Today, 1 September 2026, the European Space Agency and NASA are broadcasting a live view of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir performing a spacewalk.
Known formally as an Extravehicular Activity, the exercise will see the two astronauts step into the vacuum outside the International Space Station for a planned 6.5-hour spacewalk.
This is the sixth all-female EVA in human history and a major operational milestone for Expedition 75.
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During the spacewalk, Adenot and Meir will replace a retroreflector on the Space Station’s Harmony module to support navigation of spacecraft during rendezvous and docking operations.
The reflector is an important piece of equipment. During docking, spacecraft fire lasers off the reflector to measure distance and trajectory, to ensure arrival at the Space Station goes smoothly.
Once that's installed, the astronauts will then instal jumper cables for data-relay systems and prepare the radiator of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer for future maintenance.
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is a particle physics experiment mounted on the outside of the Space Station that provides scientists back on Earth with key information about the Universe.
During the spacewalk, Adenot will serve as crew member 1 and will wear a suit with red stripes. Meir will serve as crew member 2 and will wear an unmarked suit.
This is Meir’s seventh spacewalk and Adenot’s third spacewalk. It will put Jessica Meir in third place for all-time total spacewalks among women at NASA after Peggy Whitson (10 total spacewalks) and Suni Williams (9).
You can watch all the action via the ESA and NASA streams below.
Live coverage is due to begin at 11:00 UTC (07:00 EDT), with the spacewalk itself due to begin at 12:30 UTC (08:30 EDT).
