Peggy Whitson has just finished her 8th spacewalk outside the International Space Station
Astronaut Peggy Whitson has a lot of accomplishments to celebrate. On Sunday, she and astronaut Shane Kimbrough went out of the International Space Station to perform a spacewalk. This marked the eighth time when Whitson ventured on such outer space expeditions.
At 7:29 a.m., Whitson and Kimbrough went out of the International Space Station to perform an extra-vehicular activity (EVA). Whitson celebrated her eighth EVA. This is a big achievement for her and for women astronauts in general, since Whitson performed the most EVAs a woman has ever done.
Whitson and Kimbrough were on an important mission
Actually, Peggy might have performed more spacewalks than any other astronaut. She and Kimbrough were part of the Mission Control. Thus, they had to get out of the ISS and install some shields on the PMA-3. These shields had to cover the area where this extension linked with the upper port of Harmony.
This was no easy mission. Actually, getting the port covered was of maximum importance. Without any protection, the area was vulnerable to space objects which could have hit it. Therefore, NASA wanted to apply these protective shields and keep it away from what they call MMOD (meaning micro-meteoroids and orbital debris).
The two astronauts also had to install four more thermal shields. These were meant to cover a spot which once hosted the PMA-3. After its removal, it remained empty and needed something to fill the place. Unfortunately, during this spacewalk, the astronauts lost one of the shields.
Peggy Whitson, a female astronaut with many achievements
Whitson is probably the most experienced female astronaut who has ever been into space. With this eighth spacewalk she had just performed, she surpassed her colleague Sunita Williams. Williams’ record was of 50 hours and 40 minutes she had spent spacewalking. Whitson is also the oldest woman to ever go into space. She is 57 and still planning to go on missions.
The female astronaut keeps people up to date to what happens during her mission via her Twitter account. She tells people how the research goes, and she also offers details about her everyday life as an astronaut. Some of her colleagues, including Shane Kimbrough, will be returning from the ISS on April 10th. Their 173-day long mission is scheduled to end on a plane in Kazakhstan, where they will be landing.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
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