NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore swab for microorganisms outside the space station

NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore swab for microorganisms outside the space station

January 30, 2025 Catherine Williams - Chief Editor Business

Astronauts Venture into the Void: A Month-Long Mission Extension

In an unexpected turn of events, veteran NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will embark on a spacewalk today, Thursday, January 30, as part of an extended stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The duo, initially scheduled for an eight-day mission, has found themselves in a months-long assignment after Boeing’s Starliner crewed test flight encountered technical issues.

Today’s spacewalk, set to begin at 7:43 a.m. ET and last approximately 6 1⁄2 hours, will be streamed live on NASA+ and NASA’s YouTube channel. Williams, wearing a white suit with red stripes, and Wilmore, in an unmarked suit, will mark their 274th spacewalk together, with Williams on her ninth career spacewalk and Wilmore on his fifth.

One of their primary tasks is to remove and return to Earth a piece of degraded radio communications hardware, which will then be refurbished on the ground. They will also prepare a spare joint for the Canadarm2 robotic arm, a vital tool for moving supplies, equipment, and even astronauts around the ISS.

However, the duo’s efforts today extend beyond routine maintenance. Williams and Wilmore will swab various locations outside the ISS for the ISS External Microorganisms experiment. This study aims to collect samples near life support system vents to determine whether the space station releases microorganisms into space.

NASA’s focus on planetary protection ensures that any humans coming into contact with extraterrestrial environments, like those on the Moon or Mars, do not contaminate those environments and vice versa. Understanding which microorganisms survive the sterilization process and make it to the ISS could inform changes to the cleaning process before humans return to the lunar surface with the Artemis III mission and eventually make their way to Mars.

Despite the unexpected length of their stay, now set to span nearly 10 months, Wilmore and Williams are remaining positive. During a January 8 interview, Williams jokingly stated, "No, we don’t feel like castaways… We left our families a little while ago, but we have a lot to do while we’re up here."

Although their return has beendelayed, NASA has planned for them to return no earlier than late March aboard SpaceX’s Crew-9 capsule. In the meantime, Williams and Wilmore will continue their crucial work, including today’s spacewalk, contributing to the ongoing operation and research at the ISS.