December 23, 2024

Astronauts Gear Up for Dual Spacewalks: Swabbing for Space Microbes and Fixing Hardware

Flight Engineer Loral OHara of NASA and area station Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) will exit the space station on October 12 for a planned six-hour spacewalk. They likewise highlighted a second spacewalk set up for October 20 when OHara will leave the area station with Moghbeli. The 2 NASA astronauts will spend about six-and-a-half hours in the vacuum of area removing faulty radio communications gear and setting up brand-new solar selection hardware.
The space stations 3 cosmonauts representing Roscosmos spent their day conducting space research and keeping orbital lab systems.

(From left) Astronauts Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) and Loral OHara from NASA try out their spacesuits and test the suits components aboard the International Space Stations Quest airlock in preparation for an approaching spacewalk. Credit: NASA
Spacewalk preparations topped the schedule for the Expedition 70 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, October 6. NASA supervisors previewed the spacewalks at the end of the week that will see astronauts exiting the orbital lab to gather microbe samples and service a variety of hardware.
Flight Engineer Loral OHara of NASA and area station Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) will leave the spaceport station on October 12 for a prepared six-hour spacewalk. The duo will swab external station surface areas with specialized tools collecting samples of bacteria for analysis. Researchers will process the samples to determine the kinds of microbes that may survive in the vacuum of space.
This animation talks about the October 12th spacewalk in which NASA astronaut Loral OHara and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andy Mogensen will exit the stations Quest airlock to collect samples for analysis to see whether microorganisms may exist on the outside of the orbital complex. They also will change a high-definition camera on the port truss of the station and perform other maintenance work to get ready for future spacewalks. Credit: NASA

The duo was signed up with on Friday by astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) to continue preparing for their objectives first spacewalk. The foursome called down to specialists on the ground and reviewed the upcoming spacewalks procedures. All four astronauts likewise studied the robotics activities essential to support the microbe-sampling spacewalk. Moghbeli and Furukawa will steer the Canadarm2 robotic arm throughout the excursion, monitor the astronauts throughout their spacewalk, and assist the spacewalkers in and out of their spacesuits.
This animation discusses the October 20th spacewalk in which NASA astronauts Loral OHara and Jasmin Moghbeli will complete the elimination of a faulty electronic devices box, called a Radio Frequency Group, from a communications antenna on the starboard truss of the station and change among twelve Trundle Bearing Assemblies on the port truss Solar Alpha Rotary Joint. Credit: NASA
NASA managers previewed the upcoming spacewalk activities on NASA TV on Friday. When OHara will leave the space station with Moghbeli, they also highlighted a 2nd spacewalk arranged for October 20. The 2 NASA astronauts will invest about six-and-a-half hours in the vacuum of space removing malfunctioning radio communications gear and setting up brand-new solar variety hardware.
The area stations 3 cosmonauts representing Roscosmos spent their day performing space research and maintaining orbital laboratory systems. Veteran flight engineer Oleg Kononenko installed Earth observation hardware throughout the morning and spent the rest of the day configuring interactions and electronic devices equipment.