Expedition-66 Astronauts Matthias Maurer and Raja Chari will go for Extra Vehicular Activities No:80
Today, March 23, 2022; ISS Mission managers have given the go for two astronauts to exit the International Space Station on Wednesday for a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk.
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Flight Engineers; NASA Astronaut Raja Chari and ESA (European Space Agency) Astronaut Matthias Maurer began Tuesday morning with standard medical checkups the day before their spacewalk. The duo had an ear exam and measured heart and breathing rate, blood pressure, and temperature. Afterward, Raja and Matthias staged their U.S. spacesuits and readied their spacewalking tools inside the U.S. Quest airlock.
During the afternoon, the spacewalking pair were joined by NASA astronauts Kayla Barron and Tom Marshburn for a procedure review with engineers on the ground. Barron and Marshburn will also be on robotics duty, commanding the Canadarm2 robotics arm to assist the spacewalkers during Wednesday’s excursion. Raja and Matthias set their spacesuits to battery power at 8:50 a.m. EDT(12:50 UTC) signifying the start of their spacewalk. Their main objective is to install thermal system and electronics components on the outside of the space station.
According to Spacewalk Preview Video, Matthias and Raja will spend around six and a half hours working on a series of tasks. These include installing hoses on a radiator beam valve module that helps regulate Space Station system temperatures, replacing an external camera on the Station’s truss and installing a power and data cable on the Bartolomeo science platform outside ESA’s Columbus module.
Bartolomeo is the first European commercial facility positioned outside the International Space Station. Built and operated by Airbus, it will offer a high-speed data feed and a unique
view of Earth and deep space.
The data and power cable that Matthias is set to install during this spacewalk is the final step in connecting it to the European module, making it ready for full functioning operations.