Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's first spacewalk, the first conducted by a European woman, has begun. The walk may last up to 7 hours. During the extravehicular mission (Eva), Cristoforetti will perform an activity together with Oleg Artemyev, a cosmonaut from the Russian space agency Roscomos.
(LaPresse) Italian ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti’s first spacewalk, the first conducted by a European woman, has begun. The walk may last up to 7 hours. During the extravehicular mission (Eva), Cristoforetti will perform an activity together with Oleg Artemyev, a cosmonaut from the Russian space agency Roscomos.
Cristoforetti arrived on Iss late last April 27 for the six-month Minerva mission, together with an American crew of 4 astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. The spacewalk, also called an extravehicular activity or EVA, sees Cristoforetti and Artemyev engaged in a variety of activities, including installing platforms and the workstation adapter mounted on the Nauka laboratory module.
The two astronauts will launch ten nano-satellites designed to collect radio-electronic data, and will position a telescopic arm from Zarya to Poisk to provide support for future spacewalks.
The two will work on, among other things, the ERA (European Robotic Arm) program-the first robot capable of “walking” around the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Lightweight and powerful, over 11 meters long, the arm has the ability to anchor itself to fixed points on the Station and move back and forth on its own.
It will serve as the main manipulator arm in the Russian portion of the Space Station. Its seven joints can handle payloads of several tons, with a wide range of motion for assembly activities.
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