Russian cosmonauts go on long spacewalk
MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax) - Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Alexei Ovchinin have begun a six-hour spacewalk from the International Space Station (ISS). The two cosmonauts opened at 6:44 p.m. Moscow time the hatch of the Pirs docking module on Russia's ISS segment and got on the ISS external surface to install equipment on the ISS' exterior and take samples during several scientific experiments.
These Russian cosmonauts will build a passage from the Poisk (MIM-2) small research module to the Zarya functional cargo module to cut the distance between the two sections of the station.
A sensor mockup adapter will be removed from the MIM-2 handle to ensure the 370-day orbit life of Soyuz MS manned spaceships and at least 13,320 hours of thermometers' warranty operating time.
The cosmonauts will also remove devices installed on the Poisk module as part of the long-term experiment Test and will take samples from the ISS' exterior. The samples will undergo chemical, toxicological, and microbiological tests.
Additionally, Ovchinin and Kononenko will clean the porthole of the Poisk module's hatch. Substances removed from the porthole will be studied.
The cosmonauts will remove panels carrying samples of the space experiment Endurance. The samples are exposed to outer space in loaded and unloaded modes.
Ovchinin and Kononenko will finally disconnect cables and remove measuring units from the station's exterior to complete the space experiment Situation, which included geophysical studies and environmental monitoring of electromagnetic emissions. The equipment will be dumped in outer space.