NASA is marking 20 years since certainly one of its astronauts emerged for the primary time from the Worldwide Area Station’s Quest airlock into the chilly void of area.
The historic spacewalk — or extravehicular exercise (EVA) as they’re formally identified — occurred on July 21, 2001, and was certainly one of greater than 240 which have taken place outdoors the orbiting outpost through the years.
Earlier EVAs carried out on the ISS from 1998 by way of early 2001 concerned its development, with NASA’s area shuttle transporting many elements of the liveable satellite tv for pc into orbit.
Because the Quest airlock noticed its first use 20 years in the past, common EVAs have been used for upkeep and improve work, with astronauts from greater than 10 nations participating.
In a video (above) posted by NASA this week, astronaut Mike Gernhardt, whose three ISS spacewalks included the primary one from the station’s Quest airlock 20 years in the past, described that exact EVA as a “large expertise” that concerned years of preparation.
Happening on the anniversary of the primary moonwalk, Gernhardt remembered the “huge rush” he felt as he emerged from the airlock for the primary time — although he mentioned this was primarily as a result of the expertise made him really feel like he was about to fall to Earth 250 miles beneath.
The NASA astronaut mentioned that in these early EVAs he and his fellow crew members developed many instruments and units which can be nonetheless used right this moment, together with a particular bag for carrying gear, and a physique restraint tether utilized by astronauts to rapidly safe themselves when transferring to a brand new spot outdoors the station.
Whereas spacewalks actually carry dangers for astronauts, NASA’s wonderful coaching strategies, security procedures, and punctiliously designed gear be sure that harmful incidents are few and much between. Fortunately nobody has died or been badly injured throughout an EVA on the area station, however there have been a variety of unnerving occasions over the past 20 years.
Maybe probably the most critical of those concerned Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano who nearly drowned throughout a spacewalk in 2013 when his helmet began to inexplicably fill with water. In his personal astonishing account of the incident, Parmitano revealed that whereas working outdoors the ISS, blobs of water began moving into his nostril, mouth, and eyes, messing up his imaginative and prescient and, extra worryingly, stopping him from respiratory correctly. Thankfully, Parmitano’s calm response and intensive coaching allowed him to make it again to the airlock safely, the place the problem, put all the way down to a contaminated fan pump contained in the spacesuit, was safely resolved.
Looking forward to future spacewalks, Gernhardt mentioned many will happen on the moon within the coming years when NASA sends the subsequent man and first lady to the lunar floor within the first crewed go to since 1972. These walks, the astronaut mentioned, can be geared way more towards science and exploration relatively than the type of upkeep and improve work that we normally see on the ISS.
The primary American to stroll in area was Ed White in 1965. Try how he regarded throughout the historic occasion and likewise take pleasure in a gallery of different beautiful photos displaying spacewalks from through the years.
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