Astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague all suited up for 6.5-hour spacewalk this week, NASA shares photos

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took to social media platform X on Wednesday to share pictures of two astronauts Sunita Williams and Nick Hague, all suited up for their upcoming spacewalk.

The pictures were taken inside the International Space Station last week, when Williams and Hague donned spacesuits to carry out “fit checks.”

"NASA astronauts @AstroHague and @Astro_Suni suited up inside @Space_Station last week for fit checks ahead of their 6.5-hour spacewalk this Thursday," NASA said.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Nick Hague will conduct two spacewalks — US spacewalk 91 on Thursday, January 16, and US spacewalk 92 on Thursday, January 23. The astronauts work on the space station, including repairs to the NASA's NICER X-ray telescope and updates to the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

The first spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8 am (6:30 pm IST) on January 16, and last about six and a half hours. NASA will provide live coverage beginning at 6:30 am on NASA+. The second spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8:15 am (6:45 pm IST) on January 23, and last about six and a half hours. NASA will provide live coverage beginning at 6:45 am on NASA+.

When will Sunita Williams return to Earth?

Sunita Williams will return to Earth as part of the four-member NASA’s SpaceX Crew 9, which cannot come back home unless Crew 10 — its replacement — is launched into space.

Crew 10 launch was recently delayed by the NASA. It was supposed to launch in February 2025. But the Crew 10 is now expected to take off in late March 2025.

With his delay, it is expected that two Starliner astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, "stuck" in space, won't return until the end of March or even April.

The four Crew 9 members — Nick Hague and Aleksandr Grubonov, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore — will now return following a short handover with Crew-10. The Crew 9 had launched into space September 29.