Spacewalk by Female NASA Astronauts Performed for the Fifth Time
Buckle Up for the Latest Space Spectacle
Get ready for an exhilarating ride back into the cosmos! NASA astronaut Anne McClain, who missed out on the historic first all-female spacewalk due to a suit fiasco way back in 2019, is finally back in action. She and fellow space pilot Nichole Ayers, both military officers, embarked on a space-bound journey on a Thursday mission recently.
Their mission? Rescuing NASA's two stranded astronauts who had been stuck at the International Space Station for quite some time. These intrepid heroes have now safely returned to Earth.
Just before venturing out into the vacuum of space, McClain spotted a few loose strings on her glove's index finger, causing a brief delay in the spacewalk's onset. But fear not, NASA's ground control quickly confirmed her glove was as secure as ever.
The duo will be busy up there in the great beyond, getting the space station ready for a slew of new solar panels and moving an antenna on the orbiting giant, perched a comfortable 260 miles above our humble abode.
Fun fact! The space station had to be raised to a slightly higher orbit on the previous Wednesday night to steer clear of a 20-year-old Chinese rocket debris.
As for the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, it was actually Christina Koch and Jessica Meir who shared the glory. McClain should have partnered with Koch, but alas, NASA didn't have enough medium-sized suits at the time, making McClain sit this one out. This year's spacewalk marked the fifth all-female spacewalk in 60 years of spacewalking.
Speaking of records, Koch is soon slated to become the first lady to moonwalk! She and three brave men will circle around our lunar neighbor under NASA's Artemis program, the successor to the Apollo missions. Don't worry boys, you're still well-represented in space—NASA's astronaut corps are predominantly male.
As of now, out of NASA's 47 active astronauts, around 20 are women. And among the seven astronauts currently residing at the space station, only McClain and Ayers, the newcomer, are the female representatives. This spacewalk was Ayers' debut in the grand cosmic ballet, while McClain has danced in space before, thrice to be exact.
Now, a word about the spacesuit sizing drama. In 2019, a spacesuit fiasco prevented McClain from participating in the first all-female spacewalk. With NASA only having a single medium suit on station, Koch was reassigned to join Meir (who needed a large suit), forcing McClain to step back. This incident brought attention to NASA's historic lack of spacesuit availability in smaller sizes, impacting female astronauts disproportionately. But six years later, McClain made her much-awaited spacewalk debut.
Did You Know?NASA's mission control introduced gender-neutral spacesuits for Artemis missions in 2021, addressing the issue of fit for all astronauts.
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- NASA astronaut Anne McClain recently made her much-anticipated spacewalk debut, marking the fifth all-female spacewalk in the past 60 years.
- McClain's spacewalk came after she was forced to miss out on the historic first all-female spacewalk in 2019 due to a spacesuit fiasco.
- NASA's mission control has since introduced gender-neutral spacesuits for Artemis missions, addressing fit issues that had disproportionately affected female astronauts.
- McClain and her fellow astronaut Nichole Ayers are currently working on the International Space Station, preparing it for new solar panels and moving an antenna.
