NASA astronauts step outside space station to perform the 5th all-female spacewalk

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An astronaut who missed the **initial** all-female spacewalk due to a spacesuit fitting problem finally had her opportunity six years later Thursday.

After a successful launch in March, NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers exited the International Space Station (**ISS**) to replace two of their NASA colleagues, who have since returned to Earth.

Before beginning their extravehicular activity, McClain observed loose threads on the index finger of her right glove. The Mission Control team brief paused the spacewalk to confirm the glove’s safety.

Throughout their time outside, the duo will gear up the ISS for **installation** of new solar panels. Additionally, the astronauts will relocate an antenna on the 260-mile-high (420-kilometer-high) complex.

Wednesday night, the ISS had to adjust its trajectory to **sidestep** a **fragment** of a 20-year-old Chinese rocket from its orbital path.

McClain, a colonel in the U.S. Army who also is a helicopter pilot, was to have participated in the first crewed spacewalk featuring a team of women in 2019. However, an insufficient number of medium-size suits were available for that mission, which was performed by Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. Thursday’s activity marked the fifth women-exclusive spacewalk in 60 years of ISS maintenance.

Koch soon will make history as the **first woman** to **venture** to the moon. She and three male astronauts will embark on a mission to circumnavigate the moon without landing next year as part of NASA’s Artemis program, the latest endeavor in human space exploration.

Among NASA’s elite astronaut corps, men **continue to** overwhelm the ranks. Of NASA’s 47 active astronauts, 20 are women. At the seven-astronaut ISS crew, only McClain and Ayers identify as women.