NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded in space for the past eight months, stepped outside the International Space Station (ISS) for their first spacewalk together on Thursday (Jan 30).

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Williams and Wilmore ventured out to carry out maintenance tasks and inspect the Space Station's exterior for any microbes that might have survived the journey from Earth and escaped through vents.

"Today's spacewalk is scheduled to start at 8 am ET (1300 UTC) and go for about 6.5 hours," NASA said.

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Also read: 'I'm coming out': Sunita Williams conducts spacewalk after being stuck in orbit for seven months

“Here we go,” Wilmore said as he exited the ISS, positioned 260 miles (420 km) above Spain.

The two astronauts originally expected to spend just a week aboard the station after their arrival in June last year. However, their spacecraft, Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, experienced issues, leading NASA to opt for an uncrewed return of the vehicle.

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"NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions," NASA posted on X on Wednesday.

As a result, Williams and Wilmore, both retired navy captains and test pilots, have remained in space, awaiting a return trip aboard a SpaceX capsule. Due to delays, their mission has now been extended to 10 months, with their return planned for late March or early April.

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Williams had already conducted a spacewalk two weeks prior alongside another NASA astronaut. Thursday’s spacewalk marked Wilmore’s first spacewalk during this mission.

(With inputs from agencies)