History in the making! The first all-female spacewalk is currently underway at the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir began the spacewalk at 7:38 A.M. EST and it is expected to last five to six hours.
The walk is especially significant for Jessica as it is her first ever, and only the fourth for Christina. The two astronauts will be replacing a faulty battery outside the ISS that was supposed to provide an increase in power for the station. NASA says the battery failure hasn’t impacted life on the space station, but needs to be repaired nonetheless.
This historic moment is actually the second attempt at an all-female spacewalk after one was scrapped in March. The reason? Not enough medium spacesuits!
Christina was slated to walk with fellow female astronaut Anne McClain when they realized they both needed medium suits—and the station only had one. Anne made the decision not to walk due to safety concerns and was replaced by a male astronaut, according to NASA.
Anne has since returned to Earth.
Christina is also set to make another record for the longest time on the ISS on a single spaceflight by a woman. The astronaut arrived at the station on March 14 and is slated to stay in space until February 2020.
NASA is broadcasting a livestream of the historic event. Viewers can differentiate between the two female astronauts by taking a look at the numbers on their helmet camera views—Christina’s bears the number 18 and Jessica’s 11.
From their position on the platform the women will be able to see earth pass beneath their feet. Which means landlocked viewers can look up at the sky and wave at the two incredible women making history!