NASA’s First All-Female Space Walk

Friday marked a monumental moment for NASA as well as women across the world. The first all-female spacewalk took place in order to replace a faulty battery charger on the International Space Station. Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir spent more than seven hours working on the ISS during their walk. Controllers confirmed soon afterward the battery was fully operational.

After replacing the battery charger, Koch and Meir did some other unrelated work on the ISS, including installing external hardware.

Spacewalks are especially dangerous for a number of reasons. If untethered, it would be very easy for somebody to float away into space. And there’s no way to swim back because there’s nothing in space to push against. Another danger is complications with the spacesuit. For example, an Italian astronaut, a few years ago, almost drowned when his suit helmet began filling up with water.

The fact that two women were the people entrusted to repair the ISS shows what great strides we’ve made as a society and reflects the particular changes that NASA has undergone.

Women have been going into space for decades, but there has never been a spacewalk done without men. Koch and Meir understand the gravity of their accomplishments, and Koch explained why.

“In the past, women haven’t always been at the table,” she said. “And it’s wonderful to be contributing to the human spaceflight program at a time when all contributions are being accepted when everyone has a role.”

The ratio of men-to-women that have been in space is greatly skewed in favor of men. For much of the last century, women were seen as less adept, particularly in STEM fields. Meir highlighted the importance of strides made by women astronauts for decades.

“What we’re doing now shows all of the work that went in for the decades prior, all of the women that worked to get us where we are today,” said Meir. “And I think the nice thing is, for us, we don’t even really think about it on a daily basis. It’s just normal. We’re part of the team.”

Koch and Meir hit the nail on the head. Female astronauts have been working behind the scenes at NASA since the program was founded but that doesn’t mean they have always received the recognition they deserved. After more than 60 years, women have finally earned the right to do spacewalks without the company and supervision of a man. They are no longer seen as “women astronauts” but as astronauts.