Astronauts onboard the International Space Station are preparing for a pair of spacewalks to service Canadarm2, the station’s robotic arm. On Tuesday, Jan. 23, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Scott Tingle will begin their spacewalk around 7:10 a.m. with live coverage on nasa.gov and NASA TV beginning at 5:30 a.m. On Monday, Jan. 29, Vande Hei and JAXA astronaut Norishige Kanai will venture outside the space station to complete other maintenance on Canadarm2.
Canadarm2 is a 17 meter-long robotic arm routinely used to move supplies, equipment and even astronauts. In addition to ISS maintenance and upkeep, it is responsible for performing “cosmic catches,” the capturing and docking of unpiloted spacecraft that carry everything from science payloads to necessities for the crew onboard the ISS.