Stranded Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore on Thursday took their first spacewalk together after almost eight months moving in the International Space Station.
According to the space agency, commander Williams and Wilmore floated out to perform maintenance work and wipe the station’s exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive after launching from Earth and escaping through vents.
“Here we go,” Wilmore said as he emerged 260 miles (420 kilometers) above Spain.
Williams and Wilmore have been left stranded at the International Space Station for seven months after being initially scheduled to come back to Earth in February as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon. The delays stemmed from major safety concerns associated with the Starliner spacecraft. Nasa carefully evaluated their situation.
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump has called on tech mogul Elon Musk and SpaceX to launch an urgent mission to rescue two astronauts allegedly “abandoned” by the Biden administration aboard the International Space Station.
“They’ve been waiting for months, virtually abandoned in space,” Trump said, criticising President Biden’s handling of the situation.
“Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe.”
Musk, known for his ambitious space ventures, confirmed that SpaceX would take on the mission, expressing disbelief over what he called a “terrible” failure to prioritise the astronauts’ safe return.
“We’ll bring them home as soon as possible,” Musk assured.