NASA to Resume Spacewalk Outside International Space Station After 5 Months

NASA is now prepared to start routine spacewalks outside of the International Space Station after finishing a flight readiness assessment in October.

The good news came after NASA found the origin of moisture found inside Matthias Maurer's helmet, an astronaut for the European Space Agency, after a nearly seven-hour spacewalk in March 2022.

(Photo : NASA via Getty Images)
IN SPACE - AUGUST 15: In this handout photo provided by NASA, Astronaut Rick Mastracchio, STS-118 mission specialist, participates in the mission's third planned session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station August 15, 2007 in Space. During the 5-hour, 28-minute spacewalk, Mastracchio and astronaut Clay Anderson (out of frame), Expedition 15 flight engineer, relocated the S-Band Antenna Sub-Assembly from Port 6 (P6) to Port 1 (P1) truss, installed a new transponder on P1 and retrieved the P6 transponder.

NASA to Resume Spacewalk Outside International Space Station After Helmet Leak Incident

The NASA management team agreed and approved the resumption of regular spacewalk operations based on the inquiry's findings, the new operating procedures, and the mitigating equipment.

"The cause for the water in the helmet was likely due to integrated system performance where several variables such as crew exertion and crew cooling settings led to the generation of comparatively larger than normal amounts of condensation within the system," said NASA in a blog.

Kathryn Lueders, the associate administrator for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, underscored in the same blog that crew safety is the top priority of NASA and our international partners.

The length of time it took to get Maurer's spacewalk equipment back to Earth for analysis contributed to the length of the study, Devdiscourse wrote.

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Water samples and some spacesuit components came down on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30 and on the Dragon capsule, which carried SpaceX's Crew-3 crew mission, which ended on May 6.

However, Maurer's EMU suit didn't touch down on the Dragon, which carried SpaceX's CRS-25 robotic supply mission to the International Space Station, until August 20.

After carefully examining this hardware, a diagnosis and a remedy that NASA is confident in were made.

The team has revised operational practices and created additional mitigation hardware in response to the findings to reduce the likelihood that situations involving integrated performance result in water buildup while also absorbing any water that does show up. These precautions will aid in keeping any liquid in the crew's helmet contained and safe.

The installation of roll-out solar arrays, known as iROSA, will proceed with the first of three scheduled spacewalks, according to the blog post published by NASA on Tuesday.

Previous Leak Incident

The spacewalk of ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano in July 2013 was another spacewalk characterized by a buildup of water in the helmet. Maurer's experience brought that event to mind, Space.com wrote.

Parmitano, on the other hand, had to cope with far more water; it covered much of his face, forcing the astronaut to end his spacewalk early and return to the orbiting lab.

Another significant distinction was that Parmitano's helmet's water leak, not condensation, caused it.

According to an examination after the occurrence in July 2013, an EMU water separator's leak was caused by "inorganic materials causing blockage of the drum holes" Because of this, water got into the astronaut's helmet through a vent loop.

At the time, NASA also put a stop on non-urgent spacewalks until it had resolved the problems that led to Parmitano's dilemma.

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