The first all-women spacewalk
Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will be the first two astronauts to conduct the first all-women spacewalk in human history (Source: NASA)
NASA might be setting a new record for the agency but it will also achieve a new milestone on October 21. The two women astronauts currently stationed at the ISS, Koch and Jessica Meir, are scheduled to take the world’s first ever all-women spacewalk during the first phase of the spacewalks.
The agency initially planned on conducting its first all-women spacewalk earlier this year in March but the plan was called off due to the lack of properly fitted spacesuits.
NASA has conducted over 200 spacewalks around the ISS but only 15 of them ever included a women. Even then, she was always accompanied by a man.
Weight doesn’t matter — size does
Two astronauts carrying a battery between them (Source: NASA)
The new batteries are actually heavier than the older ones. The nickel-hydrogen batteries weigh 165 kilograms while the lithium-ion replacements weigh 194 kilometers.
But it’s not their weight that makes a difference, since objects appear weightless in space, but their size.
Each of the batteries that the astronauts are replacing is around the same size as half a refrigerator. Their mass has to factored in to determine how they will move.
Upgrading the ISS’ power system
Spacewalker Nick Hague switching out batteries outside the ISS on 29 March 2019 (Source: NASA)
The first phase which just kicked off, consists of five spacewalks to replace upgrade the ISS’ power system. Astronauts will switch out nickel-hydrogen batteries for lithium-ion batteries.
Batteries are crucial to the functioning of the ISS since they store power that’s generated by the station’s solar arrays. So, when it’s not in the sunlight — like during Earth’s orbital night — the batteries provide power.
Batteries that will only die with the space station
The International Space Station (ISS) (Source: NASA)
The overall upgradation of the ISS’ power system is not a new mission for NASA. It began back in January 2017 with similar battery replacements. The project is more than halfway done but there’s still a long way to go.
The older nickel-hydrogen batteries are over 10 years old. The new ones, on the other hand, are expected to last the ISS’ lifetime.
Looking for ‘dark matter’
NASA's Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (Source:NASA)
The second phase will be a sequence of spacewalks to repair the station’s Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). The instrument catches particles in space to look for evidence of ‘dark matter’ in the universe.
It has exceeded its three-year lifespan and some components are starting to show signs of wear-and-tear.
The dates for the second phase haven’t been announcement but NASA is tentatively aiming to initiate these spacewalks in November and they will continue on into December.
