A European astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut performed a seven-hour spacewalk outside of the International Space Station (ISS). The incredible moment was caught on camera and continues gain attention on Twitter.
Italy’s Samantha Cristoforetti became the first European female astronaut to spacewalk outside of the ISS. While Russia’s Oleg Artemyev did not make history with his walk, as reported by abc.net.au, it is a rarity for European astronauts and cosmonauts to partake in a spacewalk together — especially as the war in Ukraine continues.
The two joined forces to work on the station’s newest robot arm, an 11-meter mechanical limb provided by the European Space Agency. The mechanical limb was “rocketed into orbit” along with a Russian lab un July 2021, according to abc.net.au.
Cristofretti not only joined the cosmonaut for his sixth space walk, but also wore a Russian spacesuit for the mission.
“This is Oleg Artemyev’s sixth spacewalk and Samantha Cristofretti’s first,” The official ISS Twitter said on July 21. “She is also the first European woman to conduct a spacewalk in a Russian spacesuit.”
To complete their mission, the two were tasked with installing hardware on the mechanical limb. They also released nanosatellites to collect radio electronics data during their spacewalk, NASA said in a news release.
“The primary objective is to install platforms and workstation adapter hardware near the 37-foot-long manipulator system mounted to Nauka,” NASA said. “The spacewalkers also will relocate the arm’s external control panel, replace a protective window on the arm’s camera unit, and extend a Strela telescoping boom from Zarya to Poisk to facilitate future spacewalks.
“The European robotic arm will be used to move payloads and equipment outside the Russian segment of the station, joining the Canadian-built Canadarm2 robotic arm and the Japanese arm already supporting station maintenance, operations, and research.”
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