Two NASA astronauts aboard the Worldwide House Station (ISS) are about to climb into their spacesuits and enter the vacuum of area, and you may watch the occasion stay.

The primary NASA spacewalk in almost a 12 months will start at about 8 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 18. Learn on for full particulars on the best way to watch.

People Jessica Meir and Chris Williams will exit the station’s Quest airlock to hold out work as a part of preparations for a future roll-out photo voltaic array aimed toward upgrading the station’s energy provide.

Will probably be Meir’s fourth spacewalk and Williams’ first. The pair have spent the previous couple of days prepping their spacesuits and gear and likewise finalizing the configuration of instruments they’ll use in the course of the extravehicular exercise.

Wednesday’s spacewalk additionally occurs to be on the 61st anniversary of the first-ever spacewalk in 1965 when Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov left his spacecraft for round 10 minutes in the course of the Voskhod 2 mission. Later the identical 12 months, in the course of the Gemini 4 mission, Ed White grew to become the primary NASA astronaut to attain the identical feat.

Find out how to watch

NASA’s stay protection will begin at 6:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 18. The astronauts will exit the Quest airlock at about 8 a.m. ET. and can stay exterior the ISS for round six-and-a-half hours.

You possibly can watch the protection by way of the video participant embedded on the high of this web page. NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the company’s YouTube channel can even carry the identical stay feed.

What to anticipate

You’ll see stay views from a number of cameras positioned exterior the station, together with from the astronauts’ helmet cams. You’ll be capable to eavesdrop on the stay communications between the astronauts and Mission Management on Earth, too. A steady commentary can even clarify precisely what’s taking place because the spacewalk proceeds.