Space and Physics
PUBLISHED
NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore were outside of the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday for a very interesting spacewalk, which ended up being a record-breaking one for Williams. After completing the almost 5.5 hours of extravehicular activity (EVA), Williams is now the woman who has spent the longest time in space beyond the confines of a space station or shuttle.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content."Williams surpassed former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson’s record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut. Williams now has 62 hours, 6 minutes of total spacewalk time, fourth on NASA’s all-time list," the NASA space station blog reports.
Whitson still holds the record for most spacewalks by a woman, with 10. This was Williams' ninth.
In this spacewalk, the duo had to remove an antenna from the station truss, an operation that has been ongoing since April 2023 and has not been successful in previous attempts. This time, Wilmore and Williams – the two astronauts "stranded" following safety concerns related to the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that took them to space in June 2024 and was supposed to return them eight days later – succeeded.
Spacewalks are not at all easy; NASA estimates that around one-fifth of extravehicular activity ends up having either serious incidents or close calls. One of the most concerning cases was ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano almost drowning in space. In that case, water was accumulating in the inside of his suit and helmet, slowly making its way across his face to his nose and mouth.
"Williams and Wilmore completed their primary objectives, including removing a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss and collecting samples of surface material for analysis from the Destiny laboratory and the Quest airlock," NASA reported.
Among the different operations carried out on the outside of the ISS, the duo collected samples of the surface material – potential samples of microbial life – around the Quest airlock and outside the Destiny laboratory. As part of the ISS External Microorganisms investigation, scientists want to see if bacteria have found a way to survive on the outside of the space station. Last year they discovered bacteria on the inside of the ISS had mutated into something not seen on Earth before.
