ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Anil Menon successfully completed a 6-hour, 30-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, installing and activating a spare high-speed space-to-ground antenna on the Z1 truss.
Spacewalk Execution and Antenna Swap on the Z1 Truss
European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Anil Menon wrapped up US EVA-98 at 20:57 CEST on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, according to official agency reporting. The excursion marked Adenot’s second spacewalk and the 32nd conducted by a European astronaut. The primary objective required the crew to finish installing and activating a spare Space-to-Ground Antenna on the Z1 truss segment, completing deferred work from an earlier attempt on August 18 that had slowed down due to stuck bolts and connectors on the failed unit.
Operations began when the astronauts switched their suits to battery power at 14:27 CEST and exited the Quest airlock into the vacuum of space. NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway operated the Canadarm2 robotic arm from inside the station, assisting Menon onto a foot restraint attached to External Platform 3, where the replacement antenna had been stored since 2009. While Menon rode the robotic arm carrying the spare hardware, Adenot translated independently along the station’s exterior to reach the worksite on the Z1 truss.
Hardware Reconfiguration and Subsystem Connections
Once both crew members arrived at the Z1 truss, Adenot cleaned and lubricated the bolt inserts to prepare for the mounting process. After the spare antenna was secured to the boom and connected to electrical lines, the astronauts removed the gimbal locks that had prevented the antenna from rotating during transport and installed a protective heat shield. They then turned their attention to the failed high-speed communication unit that had been temporarily secured to the station’s truss during the previous spacewalk.
Following Adenot’s release of the tie-downs, Menon took control of the old antenna and used the Canadarm2 to transport it back to its stowage location on the external platform, effectively executing a complete swap of the communications gear. Before heading back inside, the spacewalkers detached Menon from the portable foot restraint and ingressed the Quest airlock. Data from the mission shows Adenot has now accumulated 12 hours and 53 minutes of total spacewalking time across her two EVAs, contributing to the 283rd spacewalk supporting station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Rigorous Pre-Flight Prep and Microgravity Research
The successful excursion followed intensive preparation at the end of the work week. On Friday, flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA and Sophie Adenot of ESA took turns inside the Quest airlock organizing the tools they will use during a spacewalk scheduled for 8:35 a.m. EDT on Tuesday. The pair configured the tethers they will use to stay secured to the orbital outpost, checked the bags carrying an array of specialized tools and parts, and staged them for readiness inside Quest. Adenot also studied her spacewalking procedures on a computer using 3D animation software that depicts her tasks outside of the orbital outpost. The spacewalkers will be assisted throughout Tuesday’s excursion by flight engineer Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir, both NASA astronauts. Hathway and Meir joined each other Friday and studied the Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers necessary to support Menon and Adenot as they install a spare space-to-ground antenna to the Z1 truss segment above the station’s Unity module.
Hathway and Adenot still had time scheduled on Friday to study advanced workout methods to maintain muscle and bone health while living and working in microgravity. Hathaway began his shift collecting his blood sample to be analyzed as part of the Muscle Stimulation experiment. Afterward, he applied electrodes to his legs that sent electrical signals stimulating his muscles as he strapped himself in the Columbus laboratory module and relaxed. Adenot wore the EasyMotion-2 suit packed with electrodes that triggered muscle contractions while she jogged on the Tranquility module’s treadmill. Results from the investigations may enhance space exercise.
Meanwhile, there was still time on Monday’s research schedule for cardiac research, artificial intelligence tests, and Earth observations. NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot exited the Quest airlock into the vacuum of space and replaced an old high-speed data and communications antenna with a spare on the orbital outpost’s Z1 truss segment. Flight engineer Jack Hathaway and station commander Jessica Meir monitored the spacewalkers and operated Canadarm2 from inside the station. The space station’s other three crewmates, cosmonauts Andrey Fedyaev, Pyotr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina, began their workweek on a wide array of science experiments and lab maintenance for Roscosmos. Fedyaev began a 24-hour session on Monday wearing sensors and cuffs to comfortably monitor his heart rate and blood pressure while he worked and slept, tested using artificial intelligence tools to transcribe crew reports for review on Earth, and partnered with Dubrov to replace orbital plumbing components in the Nauka science module.
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