One spacewalk away from history! Sunita Williams's record-breaking mission today
What's the story
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is scheduled to perform her ninth spacewalk today, the second of this year, as part of an ISS repair mission.
The event is set to begin at 5:45pm IST and is expected to last approximately 6.5 hours.
With the successful completion of this spacewalk, Williams will become the most experienced female spacewalker in history.
Primary tasks include the removal of a radio frequency group antenna assembly and the collection of material samples for microbial analysis.
Scenario
Williams could surpass Peggy Whitson's record
On January 16, Williams undertook a six-hour spacewalk with fellow astronaut Nick Hague, her eighth extravehicular activity (EVA).
A ninth EVA scheduled for today, could see her surpassing the current record holder, Peggy Whitson.
Whitson, an American biochemist and astronaut working for Axiom Space, retired from NASA in 2018 after having served as Chief Astronaut.
Record details
Take a look at Whitson's record first
Currently, Whitson holds the record for the most cumulative spacewalking hours by a female astronaut with 10 spacewalks adding up to 60 hours and 21 minutes of extravehicular activities.
Throughout her missions, Whitson has spent a total of 675 days in space, which is more than any other American or woman in the world.
The first four on the list of astronauts with the most time spent in space are all male Russian cosmonauts.
Career overview
Williams's journey in space exploration
Williams's space exploration journey started with her first long-duration mission on the International Space Station (ISS) during Expeditions 14/15 from December 2006 to June 2007.
She completed four spacewalks during this mission, spending 29 hours and 17 minutes in space, setting the record for the most spacewalking time by a female astronaut at the time.
This record was, however, broken by Whitson in 2008.
Second stint
2nd mission and spacewalk record
Williams's second long-duration mission was during Expeditions 32/33 in 2012, where she completed three more spacewalks with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.
These walks focused on critical repairs, including replacing components of the ISS's power relay system and fixing an ammonia leak.
Post-completing this mission, Williams had racked up a total of 50 hours and 40 minutes of spacewalking time, reclaiming the record for the most cumulative spacewalking time by a woman.
This was surpassed by Whitson, again, in 2017
Record challenge
Williams's spacewalk to be live-streamed
After her eight spacewalk on January 16, Williams has racked up 56 hours and 40 minutes of extravehicular activities.
With her ninth spacewalk likely to last six and a half hours, she is set to break Whitson's record.
She will be conducting the spacewalk with fellow astronaut Barry Wilmore.
NASA will be providing live coverage of the January 23 spacewalk on NASA+, starting 5:15pm IST.