ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir successfully completed US EVA-99 on Tuesday, September 1, at 21:29 CEST. The 6-hour, 49-minute spacewalk marked Adenot's third extravehicular activity and the 33rd conducted by a European astronaut.
The pair switched to battery power at 14:41 CEST and exited the Quest airlock to conduct maintenance and upgrades to the International Space Station. Adenot replaced a failed retroreflector on the Harmony module's forward port, a navigational device used during spacecraft rendezvous and docking operations. She also collected swab samples around the airlock and from her gloves for NASA's MicroOrganisms experiment, which studies whether microorganisms are released through the station's life-support vents.
Meir rode Canadarm2 to replace a failed high-definition camera, then worked on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to prepare for future upgrades. Both astronauts installed jumper cables to enhance the station's power and thermal system capabilities and relocated equipment for upcoming operations.
Adenot has accumulated 19 hours and 42 minutes of spacewalking time across three EVAs completed in 15 days. EVA-99 was the 284th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
