NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Anil Menon completed a spacewalk on Thursday to upgrade power systems on the International Space Station. The excursion lasted six hours and 27 minutes while the station orbited Earth at about 28,000 kilometers per hour.
During the outing, the crew installed the seventh and final modification kit designed to expand the station solar array network. They assembled and secured triangular brackets on power channel 3B, which will hold one of two new iROSA roll-out solar panels set to arrive at the station before the end of the year.
The astronauts also installed electrical wiring for the upcoming solar panel and covered the mounting brackets with specialized insulation to guard against potential damage from micrometeorite impacts.
The new iROSA panels will not replace the original array but will mount directly over it. The eight existing solar panels were installed more than 15 years ago and have lost efficiency over time. The upgrade is expected to boost the overall power generation of the station by 20 percent to 30 percent.
Future space missions and upcoming maintenance
While working outside, Meir and Menon discussed the Moon, which is the next target for the NASA Artemis program. Meir also marked the anniversary of the Curiosity rover landing on Mars, noting that research conducted aboard the space station will aid preparations for future human missions to Mars.
The spacewalk began at 12:33 GMT. It marked the first spacewalk for Menon and the sixth for Meir, serving as the 281st spacewalk dedicated to the assembly and maintenance of the space station.
NASA has planned two additional spacewalks later this month. Those missions will replace an antenna, maintain power and communications equipment, and continue preparations for the eventual deorbiting of the space station.
