The historic all-female spacewalk is set for October 30. 'It won’t be the last,’ says NASA

New Delhi: Two NASA astronauts, Jasmine Mokbeli And Laurel O’HaraIt is planned to conduct a joint space walk on that day International Space Station (ISS) on October 30, Space.com reported
The mission marks only the fourth extravehicular activity (EVA) in which an all-female crew will participate, after the previous three were conducted by astronauts.
In a statement to Space.com, NASA officials said, „US Spacewalk 90 will be the 4th spacewalk to be flown by two female astronauts, and it won’t be the last as we continue to live and work in space.”
The spacewalk was originally scheduled for October 20, but was delayed due to a leak of ammonia coolant in a backup radiator. Russian Nauga Science module on the ISS.
NASA postponed two upcoming US space missions because ammonia flakes are toxic and require decontamination procedures to ensure the safety of astronauts. On October 25, Russia will launch its own spacewalk Ammonia leakage Further.
The significance of this event is amplified by the challenges faced by current NASA spacesuits, known as Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs). These suits were designed in the 1970s when astronauts were almost exclusively male, and their sizes reflect this. As a result, spacewalks with small-bodied astronauts, including women, are relatively rare. However, future NASA projects, including lunar exploration, will create spacesuits that accommodate a wide variety of body sizes.
The 1970s marked a different era in the recruitment of astronauts, drawn primarily from the military, which were predominantly white males. It wasn’t until 1978 that NASA admitted its first astronaut class consisted of women and people of color, signaling a shift toward a more diverse spaceflight force with a focus on science and technology expertise.
Despite size challenges, female NASA astronauts have demonstrated adaptability. Astronauts are notable Christina Koch And Jessica Meyer The successful completion of a series of spacewalks in 2019 and 2020 aimed to break stereotypes associated with spacesuits of limited size. In a Washington Post op-ed, they asserted that with the support of technicians and trainers, they can do their jobs safely.
Koch and Mir’s efforts were preceded by an attempt to conduct a spacewalk with two women. NASA astronaut Anne McClain Christina was scheduled to join Koch on a spacewalk in March 2019, but withdrew due to discomfort with the medium-sized spacesuit components assigned to the mission. Although NASA considered replacing parts in orbit, scheduling constraints led to the decision not to proceed.
The upcoming all-girl spacewalk with Jasmine Mogbeli and Laurel O’Hara will focus on essential maintenance tasks. These tasks included removing a damaged electronics box from a communications antenna and replacing one of twelve bearing assemblies on the Solar Alpha rotary joint that supports the station’s port truss solar panel. These bearings are critical in tracking the Sun as the ISS orbits the Earth.
Assuming another spacewalk with Laurel O’Hara and European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen continues on Oct. 19, the upcoming mission will be O’Hara’s second spacewalk and Mokbeli’s first.

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