This week two astronauts will perform a spacewalk from the International Space Station (ISS) as they collect samples from the station’s exterior to use in scientific research. The two astronauts will be NASA’s Loral O’Hara and Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA), and the spacewalk will take place on Thursday, October 12.
NASA Live: The official stream of NASA TV
If you want to watch the event live, NASA will be livestreaming the entire spacewalk on its NASA TV channel, and we have details on how to watch it below.
What to expect from the spacewalk?
Spacewalks are typically performed to perform maintenance on the station, such as a series of power system upgrades that astronauts have performed over the past few years, such as installing new solar panels on the station’s exterior. But this event will be a little different, as its aim is scientific research as well as maintenance.
“On October 12, O’Hara and Mogensen will exit the station’s Quest airlock to collect samples for analysis to see if microorganisms might be present on the exterior of the orbital complex. They will also replace a high-definition camera on the station’s port truss and perform other maintenance tasks to prepare for future spacewalks,” NASA explained in an update.
To search for microorganisms outside the station, astronauts will use swabs that they will pass over external surfaces using special equipment. These swabs can then be tested for the presence of bacteria or other types of microbes to see if anything remains in the harsh environment outside the station. As well as the vacuum of space, the exterior of the station experiences a wide range of temperatures depending on whether it is in sunlight or shade, and this is similar to that experienced on Earth’s surface. Is exposed to more radiation than.
Learning about the microorganisms that can survive in such an environment is important for keeping the station clean and free of potentially dangerous germs, but it can also help scientists learn about potentially beneficial microbes that are hardy. Can face circumstances.
How to watch a spacewalk
The spacewalk will be livestreamed on Thursday, October 12, with coverage beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT). The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT) and should last about six hours.
To watch the live stream, you can either visit NASA TV’s YouTube page or use the video embedded at the top of this page.
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