It was the first of two spacewalks by Artemyev and Matveev to install the device outside Russia’s Nauka multipurpose unit. During Monday’s spacewalk, the duo installed and attached a control panel for the 37-foot-long (11.3-meter-long) robotic arm. The two also removed the protective covers of the arm and placed handrails outside the Nauka unit. This robotic arm will be used to assist space walkers and transport any objects that need to be moved outside the Russian part of the space station in the future. Artemiev was recognizable in the Russian Orlan space suit with red stripes, while Matveev wore a blue striped space suit. It was the first spacewalk for Matveev and the fourth for veteran spacewalker Artemyev. It was the fourth spacewalk outside the space station this year and the 249th in total to support the laboratory assembling, maintaining and upgrading the orbit. During a second spacewalk on April 28, the pair of cosmonauts will remove the thermal blankets used to protect the robotic arm when it was launched last year with the Nauka unit. Matveev and Artemyev will also bend the robotic arm joints, release the restraints and test his ability to fight. These are the first of the forthcoming spacewalks that will focus on preparing Nauka and the robotic arm for future use. Asked how geopolitical tensions with Russia have affected life on the space station, NASA astronaut Dr. Tom Marsburn said during a news conference on Friday that it was a “collective, very friendly relationship up here and we work together”. The NASA crew and the Russian cosmonauts regularly share meals and watch movies together, he said. “We rely on each other for our survival,” Marshburn said. ».
