A little bit of history will be made when two astronauts exit the International Space Station to conduct the second spacewalk of August.
For NASA astronaut Anil Menon, the planned Aug. 18 trip into the vacuum of space will be not just his second spacewalk ever, but his second in a row following his recent Aug. 6 venture. Joining him will be Sophie Adenot, an astronaut with the European Space Agency who NASA says will become the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk.
Interested in watching the upcoming spacewalk, expected to last for several hours Tuesday, Aug. 18? 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. 18, 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 second 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. 18 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 4th with Americans of 2026. What astronauts are going?
The upcoming spacewalk will be the fifth of 2026 and the fourth this year featuring at least one U.S. astronaut. The most recent spacewalk occurred Aug. 6, when NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Anil Menon exited the space station.
Menon, who is making his first trip to space, is due to take part in his second spacewalk in a row.
He'll be joined by Sophie Adenot, an astronaut with the European Space Agency making her first spacewalk. Adenot will become the fifth French astronaut to conduct a spacewalk, and first woman from France, according to the ESA.
Known as U.S. spacewalk 97, the venture will be the 97th of its kind with NASA astronauts and the 282nd in the International Space Station's history. Menon and Adenot's task will be to replace an old high-speed antenna with a spare one on a section of the outpost's truss structure, NASA said.
How can you tell the astronauts apart?
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: This astronaut set to make history during next spacewalk outside ISS
