'I can see a future moon base': NASA astronauts' ISS spacewalk

NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Jessica Meir on Friday concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station to assemble the modification kit for its power channel that would allow addition of solar arrays.

The spacewalk – 281st in support of the space station – sixth for Meir and first for Menon began at 8:33 am EDT (6:03 pm IST) on Thursday and concluded at 3:00 pm EDT (12:30 am IST Friday).

Menon and Meir exited the Quest airlock and carried out structural upgrades on the exterior of the orbital laboratory during the six-hour, 27-minute spacewalk.

Their primary objective centred on installing mounting hardware on the station’s 3B power channel, located on the Starboard 6 truss segment.

“This work will enable the future installation of roll-out solar arrays, called IROSA, to provide additional power for the orbiting laboratory, supporting critical systems and the safe, controlled deorbit of the space station,” NASA said in a statement.

Since 2021, astronauts on prior spacewalks have deployed six of the International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) assemblies, leaving now just two awaiting delivery to the station later this year.

Menon was positioned on an articulating portable foot restraint atop a worksite interface, providing a stable angle to work from the truss.

The two astronauts later routed cabling that will carry the electricity from the future iROSA into the 3B power channel and then covered the struts with multi-layer insulation.

“Anil, you can see the moon to the — well, I am not sure what way you’re facing, but…,” said Meir, taking a short break during the spacewalk.

“To my right. Yeah, I see it — thanks for the heads-up. I can see a future moon base there,” Menon said.

This was the first of the three spacewalks for the space station’s Expedition 75 crew this month.

During the second spacewalk on August 13, two astronauts will replace a Space-to-Ground antenna on the orbital complex. The antenna is a critical communication system NASA uses to transmit data and high speed communication between the Mission Control Centre in Houston and the space station.

During the spacewalk on August 25, the crew members will connect power channel cables and data relay systems as part of ongoing maintenance, including preparations for the space station’s future deorbit. The astronauts also will replace a navigational aid used for spacecraft docking on the Harmony module’s forward port, NASA said.