Sunita Williams's spacewalk—first in 12 years—begins tomorrow: How to watch
What's the story
NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Sunita Williams are preparing for the first spacewalk of 2025, onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The preparations include thorough health checks and completing equipment installations on their spacesuits.
This is part of the Expedition 72 schedule, which also includes continuing research in biology, physics, and lab maintenance.
The spacewalk is scheduled to start at around 6:30pm IST on Thursday, which will be a major milestone for the ISS crew.
Health assessments
Astronauts undergo health checks ahead of spacewalk
The astronauts underwent routine health checks, including vital signs such as heart rate, breathing rate, and temperature. They also did a hearing test to ensure they were fit for the upcoming spacewalk.
After these checks, Hague and Williams installed lithium-ion batteries and tested various electrical and communication components on their suits.
Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore also helped Hague and Williams by prepping cameras that will go with them into space.
Spacewalk tasks
Mission details and how to watch it live
This will be the first of two spacewalks Williams is due to perform within a fortnight's time, the second one being on January 23.
During their spacewalk, the astronauts will leave the Quest airlock and spend some six-and-a-half hours conducting essential maintenance work.
Their mission involves servicing astrophysics hardware such as the NICER X-ray telescope and Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, and replacing a rate gyro assembly to keep the station oriented.
You can catch the live action via NASA's YouTube account.
Scientific exploration
Astronauts conduct research for long-duration missions
Along with their spacewalk preparations, Hague and Williams have also been conducting scientific research to enhance safety and sustainability for long-duration missions.
They have been investigating combustion behavior in microgravity and examining plant growth under different water conditions to facilitate future crewed missions.
This will be Hague's fourth spacewalk and Williams's eighth, her first since 2012.