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How to watch two astronauts spacewalk to check the ISS for microbes

Georgina Torbet
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[UPDATE: NASA has called off the spacewalk while it waits for the completion of an investigation into a leak that affected the Nauka module earlier this week. We will update this page with the new schedule once it becomes available.]

This week will see two astronauts perform a spacewalk from the International Space Station (ISS) as they collect samples from the station’s exterior to use in scientific research. The two astronauts will be NASA’s Loral O’Hara and European Space Agency (ESA)’s Andreas Mogensen, and the spacewalk will take place on Thursday, October 12.

NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV

If you’d like to watch the event live, NASA will be livestreaming the entire spacewalk on its NASA TV channel, and we have the details on how to watch laid out below.

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What to expect from the spacewalk

(June 9, 2023) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg rides the Canadarm2 robotic arm while maneuvering a roll-out solar array toward the International Space Station’s truss structure 257 miles above the Pacific Ocean. In the rear, is the SpaceX Dragon crew vehicle that docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on March 3 carrying four SpaceX Crew-6 crew members.
(June 9, 2023) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg rides the Canadarm2 robotic arm while maneuvering a roll-out solar array toward the International Space Station’s truss structure 257 miles above the Pacific Ocean. In the rear, is the SpaceX Dragon crew vehicle that docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on March 3 carrying four SpaceX Crew-6 crew members. NASA

Spacewalks are typically performed to perform maintenance on the station, such as the series of upgrades to the power system which have involved astronauts installing new solar panels to the station’s exterior over the last few years. But this event will be a little different, as its purpose is for scientific research as well as maintenance.

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“On Oct. 12, O’Hara and Mogensen will exit the station’s Quest airlock to collect samples for analysis to see whether microorganisms may exist on the exterior of the orbital complex. They also will replace a high-definition camera on the port truss of the station and conduct other maintenance work to prepare for future spacewalks,” NASA explained in an update.

To search for microorganisms on the outside of the station, the astronauts will use swabs which they will pass over external surfaces using special tools. These swabs can then be tested for the presence of bacteria or other types of microbes, to see whether anything has survived in the harsh environment outside the station. As well as the vacuum of space, the exterior of the station experiences a wide range of temperatures depending on whether it is in sunlight or in shade, and is also exposed to more radiation than we experience on Earth’s surface.

Learning about microorganisms that can survive in such environments is important both to keep the station clean and free of potentially dangerous microbes, but could also help scientists learn about potentially beneficial microbes which can withstand harsh conditions.

How to watch the spacewalk

The spacewalk will be livestreamed with coverage beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT) on Thursday, October 12. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT) and should last for around six hours.

To watch the live stream, you can either head to NASA TV’s YouTube page or use the video embedded at the top of this page.

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Georgina Torbet
Georgina Torbet
Space Writer
Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…
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NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli (center) assists astronauts Andreas Mogensen (left) from ESA (European Space Agency) and Loral O’Hara (right) from NASA as they try on their spacesuits and test the suits’ components aboard the International Space Station’s Quest airlock in preparation for an upcoming spacewalk.

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