ISS astronauts to install final solar array to boost power

Astronauts Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency and Anil Menon of NASA are scheduled to perform a spacewalk to install the eighth and final roll-out solar array on the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, expected to last approximately seven hours, will utilize the Canadarm2 robotic arm to assist with the installation on the station’s starboard truss structure.

Once completed, this final stage of the power system upgrade is projected to increase the ISS power generating capacity by approximately 30 percent, raising it from 160 kilowatts to 215 kilowatts.

In addition to the power upgrades, the Expedition 75 crew is conducting various microgravity research projects. These include studies on human cardiorespiratory adaptation to weightlessness and the cultivation of vascular tissue samples using the BioFabrication Facility to support future missions to the Moon and Mars.