October 18th marked the 221st spacewalk, which is any time an astronaut gets out of a vehicle in space, performed for space station assembly. This particular spacewalk was different from the rest that have been carried out before. It was the first spacewalk to be conducted by an all women group.
The NASA astronauts that conducted it were Jessica Meir and Christina Koch. This was Meir’s first spacewalk, making her the 15th woman overall to spacewalk, while it was Koch’s 4th spacewalk.
Although this is a huge milestone for gender equality, the spacewalk wasn’t purposefully planned to have an all female-team. The astronauts were chosen because they were best prepared to accomplish the task at hand. A spacewalk may initially not seem strenuous, but in reality astronauts say it’s the “most physically challenging thing they do''. According to NASA the task was to “replace a battery charge/discharge unit that failed to activate after new lithium-ion batteries were installed on the space station’s exterior structure on Oct. 11”.
In a recent interview with both Meir and Koch, Meir spoke of doing a spacewalk for the first time. She described it as a spectacular experience to look down and see nothing but her boots and the Earth 250 miles below. In the interview, they also spoke about being apart of “the first time that a class had 50% men and 50% women” at NASA, further saying they felt they were treated the same way as their male colleagues.
When asked about the significance behind this spacewalk, Meir said that she believes we are heading in the right direction for gender equality and diversity in STEM programs. She added that she believed more women will lead to “better mission success” and a “happier team” for them.
The NASA astronauts that conducted it were Jessica Meir and Christina Koch. This was Meir’s first spacewalk, making her the 15th woman overall to spacewalk, while it was Koch’s 4th spacewalk.
Although this is a huge milestone for gender equality, the spacewalk wasn’t purposefully planned to have an all female-team. The astronauts were chosen because they were best prepared to accomplish the task at hand. A spacewalk may initially not seem strenuous, but in reality astronauts say it’s the “most physically challenging thing they do''. According to NASA the task was to “replace a battery charge/discharge unit that failed to activate after new lithium-ion batteries were installed on the space station’s exterior structure on Oct. 11”.
In a recent interview with both Meir and Koch, Meir spoke of doing a spacewalk for the first time. She described it as a spectacular experience to look down and see nothing but her boots and the Earth 250 miles below. In the interview, they also spoke about being apart of “the first time that a class had 50% men and 50% women” at NASA, further saying they felt they were treated the same way as their male colleagues.
When asked about the significance behind this spacewalk, Meir said that she believes we are heading in the right direction for gender equality and diversity in STEM programs. She added that she believed more women will lead to “better mission success” and a “happier team” for them.