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Two astronauts replace ISS camera and docking aid on 6th-ever all-female spacewalk
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NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot successfully completed a historic spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, September 1. The six-hour and 49-minute extravehicular activity marked the sixth all-female spacewalk in history. Their primary mission involved critical upgrades to the station's docking and imaging systems.
The spacewalk, which began at 8:40 a.m. EDT from the U.S. Quest airlock, focused on replacing key hardware. The first and most important task was swapping the planar deflector on the Harmony Node 2's forward port. This retroreflector is essential for guiding visiting spacecraft during rendezvous and docking; the old unit had become coated in thruster residue. The duo also replaced a high-definition camera assembly on the station's truss.
Throughout the EVA, the astronauts completed numerous secondary tasks. Adenot conducted a scientific study by swabbing the airlock exterior and her gloves for microorganisms. Meir, positioned on the Canadarm2 robotic arm, torqued 46 bolts near the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to prepare for future maintenance on the particle physics detector.
A minor issue arose late in the spacewalk when Adenot reported lost mobility in her left shoulder joint. Mission Control directed her to hold position until Meir could assist. Meir identified and freed a kinked cable caught in the suit's shoulder insulation, restoring Adenot's motion. The team then safely returned to the airlock.
This EVA was the 284th in support of ISS assembly and maintenance, and the seventh spacewalk of 2025. For Meir, it was her seventh career spacewalk, ranking her third among all female NASA astronauts behind Peggy Whitson and Suni Williams. For Adenot, it was her third, bringing her total EVA time to 19 hours and 42 minutes.
The successful mission highlights the routine yet critical nature of spacewalks for maintaining the orbital laboratory. It also continues a recent trend of increased all-female EVAs, building on the pioneering first one in 2019. Meir and Adenot's performance underscores the expertise of the Expedition 75 crew.
Looking ahead, the upgrades performed ensure reliable navigation for incoming cargo and crew vehicles. The collected microbiological data will contribute to ongoing studies about life in the extreme environment of space. This spacewalk sets the stage for further maintenance and scientific investigations from the station.
