NASA astronauts conduct spacewalk to upgrade ISS power systems

NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Jessica Meir went on a spacewalk on Thursday to do maintenance work on the International Space Station. The walk lasted six and a half hours. During that time, the two astronauts worked outside the station to fit special mounting hardware onto one of its power channels. This hardware will allow workers to add new solar arrays to the station in the future. Solar arrays are large panels that collect energy from the sun and power the station. The ISS needs a reliable supply of electricity to run its systems and support scientific experiments. Upgrading the power system will help the station stay operational for many more years.