A Busy Space Walk at the Space Station

Astronomy Picture of the Day · 2011-07-18 · NASA (public domain)

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A Busy Space Walk at the Space Station — APOD for 2011-07-18

What's that astronaut doing? Unloading a space shuttle -- for the last time. After the space shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station (ISS) last week, astronaut Mike Fossum underwent a long spacewalk that included carrying a Robotics Refueling Mission (RRM) payload from Atlantis' cargo bay to a platform used by the space station's famous robot DEXTRE . On Earth, the RRM box would have the weight of about three people and be much more difficult to carry. Pictured above on the far left, DEXTRE prepares to help move a failed space pump back to Atlantis. Visible behind the astronaut is the space station's Kibo Experimental Module . The much awaited final shuttle return flight is currently scheduled for 5:56 am EDT Thursday, July 21. Quiz: How many national flags appear, at least in part, in the above image?

Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2011-07-18 — image & explanation courtesy of NASA (public domain), mirrored at Tukuk-OS for reading and search convenience.

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