more power to the space station and increase its resiliency.
In addition to spacewalk preparations, the crew also conducted experiments on the station’s combustion and fluid science, life sciences, and physical science research facilities.
A History of Spacewalks
Spacewalks are an integral part of maintaining and upgrading the ISS. The first spacewalk was conducted in 1965 by NASA astronaut Edward White during the Gemini 4 mission. Since then, there have been over 220 spacewalks conducted by NASA, ESA, and JAXA astronauts on the space station. Spacewalks allow astronauts to perform maintenance tasks, upgrade equipment, and conduct scientific experiments outside of the confines of the space station.
Conclusion
The ISS Expedition 65 crew will continue conducting experiments and preparing for their upcoming spacewalk. Spacewalks are crucial for maintaining and upgrading the space station, and these astronauts are skilled professionals who handle these tasks with precision and expertise. We wish them the best of luck on their upcoming mission.