ISS, October 28. /TASS/. Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky - TASS's special correspondent aboard the ISS - have embarked on their second extravehicular activity (EVA) of the month, with live coverage available on the Roscosmos State Corporation website.
The planned duration for this spacewalk is approximately 6 hours and 28 minutes. During the mission, the astronauts will install pulsed plasma injector units (IPI-500) on the Nauka Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) to investigate satellite influences on Earth's ionosphere from orbit.
Additionally, Zubritsky and Ryzhikov will perform several maintenance tasks: cleaning one of the MLM's portholes, replacing the cassette of scientific equipment for the Ekran-M experiment, and transferring the EMMI external control panel to the ERA remote manipulator.
Ryzhikov is donned in the Orlan-ISS No. 7 commander's spacesuit with distinctive red stripes, while Zubritsky wears the Orlan-ISS No. 6 suit accented with blue stripes. This marks Ryzhikov’s third spacewalk and Zubritsky’s second.
The IPI-500 scientific equipment suite comprises a pulsed plasma injector and a unit dedicated to monitoring electrical parameters. Throughout the ISS's operational lifespan, scientists will have the opportunity to activate this equipment to study the ionosphere - particularly during magnetic storms or solar flares.