NASA made one giant leep for mankind Friday morning when two Americans ventured out of the International Space Station to replace a power controller, making it the first all-female spacewalk.
Jessica Meir and Christina Koch left the space station to replace a power controller shortly before 8 a.m.
The women could be heard talking to each other through the live video, and a helmet camera showed Meir’s view as she walked along the moon.
“Right beneath your feet, so don’t move down,” Meir said to Koch while crossing beneath her dangling feet.
An all-female spacewalk was supposed to take place in March, but it was postponed because NASA did not have two appropriately sized spacesuits at the time. Both women needed medium-sized torso components for the spacewalk.
The installation of lithium-ion batteries was planned for October 21, but Meir and Koch’s walk was moved up due to the power controller failing last weekend. The controller had been in operation for 19 years, but its failure had no impact on the crew’s safety, according to NASA.
This spacewalk was the seventh this year. NASA said they expects more spacewalks by the end of December than in any year since 2010.