NASA is gearing up for another spacewalk at the International Space Station (ISS)

NASA is preparing for another spacewalk at the International Space Station (ISS), the ninth such activity involving its astronauts this year.

Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron, two recent space station guests, will leave the ISS on Tuesday, November 30 to repair a problematic antenna system.

NASA said in a message that the two astronauts will work together to replace a malfunctioning S-band antenna system with a spare that’s already fixed to the station’s truss structure. The space station “transmits low-rate voice and data with flight controllers on the ground over the S-band of radio frequencies,”

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They also said that, although the problem is having a minor influence on the station’s operations, now is the best time to replace it.

Tuesday’s extracurricular activity as spacewalks are officially known will be the fifth for Marshburn. His previous excursions were in 2013 and 2009. Barron will be stepping outside the station for the first time because this is her maiden space voyage.

The most recent ISS spacewalk was done in September 2021 by European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Akihiko Hoshide of Japan’s space agency.

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