NASA has released a series of photographs marking the 100th US spacewalk carried out from the International Space Station (ISS). The images show astronauts installing new infrastructure designed to augment power to the orbital laboratory.
Astronauts Install New Solar Array
The latest spacewalk was undertaken by two astronauts: NASA's Anil Menon and the Canadian Space Agency's (CSA) Joshua Kutryk. The pair were deployed outside the ISS airlock to install and deploy an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, which was attached to the station's 2A electrical power channel.
The series of shots captured the ISS, the Earth and the astronauts themselves, who were equipped with high-tech gear to carry out the new array. Menon took most of the spectacular photos, appearing to hang upside-down at one point and capturing both his spacesuit and part of the space station in his visor while the Earth loomed large behind him.
Seven-Hour Spacewalk
Kutryk was seen during the spacewalk hanging off the side of the station's exterior as the pair spent seven hours and 11 minutes working outside the orbiting laboratory. During that time, the pair attached the array to the exterior before releasing a series of tension bolts, which allowed it to unfurl on its own in around 10 minutes.
Menon was seen riding the Canadarm2 robotic arm as he carried the rolled-up solar array to its installation site, while Kutryk made his way along the station's truss structure, tethered to the ISS.
Boosting Power Capacity
The new array is the seventh roll-out solar array installed on the station and is designed to boost its power-generating capacity as NASA prepares for the ISS's eventual safe and controlled deorbit. The advanced, sail-like structure is designed to augment aging legacy solar panels which have been generating power for the ISS since they were rolled out between 2000 and 2009.
The spacewalk also marked an important milestone for the station, being the 100th carried out since the first astronauts set foot there in 2000. Menon commemorated the achievement on a post on X, formerly Twitter, on October 30, revealing it is "always sunny in space".
He said: "Can confirm. It's always sunny in space. Yesterday, we completed USOS EVA 100 and installed a new solar array on space station. Over 25 years operating in the harshest environment and using the sun's energy to do it!"
