SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane native and NASA astronaut Anne McClain will participate in the first all-female spacewalk in history.
Multiple media outlets have reported on the news, including CNN and USA Today.
The NASA website shows McClain and astronaut Christinia Koch scheduled for an International Space Station spacewalk on March 29. It will last about 7 hours. Canadian Space Agency flight controller Kristen Facciol will serve as console at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Facciol tweeted about the spacewalk on March 1, saying that she “cannot contain her excitement.”
The flight director will be Mary Lawrence and another one of the flight controllers will be Jackie Kagey.
McClain said that the all-female crew wasn't put together on purpose, it just happened that way.
Astronauts can do science experiments, test new equipment, or repair satellites or spacecraft during a spacewalk, according to NASA.
When on a spacewalk, astronauts use safety tethers to say close to their spacecraft. The tethers are like ropes, where one end is hooked to the spacewalker and the other end is connected to the vehicle.
NASA also says astronauts practice spacewalks underwater in a large swimming pool that holds 6.2 million gallons of water. They can also use virtual reality to train.
McClain, an alumna of Gonzaga Preparatory School, is entering her third month on the International Space Station. She is researching the ways gravity affects tissues and organs.
McClain sends frequent updates about her time aboard the ISS on Twitter.
In late February, McClain spoke with Gonzaga Prep students in one of six remaining live video chat opportunities with people on Earth. Spokane native Steve Gleason also sent in a question to McClain.