Sunita Williams shatters records with over 60 hours of spacewalk

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has surpassed former astronaut Peggy Whitson's total spacewalk time of 60 hours and 21 minutes.

Sunita Williams, an American astronaut of Indian origin, has broken all records by conducting a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) for over five and a half hours. Yes, she has become the first astronaut to perform such a long spacewalk. Previously, former astronaut Peggy Whitson held the record for the longest spacewalk. The International Space Station announced this on social media, stating that NASA astronaut Sunita Williams has surpassed former astronaut Peggy Whitson's total spacewalk time of 60 hours and 21 minutes. Sunita is still outside the ISS removing radio communication hardware.

NASA astronaut Suni WIlliams just surpassed former astronaut Peggy Whitson's total spacewalking time of 60 hours and 21 minutes today. Suni is still outside in the vacuum of space removing radio communications hardware. Watch now on @NASA+… https://t.co/OD43nAlf5mpic.twitter.com/N5Mr0qQWJP

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) January 30, 2025

Tasks Performed During the Spacewalk

NASA live-streamed the spacewalk by Sunita Williams and her colleague Barry Wilmore on its social media channels and website. This was Sunita Williams' ninth spacewalk and the 92nd spacewalk by any astronaut. The spacewalk, starting at 8 am Eastern Standard Time, involved maintenance of ISS hardware and the collection of surface samples from the Destiny laboratory and Quest airlock to study microorganisms on the exterior of the ISS.

LIVE: @NASA_Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are taking a spacewalk to maintain @Space_Station hardware and collect samples. Today's spacewalk is scheduled to start at 8am ET (1300 UTC) and go for about 6.5 hours. https://t.co/6pvzcwPdgs

— NASA (@NASA) January 30, 2025

A spacewalk, technically known as an Extravehicular Activity (EVA), involves an astronaut exiting a spacecraft while remaining tethered to the International Space Station (ISS) to perform tasks.