Steps in the Abyss: A History of Spacewalking

ŠTEPS IN. THE ABYSS: A HISTORY OF SPACE WALKING World Science Festival TIMELINE TОTALS AS OF 1.31.19 First spacewalker Alexei Leonov spends a dangerous 12 minutes outside his-Russian spacecraft. Later, he is amazed he survived. 402 1965 TOTAL SPACEWALKS Ed White becomes the first American to walk in space, 213 using a small oxygen-jet gun to propel himself out of his Gemini spacecraft. TOTAL SPACEWALKS OUTSIDE THE ISS 14 I'm coming back in... and it's the saddest TOTAL SPACEWALKS ON THE MOON moment of my life. 8:56 нвs -ED WHITE, RETURNING TO THE SHIP LONGEST SPACEWALK AFTER THE FIRST AMERICAN SPACEWALK ON JUNE 3, 1965. 222 TOTAL SPACEWALKERS 1973 Pete Conrad, Paul Weitz, and Joseph Kerwin conduct the first major repair job in space, making fixes to Skylab, the first U.S. space station. FACTS 1984 Bruce McCandless takes the ultimate leap in the first untethered spacewalk using the jetpack-like Manned Maneuvering Unit. ALONG WITH THE ISS, SPACEWALKERS MOVE AT -17,000 It may have been one small step for Neil, but it's a heck of a leap for me. MILES/HR, NEARLY 8,000 METERS/SEC -BRUCE MCCANDLESS, AFTER THE FIRST UNTETHRED SPACEWALK ON FEB 7, 1984 SPACEWALKERS 1992 Space shuttle Endeavour's first outing sets a bunch of spacewalking records, including the first involving three astronauts and the first mission with four spacewalks. OFTEN USE A PIECE OF FOAM INSIDE THEIR HELMETS TO SCRATCH THEIR NOSES IN SPACE. 2009 Astronauts complete the last of five spacewalks to revitalize the Hubble Space Telescope, extending the flagship observatory's life and ensuring at least another decade of beautiful space pictures. ASTRONAUT CHRIS HADFIELD ONCE SPENT 30 MINUTES OUTSIDE THE 2017 Peggy Whitson performs her 10th spacewalk, setting the record for most spacewalks by a woman and tying fellow astronaut Michael López-Alegría for most spacewalks by an American. ISS UNABLE TO SEE AFTER GETTING SOAPY WATER IN BOTH EYES DURING AN EVA. We're made to explore. EVA THE MORE TECHNICAL TERM FOR A SPACEWALK, MEANING EXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITY -PEGGY WHITSON AFTER SPENDING A RECORD- EMU BREAKING 665 DAYS IN ORBIT. THE MORE TECHNICAL TERM FOR A SPACESUIT, MEANING 2018 Astronauts conduct eight spacewalks at the International Space Station, bringing lifetime ISS EVAS to 213. EXTRAVEHICULAR MOBILITY UNIT (AND NASA CALLS IT PERSONAL MINI-SPACECRAFT") WHAT C OULD GO WRONG? HAZARD SOLUTION Dangerous 500 degree Farenheit temperature swings An inner layer of long underwear with 300 feet of water-circulating tubing and seven thin layers of Mylar insulate against temperature fluctuations. ! Unfiltered sunlight ! The bubble-helmet's visor is lined with gold to filter out the sun's harmful rays. Nitrogen bubbles in the blood, known as "Pre-breathing," breathing pure oxygen, and reduced cabin pressure all lower the risk of this potentially fatal condition. "the bends" Disorientation Training in NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston lets astronauts practice "floating" and encodes maneuvers in muscle memory. and fear A stabilization feature lets spacewalkers use nitrogen gas shot from 24 nozzles to move back toward the ship in case of a Uncontrollable spin ! from lack of friction tether break. SOURCES ABC NEWS, AIR & SPACE/SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, BBC, COOL COSMOS/CALTECH, COSMOS, NASA, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, SPACE.COM, TIME, WIKIPEDIA