NASA shared photos on the social media platform X on Wednesday, featuring astronauts Sunita Williams and Nick Hague fully suited up for their upcoming spacewalk. The images were taken inside the International Space Station (ISS) last week when Williams and Hague conducted “fit checks” in preparation for their mission.
“NASA astronauts @AstroHague and @Astro_Suni suited up inside @Space_Station last week for fit checks ahead of their 6.5-hour spacewalk this Thursday,” NASA tweeted.
Williams and Hague will participate in two spacewalks—US spacewalk 91 on Thursday, January 16, and US spacewalk 92 on Thursday, January 23. Their work on the ISS will include repairs to NASA’s NICER X-ray telescope and updates to the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
The first spacewalk will begin at 8 am (6:30 pm IST) on January 16 and last approximately six and a half hours. Live coverage will start at 6:30 am on NASA+. The second spacewalk is set to start at 8:15 am (6:45 pm IST) on January 23 and will also last about six and a half hours, with live coverage beginning at 6:45 am on NASA+.
Regarding Williams’ return to Earth, she will be part of the four-member NASA SpaceX Crew 9. However, Crew 9 cannot return home until Crew 10, its replacement, is launched. The launch of Crew 10, initially scheduled for February 2025, has been delayed by NASA and is now expected to take place in late March 2025.
As a result, Williams, along with fellow astronauts Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Aleksandr Grubonov, will likely remain in space until the end of March or even April. Crew 9 launched on September 29, and they will return after a brief handover with Crew-10.