Aki with spacewalk boots

Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide preparing for his first spacewalk on his second long duration International Space Station mission, 6 August 2021. Taken by his spacewalking partner ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, the duo were preparing for their spacewalk by checking out the equipment they will use.

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide are set to leave the International Space Station on a spacewalk on Sunday 12 September.

The spacewalk is part of the upgrades for the Space Station’s solar panels, installing a new generation of roll-out panels in front of the current set that are reaching the end of their useful life.

Thomas is an experienced spacewalker conducting three spacewalks on this mission to install the first two new roll-up arrays, and two spacewalks during his first mission Proxima in 2017. Akihiko has also conducted three spacewalks in 2012 from the International Space Station. He is currently the Space Station commander, a role that he will pass on to Thomas later this year.

Thomas commented on this photo:

"Aki presents the latest in outdoor footwear from the International Space Station Summer-Autumn 2021 collection. But even though people sometimes call extravehicular activities 'spacewalking', these boots are actually made for flying."

Over 200 experiments are planned during Thomas’ time in space, with 40 European ones and 12 new experiments led by the French space agency CNES.

Latest updates on the Alpha mission can be found via @esaspaceflight on Twitter, with more details on ESA’s exploration blog via thomaspesquet.esa.int.

Background information on the Alpha mission is available at www.esa.int/MissionAlpha with a brochure at www.esa.int/AlphaBrochure.