Nasa has cancelled plans for its first ever all-female spacewalk because the International Space Station (ISS) only has one spacesuit that fits its female crewmembers.
US astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch “were set to make history” on Friday, venturing into space together to install new lithium-ion batteries on one of the station’s solar power units.
It is the second of three such operations, and follows McClain becoming the 13th woman to participate in a spacewalk on the first expedition on 22 March, alongside colleague Nick Hague, The Guardian reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Although the pairing of two female astronauts for the assignment “was a happy coincidence, not a pre-meditated event”, it attracted “wide media coverage”, says Science Alert.
In another coincidence, the lead flight director and lead spacewalk flight controller from ground control are also women.
However, in a statement released yesterday, Nasa said that the landmark mission will not go ahead, due to a lack of equipment small enough to fit both astronauts.
Spacesuits do not come in male and female versions, but are instead made up of individual pieces in various sizes, with the smallest being a medium.
According to the Nasa statement, McClain had trained in both a medium and a large hard upper torso - the top part of the suit - but reported after her 22 March expedition with Hague that medium was a better fit.
Koch requires the same size, and “because only one medium-size torso can be made ready by Friday, March 29, Koch will wear it”, the space agency said.
According to Science Alert, the ISS does actually have two medium-sized torsos on board, but reconfiguring the individually tailored spacesuits is a lengthy and complicated process, “so NASA went with the fastest and easiest solution - replace the astronaut, not the suit”.
Koch will instead be accompanied by Hague when she sets out on Friday. McClain is scheduled to join Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques for the third and final spacewalk on 8 April.
-
Syria’s strange post-Assad electionThe Explainer Sunday’s limited vote ‘suited the phase Syria is undergoing’, says interim president
-
Why did the China spying case collapse?Today’s Big Question Unwillingness to call China an ‘enemy’ apparently scuppered espionage trial
-
Alchemised: how Harry Potter fanfic went mainstreamIn The Spotlight Traditional publishers are signing up fan fiction authors to rewrite their ‘explosively popular’ romances for the mass market
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
