Fifth All-Female Spacewalk Marks Milestone on ISS

Photo credit: NASA

On May 1, 2025, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers completed the fifth all-female spacewalk outside the International Space Station. Lasting nearly six hours, the mission included installing hardware for new solar arrays, relocating a communications antenna, and boosting the station's power capacity.

This was McClain’s third spacewalk and Ayers’ first. Notably, McClain had been scheduled for the historic first all-female EVA in 2019 but was replaced due to a suit sizing issue.

Their successful mission highlights NASA’s progress in gender representation, with 20 women now in its active astronaut corps. The spacewalk also underscores the critical role women play in advancing space technology.

Sources:

AP News

Space.com