The ISS to Get Bigger Soon, Russian Cosmonauts Prepare for It

The International Space Station or ISS is the one place outside the Earth where human beings have maintained a presence for a very long time now.

It has also changed quite a lot from the time astronauts started to call it a temporary home. Over time, new modules have been added, giving more space for science and, sometimes, creature comforts.

Today, two Russian cosmonauts, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, are set to work outside of the ISS to prepare it for a brand-new module's addition.

Reports on this new development in space said the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module called "Nauka," or science in Russian language, will be attached to a huge orbiting laboratory and serve as a new venue for scientists to perform their work.

The said spacewalk officially started at 10:12 am ET and ended in the afternoon at 5 pm ET. It lasted exactly six hours and 48 minutes.

This is reportedly the 47th Russian spacewalk that contributes to the formation and maintenance of the station. Overall, it is the 232nd spacewalk and this year's eighth.

Such preparations for the soon-to-be-mounted module comprise scrutiny of the airlock to be used for the security of the module to the space station in general, and just in general, guaranteeing that all things look right on the outside of the spacecraft.

The 'Nauka' Module

Air leaks in the spacecraft's Russian side have raised concerns in the past months, although now that such leaks seem to have cleared up, Russia is reportedly excited to get the new "Nauka" module affixed real soon.

This new laboratory module is replace the Pirs module of Russia, although this older module, according to reports, won't be retired for some time.

Additionally, this new module is expected to be launched to the ISS in April 2021. However, CNN reported, before it takes place, cosmonauts will need to perform numerous spacewalks to "relocate assets" for the anticipated entry of the "Nauka."

The ISS has been orbiting Earth for more than 20 years now, and it has had humans inhabiting it for quite some time now.

What Lies Ahead of the ISS

Questions have arisen as to how feasible the space station will continue to operate in the future, not to mention how long NASA, the European Space Agency or ESA, JAXA of Japan, and Roscosmos group of Russia will carry on to see the spacecraft as a helpful tool for many different studies.

Nevertheless, reports also said, within the past few years, it has become increasingly evident that the space station "will get a new lease on life."

The ISS is expected to carry on to be run until at least the latter part of the decade. Nonetheless, the chances are that the space station will continue even beyond the date it is expected to end.

Missions to the moon, and probably, even Mars may be of high importance for different space agencies by that point. However, the particular ability to conduct a study in the microgravity atmosphere of the ISS seems to be so valuable to surrender minus having a replacement readily available.

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