Planned 6.5-hour spacewalk focused on satellites and scientific experiments Two Russian cosmonauts are in the middle of a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station, in part to release a nanosatellite that will take images of Earth. The two Expedition 40 spacewalkers — Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev — began what is expected to be 6.5 hours of work outside the station at 10:02 a.m. ET. NASA TV is airing live coverage of the spacewalk. Artemyev deployed a Peruvian nanosatellite, which is designed to take pictures of Earth with a pair of cameras and then transmit the images to a ground station, according to NASA. The deployment is to aid the National University of Engineering in Peru in its efforts to gain experience and test technology related to nanosatellites. NASA, along with various universities, has been increasingly working on building and launching nanosatellites, which can be the size of a shoebox and are cheaper and easier to launch than regular, full-size satellites. Last fall, NASA and the U.S. Air Force launched a Minotaur 1 rocket carrying 28 satellites that measure about 4 inches on each side and weigh less than 3 pounds. The satellites, dubbed CubeSats, were built by scientists and engineers from various organizations and universities, including NASA, Vermont Technical College, University of Kentucky and University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Earlier this year, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reported that they are working on nanosatellites designed to act like traffic cops in space. Researchers are hoping that dozens of the satellites in low-Earth orbit will prevent major satellites from colliding with each other or with space debris by relaying information to satellite operators on the ground. During their spacewalk today, the cosmonauts will inspect components on the outside of the orbiting station, as well as retrieve and install scientific experiments. The cosmonauts, who are wearing NASA’s helmet cameras, will bring in several experiments that were designed to find out how various materials are affected by the harsh environment of space. They also will install two astrobiology studies on the outside of the space station that will focus on organisms that are tolerant of environmental extremes. Scientists are hoping the results will help them figure out life-detection strategies for future robotic exploration of Mars. The spacewalk is the 181st in the history of the space station. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe