Sunita Williams and Nick Hague are set to conduct their first spacewalk of 2025. NASA shared photos on the social media platform X on Wednesday, showing the astronauts fully suited up for their upcoming project. Williams and Hague will participate in two spacewalks US Spacewalk 91 on Thursday, January 16, and US Spacewalk 92 on Thursday, January 23. Their tasks aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will include repairs to NASA’s NICER X-ray telescope and updates to the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
In the post, NASA wrote, "NASA astronauts @AstroHague and @Astro_Suni suited up inside @Space_Station last week for fit checks ahead of their 6.5-hour spacewalk this Thursday." The first spacewalk will begin at 8 a.m. EST (6:30 p.m. IST) on January 16 and will last approximately six and a half hours. Live coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m. EST on NASA+. The second spacewalk is scheduled for 8:15 a.m. EST (6:45 p.m. IST) on January 23, with live coverage starting at 6:45 a.m. EST on NASA+.
Sunita Williams and Crew Stuck in Space
Regarding Williams’ return to Earth, she will be part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew 9. However, Crew 9 cannot return until Crew 10, its replacement, is launched. Originally scheduled for February 2025, the launch of Crew 10 has been delayed by NASA and is now expected to occur in late March 2025.
As a result, Williams, along with fellow astronauts Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Aleksandr Grubonov, will likely remain in space until the end of March or even April. Crew 9, which launched on September 29, will return after a brief handover with Crew 10.