Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
India

In First, Spacewalk Conducted By Two Women: NASA TV

Darpan News Desk IANS, 18 Oct, 2019 09:08 PM

    NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir ventured out of the International Space Station on Friday for the first all-women space walk to replace a failed power controller, also known as a battery charge-discharge unit (BCDU).


    Koch and Meir ventured out into the vacuum of space at 7.38 a.m. EDT (5.08 p.m. India time) for the space walk, according to NASA.


    It is the first time that all space walkers are women and the 43rd space walk to include women.


    This is Koch's fourth space walk and Meir's first.


    The space walk is the 221st in support of station assembly, maintenance and upgrades and the eighth outside the station this year.



    An all-women space walk, involving Koch and NASA astronaut Anne McClain, was originally scheduled for March.


    But that was scuttled because properly fitted spacesuits could not be readied in time for both astronauts, Space.com reported.


    So far, the 15 women who have conducted a space walk did so with a male companion.


    The first all-women space walk is a milestone worth noting as NASA looks forward to putting the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 with the agency's Artemis lunar exploration programme.


    Space walks are not easy. Astronauts typically describe them as the most physically challenging thing they do.


    "In the end, I do think it's important, and I think it's important because of the historical nature of what we're doing. In the past women haven't always been at the table," Koch was quoted as saying by NASA when asked in an interview about the importance of conducting her mission and the first all-female space walk.


    Koch and Meir went out into the vacuum of space to replace a battery charge/discharge unit that failed to activate after new lithium-ion batteries were installed on the space station's exterior structure on October 11.


    The unit is one of several that regulate the charge put into the batteries collecting energy from the station's solar arrays. Though the unit's failure has not affected station operations or crew safety, it does prevent the new batteries from providing increased station power, NASA said.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    'Apt Time To Bring Temple Bill In J&K, Rebuild Martand Sun Temple,' Demand Kashmiri Pandits

    Welcoming the Centre's decision to conduct a survey of closed down temples in Jammu and Kashmir, a Kashmiri migrant pandit organisation on Tuesday advocated for a fresh temple bill for the protection of the community's religious places in the Valley.

    'Apt Time To Bring Temple Bill In J&K, Rebuild Martand Sun Temple,' Demand Kashmiri Pandits

    As Rahul Gandhi Sulks, Sonia's Coterie Is Back In Congress

    As Rahul Gandhi Sulks, Sonia's Coterie Is Back In Congress
    With an angry Rahul Gandhi sulking and his mother Sonia Gandhi returning to take charge of the Congress, the syndicate of her coterie is back in the party and asserting its clout.

    As Rahul Gandhi Sulks, Sonia's Coterie Is Back In Congress

    See PICS And VIDEO: Air India To Launch Non-Stop Toronto-New Delhi Flight From September 27

    Air India on Wednesday announced that it will be launching thrice-weekly flights on Delhi-Toronto route from September 27.

    See PICS And VIDEO: Air India To Launch Non-Stop Toronto-New Delhi Flight From September 27

    Ahead Of World Tourism Day, Air India Implements PM Modi's Vision

    The aircraft is being decorated at the AI Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) in Nagpur.    

    Ahead Of World Tourism Day, Air India Implements PM Modi's Vision

    Watch: Trinamool MPs Nusrat, Mimi Welcome Durga Ahead Of Festitivites

    First-time parliamentarians Mimi Chakraborty and Nusrat Jahan were seen doing a classical dance in a video, to pay tribute to Goddess Durga ahead of the festival of Durga Puja.    

    Watch: Trinamool MPs Nusrat, Mimi Welcome Durga Ahead Of Festitivites

    Young 'Turks' Give Jitters To Congress

    While some of the young leaders are making statements in violation of the party line, even praising the Narendra Modi government, some others are quitting the party.

    Young 'Turks' Give Jitters To Congress