NASA astronaut and Maine native Jessica Meir spent nearly seven hours working outside the International Space Station Tuesday, completing her seventh career spacewalk, reported Newscenter Maine.
Meir and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot tackled several maintenance jobs during the nearly seven-hour mission. Their work included replacing a retroreflector used for navigation, installing a new camera and collecting samples as part of research into microorganisms aboard the station.
Meir also used the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach sections of the ISS exterior that would have otherwise been difficult to access. Being positioned on the arm also gave her additional leverage while working on some of the equipment.
Not everything went according to plan. The astronauts ran into difficulties while getting the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer ready for future maintenance and eventually had to abandon that portion of the work.
The retroreflector replacement, which was the main objective of the spacewalk, was completed during the first half of the excursion.
Tuesday’s mission was also notable because it marked the sixth all-female spacewalk in history.
With seven spacewalks now under her belt, Meir ranks third among female astronauts for the number of spacewalks completed. She trails Suni Williams, who has nine, and Peggy Whitson, who holds the record with 10.
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