NASA’s highly anticipated first spacewalk of 2024 was abruptly canceled on Thursday morning, approximately an hour before its scheduled commencement at the International Space Station. The space agency cited a ‘spacesuit discomfort issue’ as the reason for the postponement, without providing further details on whether the issue affected one or both astronauts, Tracy C. Dyson and Matthew Dominick.
Spacewalks, which involve astronauts venturing outside the confines of the space station, require the use of bulky spacesuits that can be challenging to fit and manage for extended periods. However, such cancellations are considered unusual, as NASA typically ensures meticulous preparation and testing of spacesuits before spacewalks.
Despite the cancellation, NASA emphasized that the crew and spacesuits remain in good condition. The next scheduled spacewalks are set for Monday, June 24, and Tuesday, July 2, with the astronaut assignments yet to be determined.
The planned research, involving the swabbing of exterior surfaces to assess the survival of microorganisms released from the station’s vents, will be conducted during the Monday spacewalk, albeit slightly delayed. This research aims to shed light on the potential for life to exist in extraterrestrial environments and help determine whether any life discovered on other planets, such as Mars, is native or brought from Earth via human missions.
