Astronaut Koichi Wakata, who is staying on the International Space Station, performed his second spacewalk, successfully completing work in space that lasted more than six hours on three days in Japan time.
Astronaut Koichi Wakata has been staying on the ISS (International Space Station) for about half a year since October last year, and is working on various experiments with a view to future exploration of the Moon and Mars.
At around 10:00 p.m. Japan time on the 2nd, Mr. Wakata conducted his second spacewalk, following on from last month.
For the extravehicular activity, I paired up with an astronaut from NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), the same as last time, and set up a stand for installing a new type of solar panel.
Mr. Wakata walked along the handrail to the work site, carefully proceeded with the work while following the instructions from the ground, and completed the EVA safely in about 6 hours and 40 minutes.
After returning to the space station, Mr. Wakata said in Japanese, "Thank you to everyone in Japan for your support. Let's further promote international cooperation and make the most of the ISS with a spirit of harmony." After calling out, I asked a colleague to remove the helmet of the space suit and exchanged words with the astronaut who paired up with a smile.
Five Japanese astronauts, including Mr. Wakata, have conducted spacewalks so far.