Activation of Nauka's systems was a multi-step process unfolding over weeks
High above the Earth on April 18, 2022, two Russian cosmonauts ventured into the void to awaken a module that had waited in silence since its arrival nine months prior. Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev spent seven hours in the vacuum installing the nervous system of Nauka — a robotic arm, a control panel, the first handholds of a new capability — continuing humanity's patient, incremental work of building a home in orbit. Their labor was not a single act of completion but one movement in a longer score, a reminder that the great achievements of spaceflight are assembled piece by careful piece.
- The Nauka module had been docked since July 2021 but remained inert, its potential locked behind layers of protective covers and unconnected systems.
- Artemyev and Matveev spent seven hours outside the station installing a control panel for a 37-foot European robotic arm — a tool that will one day move crew and cargo around the Russian segment.
- A second spacewalk on April 28 will strip away launch-era thermal blankets and push the robotic arm closer to operational status, with further excursions still required after that.
- The work unfolded aboard an unusually crowded station of eleven people, including four private astronauts on Axiom Space's historic Ax-1 mission, whose departure was imminent.
- Even as Nauka's activation continued, SpaceX was preparing to launch Crew-4 on April 23, sustaining the relentless rhythm of arrivals and departures that defines life on the ISS.
On the morning of April 18, 2022, cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev sealed themselves into their Orlan spacesuits and stepped outside the International Space Station for a seven-hour task that had been months in the making. Their destination was Nauka, a Russian science module that had docked in July 2021 but remained dormant, its systems waiting for human hands to complete what engineers on the ground could not.
The centerpiece of the day's work was the European robotic arm — a 37-foot mechanical limb that will eventually move spacewalkers and equipment around the Russian segment of the station. The cosmonauts installed its control panel, removed protective covers from the arm itself, and fitted handrails along Nauka's exterior. NASA broadcast the work live, offering Earth-bound viewers a window into the quiet, methodical labor of orbital construction.
This was only the first of two planned excursions. On April 28, the pair would return to remove thermal blankets that had shielded Nauka during launch but had since outlived their purpose, and to continue activating the robotic arm. NASA acknowledged that even more spacewalks lay ahead — among them, the eventual opening of a new airlock designed for future station excursions.
The spacewalk took place against an unusually busy backdrop. Eleven people occupied the station simultaneously, a number swelled by the presence of four private astronauts aboard Axiom Space's Ax-1 mission — the first all-private crewed visit to the ISS. Commander Michael López-Alegría and his paying passengers were days away from splashing down off Florida. Meanwhile, SpaceX was already counting down to the April 23 launch of Crew-4, which would bring three NASA astronauts and one ESA astronaut to relieve the current Expedition 67 crew.
Artemyev and Matveev's work in the vacuum was, in this sense, one thread in a much larger weave — the ongoing choreography of people, hardware, and ambition that keeps the station alive and growing.
On the morning of April 18, 2022, two Russian cosmonauts suited up in their bulky Orlan spacesuits and stepped outside the International Space Station for a seven-hour mission to bring a new piece of the orbiting laboratory to life. Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev, both working for Russia's Roscosmos space agency, had a specific job: activate systems on the Nauka science module, a Russian-built addition that had arrived at the station months earlier but remained dormant, waiting for human hands to complete its integration.
The spacewalk began at 10:25 a.m. EDT, with NASA broadcasting the work live for anyone on Earth who wanted to watch. The primary task was to install and connect a control panel for the European robotic arm—a 37-foot-long mechanical manipulator that would become one of Nauka's most important tools. The cosmonauts also removed protective covers from the arm itself and installed handrails on the module's exterior, preparing the station for the arm's eventual use moving spacewalkers and equipment around the Russian segment of the station.
This was the first of two planned excursions. Artemyev and Matveev would return to the vacuum on April 28 to strip away thermal blankets that had shielded Nauka during its launch in July 2021 but were no longer necessary. That second outing would also include more work on the robotic arm, inching closer to full operational status. Even beyond those two spacewalks, NASA officials acknowledged that additional excursions would be required—the activation of Nauka's systems was a multi-step process that would unfold over weeks, including the eventual deployment of a new airlock designed for future spacewalks.
The timing of this work placed it within a particularly crowded moment on the station. The orbiting laboratory was home to eleven people, an unusually high number driven by the presence of four private astronauts aboard SpaceX's Ax-1 mission for Axiom Space. The professional crew—three cosmonauts, three NASA astronauts, and one European Space Agency astronaut—made up Expedition 67. Within days, the private crew would depart, their twelve-day mission ending with a splashdown off Florida. Michael López-Alegría, the mission commander and a former NASA astronaut, was returning to Earth along with paying passengers Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe, and Mark Pathy. It was the first all-private crewed mission to visit the station.
Before the station's population could stabilize, SpaceX was already preparing to launch the next professional crew rotation. Crew-4, scheduled for April 23, would bring three more NASA astronauts and another ESA astronaut to orbit, setting in motion the departure of the current Expedition 67 crew later in the month. The spacewalk by Artemyev and Matveev, then, was one piece of a larger choreography—the continuous work of maintaining and expanding the station's capabilities while managing the constant flow of people and supplies. Nauka represented Russia's commitment to that expansion, and the two cosmonauts working in the vacuum were the visible manifestation of months of planning and engineering.
Citas Notables
During the first spacewalk, the cosmonauts will install and connect a control panel for the European robotic arm, a 37-foot-long manipulator system mounted to the recently arrived Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.— NASA officials
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a module that arrived nine months ago need a spacewalk to activate it now?
Nauka came up as cargo—it can't power itself or integrate with the station's systems without human work. The control panel and robotic arm connections have to be installed and tested by people in suits, in vacuum. You can't do that remotely.
Seven hours is a long time to be outside. What makes this particular job take so long?
They're not just plugging things in. They're installing hardware, removing protective covers, installing handrails for safety, making sure connections are secure. In a vacuum, in a suit, with gloved hands, every task takes longer. And they have to be methodical—mistakes up there are expensive and dangerous.
The article mentions this is the first of two spacewalks. Why split the work across two days?
The second one removes thermal blankets and does more arm work. You can't do everything in one excursion—the human body has limits, and there's only so much you can accomplish before fatigue becomes a safety issue. Two shorter missions are safer than one marathon.
What happens after April 28? Is Nauka fully operational then?
Not quite. NASA said more spacewalks will be needed to fully activate the robotic arm and deploy a new airlock. This is the beginning of a longer process. Nauka is a significant addition, but it takes time to bring all its systems online.
Why does any of this matter to someone watching from Earth?
Nauka is Russia's way of maintaining its presence and capability on the station. The robotic arm extends what the station can do—moving people and equipment, conducting experiments. It's also a symbol of continued international cooperation, even in a complicated moment. These two cosmonauts are doing work that benefits everyone on the station.