We will have to wait a little longer before we see the astronauts of the NASA get out of International Space Station (ISS) for a new one stroll space. NASA had planned a two-person extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 2, but that excursion has been postponed to the end of July, agency officials announced yesterday.
The delay will allow mission teams more time to investigate what happened during the most recent extravehicular activity (EVA), which occurred on Monday, June 24. NASA astronauts Tracy Caldwell Dyson e Mike Barratt they were supposed to work outside the ISS for about 6.5 hours, but were forced to end operations after just 31 minutes due to a water leak in the Dyson suit (water is used as a coolant).
Teams on the ground have not yet been able to figure out the root cause of the leak, which was not in the suit itself, but in an “umbilical”, a “cord” that connects to the suit.
“Given the situation, we plan to schedule the next EVA for the end of July,” he has declared Bill Spetchoperations integration manager for NASA’s International Space Station Program, during a press conference.We want to give the team enough time to understand what happened on this occasion and ensure that no changes are necessary,” he added.
The next spacewalk, now postponed, will once again feature protagonists Dyson e Barratt. The duo will perform “hardware replacements and installations, preparations for future scientific instrument upgrades, and photographic inspections of the Station’s piping,” explained NASA officials.
Coolant leaks are a recurring problem for spacewalks on the ISS. In March 2022, for example, the astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA) Matthias Maurer noticed a buildup of water in his helmet after a long EVA, a problem that led to a 7-month suspension of spacewalks. ESA astronaut also Luca Parmesan cheese he had an even scarier experience in 2013: water began filling his helmet during a spacewalk, forcing him to quickly return inside the ISS.
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