Japanese Astronaut Kanai Conducts Extravehicular Activity

February 17, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai carried out his first extravehicular activity on Friday Japan time during his long-stay mission on the International Space Station.

Kanai, 41, became the first Japanese astronaut to carry out operations outside a spacecraft since such a mission in November 2012 by Akihiko Hoshide. Kanai is the fourth Japanese astronaut to take part in extravehicular activity.

In his mission, Kanai is tasked with replacing a latching end effector, equipment located at the end of the robotic arm of the ISS, used to grasp payloads such as Japan's Kounotori unmanned cargo spacecraft.

The ISS has four LEEs. Kanai collected an aging LEE to bring back to the Earth. Kanai's partner during the extravehicular activity is U.S. astronaut Mark Vande Hei, 51. Jiji Press