Nasa astronaut Suni Williams, one of two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station, ventured outside for a spacewalk on Thursday for the first time since arriving on board seven months ago.
Ms Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore were due to return to Earth after a week-long mission in June 2024 but their return has been delayed because of a technical issue.
They now won’t be back until late March or possibly April.
Ms Williams – an experienced astronaut who has conducted many spacewalks during previous stays aboard the ISS – teamed up with astronaut Nick Hague on Thursday to perform maintenance on the craft.
Their tasks include repairing equipment that governs station orientation, patch light filters on the NICER X-ray telescope, and replacing a reflector device on an international docking adapter.
Additionally, the pair will check access areas and connector tools that will be used for future maintenance work on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a particle physics experiment module mounted on the ISS.
Ms Williams will conduct a second spacewalk on 23 January with Mr Wilmore.
Together, they will remove a radio frequency group antenna assembly (a collection of components designed to transmit and receive radio waves) and collect surface samples for microorganism analysis.
They will also prepare a backup elbow joint for the Canadarm2 robotic arm by positioning the joint in the optimal configuration for a quick replacement if needed.
Each spacewalk is expected to last about six and a half hours.
Nasa is providing live coverage of both spacewalks that can be viewed here.
Astronaut Sunita Williams will perform two spacewalks this month.
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