Heralding a bold new frontier in human space exploration, NASA’s Expedition 74 astronauts are set to chart the skies with the first spacewalk of 2026. NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are scheduled to conduct two spacewalks: one on the 8th (Thursday) and the following on the 15th (Thursday).
Both extravehicular activities (EVA) will take place outside the ISS. Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman will exit the Quest airlock at 8 AM EST on January 8 for a six-and-a-half-hour mission outside the International Space Station.
Astronauts Mike Fincke, the Expedition 74 commander, and flight engineer Zena Cardman are scheduled to perform a standard microbial swab and hardware inspection following the installation of new roll-out solar arrays. At 8 AM EST (6:30 PM IST), Fincke and Cardman will leave the Quest Airlock for a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk.
NASA reported that Fincke and Cardman will install a “modification kit and route cables setting up the station’s port side truss structure for a new roll-out solar array that will be delivered on an upcoming cargo mission.”
How to watch the spacewalk live
NASA will provide live coverage of the first spacewalk of 2026 through its official channels. The telecast will begin at 6:30 am IST and will be available on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and NASA’s YouTube channel.
Key details:
First spacewalk (Spacewalk 94): January 8, 2026; six-and-a-half-hour mission.
Second spacewalk: January 15, 2026; also streamed live on the same platforms.
Astronaut experience: This will be Zena Cardman’s first spacewalk and Mike Fincke’s tenth, tying him for the record of most spacewalks by a NASA astronaut.
Fincke and Cardman joined NASA’s Chris Williams and JAXA’s Kimiya Yui to review spacewalk procedures and coordinate with mission controllers. Williams and Yui will assist with spacesuits and airlock operations, while the astronauts also checked their jetpacks, which can bring them safely back to the station if untethered.