Russian and European cosmonauts rarely walk in space

New York
CNN Business
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Two astronauts – one European and one Russian – emerged from the International Space Station’s airlock on a spacewalk Thursday, the first time in more than 20 years that such a joint project has been undertaken.

Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut for the European Space Agency, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev entered the void of space in their puffy white suits just before 11 a.m. ET and are expected to spend about seven hours working the 36-foot-long installation. The robotic arm on one of the space station units.

Spacewalks are a routine activity on the International Space Station, but usually involve two Americans or two Europeans, one American and one European, or two Russians working together. The last time a European cosmonaut and a Russian cosmonaut left the International Space Station together in Russian-made Orlan spacesuits was in April 1999, according to NASA. (An American and a Russian also went on a joint space flight in 2009.)

Thursday’s spacewalk is the first for Christoforiti and the sixth for Artemyev. Leur coentreprise survient alors que les tensions sur Terre entre la Russie et les États-Unis et ses alliés ont atteint leur paroxysme au milieu de la guerre ukrainienne, bien que la NASA ait répété affection à prises éfé le con séfé la résé la réaction in the space.

This is the third spacewalk by the astronauts of the International Space Station to work on the installation European robotic arm, which will be able to move objects in and out of the space station for maintenance and even inspect the space station’s exterior using built-in cameras. The arm – which will be the third robotic end attached to the International Space Station and the only one capable of reaching the part of the space station under Russian control – is attached to the outside of the new Russian space station module, called nuka.

Artemyev and Christoforiti began their space walk Thursday with the deployment of “ten nanosatellites designed to collect radioelectronic data.” Since the space station is already moving at orbital speeds, deploying satellites is as simple as launching them in one direction or another.

The spacewalk is the sixth to be performed on the International Space Station so far in 2022 and 251 overall. Astronauts leave the station regularly to maintain its exterior, install new equipment, or conduct science experiments.

The European Space Agency broadcasts the path of the spacewalk live ESA Web TV Thursday. Viewers can spot Christopherite by the blue stripes on his space suit, while Artemyev is wearing red stripes.