Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner completed their last planned spacewalk of 2024 outside the International Space Station (ISS) today, December 19. The two crew members spent seven hours in space, during which they installed an X-ray spectrometer called “All-Sky Monitor” on the ISS.
The monitor will allow scientists to conduct periodic observations of the celestial sphere within the X-ray wavelength range every 72 days over three years. Ovchinin and Vagner also performed maintenance tasks, including swapping out electrical connector patch panels with new replacements and collecting experiments that exposed materials to assess their reaction to space conditions.
The crew members used a robotic arm to dispose of spent equipment and jettisoned towels used for wiping down spacesuits. The spacewalk was the 272nd in support of ISS assembly, maintenance, and upgrade since 1998.
This marks Ovchinin’s second spacewalk and Vagner’s first, with Ovchinin having previously conducted a six-hour spacewalk in 2019. The crew members will bring back the experiment panels for further study on Earth.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/russian-cosmonauts-install-x-ray-detector-jettison-trash-on-spacewalk-outside-iss