Photos: NASA makes “HERstory” with the first all-female spacewalk

Men have floated out the hatch on all 420 spacewalks conducted over the past half-century. That changed yesterday with spacewalk No. 421. NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir made "HERstory," as NASA called it the first all-female spacewalk. All four men aboard the International Space Station remained inside, as Koch and Meir went out to replace a broken battery charger. ...read more

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Updated on Oct 19, 2019 12:11 PM IST

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir (L) and Christina Koch pose for a photo in the International Space Station on Friday, ahead of their spacewalk to replace a broken battery charger. Koch and Meir made “HERstory,” as NASA is calling it, with the first all-female spacewalk. (NASA / AP)

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Updated on Oct 19, 2019 12:11 PM IST

NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan work outside the International Space Station on October 06, 2019. The astronauts kicked off the first of five spacewalks to replace old batteries at the International Space Station. Though the battery charger failed after Koch and Morgan installed new batteries. NASA then put the remaining battery replacements on hold to fix the problem and moved up the women’s planned spacewalk by three days. (NASA / AP)

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Updated on Oct 19, 2019 12:11 PM IST

(International Space Station (ISS) crew member Jessica Meir smiles during a testing of her space suits before boarding a Soyuz rocket to the ISS at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on September 25. Meir, a marine biologist who arrived at the orbiting lab last month, will be the 15th female spacewalker. NASA planned the first all-female spacewalk in March, but had to call it off because an infamous spacesuit flub earlier this year that resulted in accusations of sexism. (Vyacheslav Oseledko / AFP)

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Updated on Oct 19, 2019 12:11 PM IST

Christina Koch (L) and Jessica Meir pose for a photo at the International Space Station on October 04. Koch, an electrical engineer, already has done three spacewalks; she’s seven months into an 11-month spaceflight that will be the longest by a woman. (NASA / AP)

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Updated on Oct 19, 2019 12:11 PM IST

Andrew Morgan with Christina Koch and Jessica Meir at the International Space Station on October 18. Men have floated out the hatch on all 420 spacewalks conducted over the past half-century. But that changed on Friday with spacewalk No. 421. (NASA / AP)

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Updated on Oct 19, 2019 12:11 PM IST

Koch and Meir step out of the International Space Station (ISS) to attempt the first all-female spacewalk. All four men aboard the ISS remained inside, as Koch and Meir went out to replace the broken battery charger. (NASA / REUTERS)

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Updated on Oct 19, 2019 12:11 PM IST

A helmet camera view of Jessica Meir outside the International Space Station (ISS). (NASA / REUTERS)

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Updated on Oct 19, 2019 12:11 PM IST

A view of NASA astronaut Jessica Meir walking outside the International Space Station (ISS). The spacewalk was originally scheduled for 5 and half hours, but both Mier and Koch successfully completed their main task and the mission was extended to more than seven hours so the astronauts could perform some additional jobs. (NASA / REUTERS)