Spacewalk Cleanup, Biomedical Science, and Maintenance Wrap Up Week

NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Joshua Kutryk completed a spacewalk on Thursday, installing an eighth roll-out solar array on the International Space Station. This addition increased the station's power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to 215 kilowatts, or about 30%. The spacewalkers then spent Friday refilling spacesuit water tanks, removing air bubbles, and installing rechargeable batteries to prepare for future spacewalks.

They also cleaned the Quest airlock and inspected tools and spacesuits. On Friday, Kutryk and Menon joined Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney for a post-spacewalk conference with NASA engineers. This allowed the astronauts to share their insights, which will aid in preparing astronauts for future spacewalks outside the orbital outpost.

Meanwhile, in the Russian segment of the ISS, Sergey Teteryatnikov focused on biomedical research. He measured his blood pressure using various cuffs and monitored his heart and breathing rates while jogging on the Zvezda service module's treadmill. Teteryatnikov's continuous health data aids researchers in understanding how microgravity impacts a crew member's cardiorespiratory system.

Flight engineer Anna Kikina serviced Roscosmos ventilation systems and scientific payload hardware throughout the week. Station commander Pyotr Dubrov conducted an overnight carbon dioxide monitoring session and inspected the condition of modules and hatches. For more information on ISS activities, follow the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and Instagram accounts.