Italian Samantha Cristoforetti; first European woman to spacewalk outside ISS
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Samantha Cristoforett
iItalian Samantha Cristoforetti became the first European female astronaut to embark on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station, according to Nasa footage. Cristoforetti was joined by Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev on the spacewalk which began just before 1500 GMT, with the pair expected to spend six and half hours over 400km above Earth.
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European-made robotic arm
Their tasks include work on a Europe-made robotic arm which just a week ago was embroiled in tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow's role in the war with Ukraine.
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ESS cut ties with Moscow
Last week the head of the Russian space agency, furious at the European Space Agency's decision to cut ties with Moscow on a Mars rover mission, asked its cosmonauts on the ISS to stop using the European Robotic Arm.
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Getting along fine
Despite the turmoil on Earth, the space station's seven residents have repeatedly stressed that they're getting along fine up there, as have the flight control teams in Houston and Moscow. The current crew includes three Americans, three Russians, and Cristoforetti.
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Cosmonauts pair up for spacewalks
Russian cosmonauts typically pair up together for spacewalks, although NASA and European Space Agency astronauts occasionally ventured out with them years ago. Before tackling the arm installation work, Artemyev tossed 10 mini-satellites overboard, one by one, in a radio technology experiment.
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7-hr spacewalk
The seven-hour spacewalk was the first for Cristoforetti, the lone woman in the European Space Agency’s astronaut corps. Artemyev, the station’s commander, is now a six-time spacewalker.