NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers have successfully completed the fifth all-female spacewalk in history, according to NASA.
On May 1, 2025, astronauts McClain and Ayers performed a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS), known as US spacewalk 93. They finished the spacewalk at 14:49 local time (EDT), it lasted for five hours and 44 minutes.
According to the space agency, it was the 275th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.
The duo successfully completed their assigned tasks – installing a rollout solar array modification kit and relocating a communications antenna on the outside of the station, ISS confirmed in a statement on X.
Spacewalkers @AstroAnnimal and @Astro_Ayers have installed a mod kit for a future rollout solar array and relocated a communications antenna. They are now cleaning up their worksites and are heading back inside the station soon. Watch now on @NASA+… https://t.co/ST2tY5NrKE pic.twitter.com/8BP5DWzeSl
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) May 1, 2025
This involved installing a mounting bracket to prepare for the future installation of an additional set of ISS Rollout Solar Arrays, also called IROSA. According to NASA, the arrays will boost power generation capability by up to 30%, increasing the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts.
NASA said that the solar arrays will be added during a future spacewalk, once they arrive on a SpaceX Dragon resupply mission later in 2025.
Additionally, the astronauts completed a pair of get-ahead tasks, including the installing of a jumper cable to provide power from the P6 truss to the ISS Russian segment, plus another to remove bolts from a micrometeoroid cover.
This was McClain’s third spacewalk. The astronaut was previously scheduled to take part in the first all-female spacewalk in 2019 but could not participate due to a problem with the size of her suit. For Ayers, this was her first spacewalk.