CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s two stuck astronauts embarked on their first spacewalk together on Thursday, exiting the International Space Station nearly eight months after their arrival.
Commander Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore floated out to conduct maintenance work and clean the station’s exterior to search for any surviving microbes that may have escaped from Earth through vents.
“Here we go,” Wilmore exclaimed as he emerged 260 miles (420 kilometers) above Spain.
However, their new spacecraft, Boeing’s Starliner capsule, encountered significant issues, leading NASA to return it empty.
As a result, the two test pilots, both retired Navy captains, will remain in orbit until SpaceX can bring them back to Earth. Due to a SpaceX launch delay for their replacements, this extension will prolong their mission to 10 months, with the return expected in late March or early April.
Williams recently completed a spacewalk two weeks ago alongside another NASA astronaut.
This marked Wilmore’s first spacewalk on this mission, although both astronauts have conducted spacewalks during their previous stays at the space station.
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