“There is water everywhere”: During a mission in space, she realized that her suit was leaking – West France Evening Edition

An astronaut from the International Space Station had to urgently return to the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, June 24, 2024. Halfway through the mission, Tracy C. Dyson realized her suit was leaking. We're telling you.

Around her, space extends as far as the eye can see. More than 400 kilometers from Earth, the Tracy C. Dyson spacecraft blasted off the International Space Station (ISS). The American astronaut has a mission: she must remove a faulty electronic box and collect samples of microorganisms. Routine. But everything doesn't go as planned. What happened ?

Monday, June 24, 2024, American astronaut and colleague Michael R. Barratt prepare to leave the International Space Station. They get ready, check the tightness of their suits, and move towards the exit. At approximately 8:30 a.m. (Northeast time), the station's airlock hatch opens.

Read also: Why does the International Space Station remain in orbit around Earth?

“There is water everywhere”

So far, nothing unusual. Still in the airlock open to the vacuum, Tracy C. Dyson notices an anomaly. The visor of his helmet is covered in ice crystals. Concerned, she wiped the protective glass and realized that water was leaking from her suit. More precisely, in the secret cooling unit attached to his suit. These connections provide electricity, oxygen and water while the astronauts are in the airlock., The American newspaper explains New York times .

The leak started when Tracy C. Dyson unplugged the unit. I immediately sounded the alarm: “There's water everywhere, I had an arctic blast on my eyebrow.” The mission, which was scheduled to last six and a half hours, was immediately halted. NASA controllers, based in Houston, Texas, ordered him to return.

After spending some time reconnecting the umbilical unit to stop the leak, Tracy C. turned around. Dyson and Michael R. Bars. Too bad for the defective electronic box. At 9:17 a.m. (US time), the two astronauts left the airlock and returned to the International Space Station. Their spacewalk took exactly 31 minutes. According to a press release published by NASAWhich claims that the astronauts were never in danger.

Read also: NASA wants to clean up space… with big “garbage bags,” and here's how

The second edition was canceled in one month

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred. Already this month, another Tracy C. Dyson mission has been cancelled. On June 13, she and Matthew Dominic, another NASA astronaut currently aboard the space station, were scheduled to perform a spacewalk. But the latter reported A “The problem of discomfort in the space suit”Reports New York times, Effectively cancel the task.

Read also: As they set out to repair the International Space Station, they allowed their instruments to escape into space

Spacesuit malfunctions are rare, but serious accidents do occasionally occur. In 2013, Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut for the European Space Agency, nearly drowned. After the ventilation pump became clogged, water accumulated in his helmet.