A week after two astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station, the same pair are due to suit up for yet another spacewalk.
For NASA astronaut Anil Menon, the planned Aug. 25 trip into the vacuum of space will be not just his third spacewalk ever, but his third in a row following his recent Aug. 6 and Aug. 18 ventures. Joining him will be Sophie Adenot, an astronaut with the European Space Agency who NASA says just became the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk.
Interested in watching the upcoming spacewalk, expected to last for several hours Tuesday, Aug. 25? NASA and its commercial partners like Amazon will provide plenty of ways to ensure you can keep up with the cosmic action as it unfolds in real time.
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Here's everything to know about the upcoming spacewalk, and how you can watch it live.
What is the International Space Station?
The International Space Station has been stationed in low-Earth orbit for more than 25 years, typically about 260 miles high, where it has been home to astronauts from all over the world. Throughout its lifespan, the station has served as a test bed for scientific research in microgravity and has in years past opened itself up to private commercial missions.
The orbital laboratory is operated through a global partnership of space agencies, including NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.
More than 290 spacefarers from 26 countries have visited the International Space Station, including 173 from the United States alone, according to NASA.
What is a spacewalk? How often do astronauts exit ISS?
A spacewalk, often called extra-vehicular activity in space industry parlance, refers to any activity an astronaut undertakes outside of a space station or spacecraft. Spacewalks require suiting up in specialized suits and exposing oneself to the vacuum of outer space.
When is the next spacewalk?
The next spacewalk is set for Tuesday, Aug. 25, with two astronauts due to exit the International Space Station about 8:35 a.m. ET, according to NASA. The operation is expected to last less than seven hours.
The spacewalk will be the final of three NASA is planning in the month of August, the space agency said in a press release.
How to watch NASA coverage of spacewalk on YouTube, Netflix, more
NASA's live coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 7 a.m. ET Aug. 25 and will be available to stream on the agency's free NASA+ app, as well Amazon Prime and YouTube. Netflix, which provided coverage of a previous spacewalk in July, will not host a livestream this time on its platform.
Livestream: Watch NASA spacewalk live
Spacewalk is 5th with Americans of 2026. What astronauts are going?
The upcoming spacewalk will be the sixth of 2026 and the fifth this year featuring at least one U.S. astronaut. The most recent spacewalk occurred Aug. 18, when NASA's Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency exited the space station.
Menon, who is making his first trip to space, is due to take part in his third spacewalk in a row.
He'll once again be joined by Adenot, an astronaut with the European Space Agency making her second spacewalk. During the previous spacewalk the pair conducted together, Adenot became the fifth French astronaut to conduct a spacewalk, and first woman from France, according to the ESA.
Known as U.S. spacewalk 98, the venture will be the 98th of its kind with NASA astronauts and the 283rd in the International Space Station's history.
What will Menon, Adenot be doing during the spacewalk?
Menon and Adenot's task will be to finish the work they began Aug. 18 by replacing an old high-speed antenna with a spare one on a section of the outpost's truss structure, NASA said.
If the pair has time, Menon and Adenot also will attempt to replace a retroreflector on the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module, which will improve navigation data for docking spacecraft.
How can you tell the astronauts apart?
Once again, Menon will be stationed in Canada's 56-foot-long Canadarm2 robotic arm, while Adenot will be tethered to the space station.
What astronauts are on the International Space Station?
Seven astronauts who are part of Expedition 75 are living and working aboard the International Space Station.
That includes four people who are part of the Crew-12 mission that docked in mid-February: NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, as well as the European Space Agency's Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The Crew-12 contingent are due to depart in September following the arrival of Crew-13.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon arrived in mid-July at the space station with Russians Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina on a Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft for an eight-month mission.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch as NASA astronaut Anil Menon prepares for 3rd spacewalk in a row
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