Spacewalkers at Work: U.S. Astronauts McClain & Ayers | International Space Station

Spacewalkers at Work: U.S. Astronauts McClain & Ayers | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim: "Last Thursday, a portion of [NASA astronauts] Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers' spacewalk targeted the port solar arrays, which the windows of the Japanese Experiment Module had a great view of."

"During orbital night, the International Space Station is enveloped in complete darkness—Vapor’s helmet lights were the only reason I could spot her. Though she might appear alone in the abyss of space, Vapor is supported by her partner, Anne, while ground control teams provide guidance each step of the way."

"Daytime photos reveal the immense scale of the arrays compared to the astronauts. It was awesome to see them thrive in their element."

Image Details:
Nikon Z9, ISO 6400, f6.3, 1/50s (for the night shots)

NASA astronauts Anne McClain (wearing red strripes) and Nichole Ayers ("Vapor") concluded their spacewalk at 2:49 p.m. EDT on May 1, 2025. The total time was 5 hours and 44 minutes. It was the third spacewalk for McClain and the first for Ayers, and the 275th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades. 

McClain and Ayers completed their primary objectives, including relocating a space station communications antenna and the initial mounting bracket installation steps for an IROSA that will arrive on a future SpaceX commercial resupply services mission. Additionally, the astronaut pair completed a pair of get ahead tasks, including installing a jumper cable to provide power from the P6 truss to the International Space Station’s Russian segment and another to remove bolts from a micrometeoroid cover.

Follow Expedition 73:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: JAXA Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center 

Capture Date: May 1, 2025

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