Feb 4, 2020 - Science

ESA astronaut snaps selfie on spacewalk

astronaut takes a selfie in space

Photo: NASA/ESA

Spacewalks are busy for astronauts making repairs outside the International Space Station, but there's usually time for a quick selfie.

What's happening: European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano snapped this photo of himself while making repairs to an instrument designed to detect cosmic rays during a spacewalk on Jan. 25.

  • Parmitano is scheduled to return to Earth with his space station crewmates — NASA's Christina Koch and Russia's Alexander Skvortsov — on Thursday.

Flashback: Parmitano had a scary moment in 2013 when his helmet started to fill with water during a spacewalk, forcing him to rush back to the airlock to remove his suit.

  • Parmitano recovered from the mishap, but NASA put a number of safety precautions in place during subsequent spacewalks to make sure it wouldn't happen again.

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