NASA astronaut Anil Menon stepped outside the International Space Station on Thursday, marking his first spacewalk and achieving a major career milestone during an extravehicular excursion alongside veteran astronaut Jessica Meir.
The pair exited the Quest airlock to carry out structural upgrades on the exterior of the orbital laboratory.
Their primary objective centered on installing mounting hardware on the station’s 3B power channel, located on the Starboard 6 truss segment.
The work lays the necessary framework for the future delivery and installation of another International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, which will be the seventh such array added to the facility.
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Over time, the station’s original solar panels have experienced natural degradation due to prolonged exposure to space radiation and thermal cycles.
The addition of roll-out arrays expands total electricity generation, supplying power for onboard scientific research, life-support operations, and safety systems required for the laboratory’s eventual de-orbit sequence.
Selected in NASA’s 2021 astronaut candidate class, Menon is an Indian American born to an Indian father from Kerala and a Ukrainian mother, making him one of the most notable figures in the Indian American diaspora. Additionally, he holds degrees in mechanical engineering and medicine.
Before joining the astronaut corps, the Minneapolis native served as an emergency medicine physician and worked as SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, managing medical protocols during early crewed launches.
Working in space environments requires intense coordination and physical stamina and while tethered to the station’s exterior, spacewalkers maneuver while wearing pressurized Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuits.
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To differentiate between team members during operations, Meir wore a suit with red safety stripes as spacewalk crew member 1, while Menon served as crew member 2 in an unmarked suit.
Station crew members Jack Hathaway of NASA and Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency assisted with suit donning, doffing, and interior monitoring throughout the excursion.
Thursday’s operation, designated U.S. Spacewalk 96, represents the 281st spacewalk conducted for the assembly, maintenance, and upgrading of the International Space Station.
It marks the first of three extravehicular activities scheduled by NASA for August, with subsequent tasks set to focus on replacing a space-to-ground communications antenna and upgrading data relay systems.