Alpha spacewalk

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet during his second spacewalk to install new solar arrays on the International Space Station, 20 June 2021.

Thomas worked with NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough to deploy the second of two newer model solar arrays to upgrade the Station's power system.

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

Over 200 experiments were run 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.