Second Alpha spacewalk

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet on his second spacewalk for the Alpha mission. Together with his spacewalking partner NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough the duo finished installing the first of two roll-out solar panels to upgrade the International Space Station on 20 June 2021. This photo was taken from the inside of the Space Station by Japanese astronaut and commander Akihiko Hoshide.

A total of three spacewalks, or EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activities) were necessary for Thomas and Shane to install the new generation of solar panels.

Thomas commented on this photo:

"No matter how many EVAs you do, it’s NEVER just casual when you venture outside of the space station. After all, it’s the most extreme environment human beings have ever been exposed to. Shane, the team and myself are focused for round three today"

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.