Two NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are about to climb into their spacesuits and enter the vacuum of space, and you can watch the event live.
The first NASA spacewalk in nearly a year will begin at about 8 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 18. Read on for full details on how to watch.
Americans Jessica Meir and Chris Williams will exit the station’s Quest airlock to carry out work as part of preparations for a future roll-out solar array aimed at upgrading the station’s power supply.
It will be Meir’s fourth spacewalk and Williams’ first. The pair have spent the last few days prepping their spacesuits and equipment and also finalizing the configuration of tools they’ll use during the extravehicular activity.
Wednesday’s spacewalk also happens to be on the 61st anniversary of the first-ever spacewalk in 1965 when Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov left his spacecraft for around 10 minutes during the Voskhod 2 mission. Later the same year, during the Gemini 4 mission, Ed White became the first NASA astronaut to achieve the same feat.
How to watch
NASA’s live coverage will start at 6:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 18. The astronauts will exit the Quest airlock at about 8 a.m. ET. and will remain outside the ISS for around six-and-a-half hours.
You can watch the coverage via the video player embedded at the top of this page. NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel will also carry the same live feed.
What to expect
You’ll see live views from multiple cameras positioned outside the station, including from the astronauts’ helmet cams. You’ll be able to listen in on the live communications between the astronauts and Mission Control on Earth, too. A continuous commentary will also explain exactly what’s happening as the spacewalk proceeds.