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NASA astronaut Christina Koch (right) poses for a portrait with fellow Expedition 61 Flight Engineer Jessica Meir, who is inside a US spacesuit for a fit check. [credit:
NASA ]
Two American astronauts made history on Friday when they performed a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station—it was the first all-woman extravehicular activity (EVA). Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir spent 7 hours and 17 minutes outside the station.
The pair, who are best friends, worked well together. Not only did they complete the primary task of replacing a failed power charging unit, which is already operating properly, but they also performed several extra tasks. While the astronauts recognized the achievement, they sought to play down the significance of the moment. “You know, for us, this is really just us doing our job,” Meir said during NASA’s broadcast of the spacewalk. “It’s something we’ve been training for for six years, and preparing for.”
That seemed to be the attitude of most NASA people following the event—that this was a good milestone, and an important one for NASA to get past. (Especially after NASA had to cancel the first all-female EVA back in March). But in the future, this shouldn’t be a notable thing. “I think the milestone is hopefully this will now be considered normal,” NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson said Friday. “I think many of us are looking forward to this just being normal.”
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Source: Ars Technica – Two women completed a seven-hour spacewalk on Friday