The Russians are doing a spacewalk to activate the robotic arm

Artemyev will be recognized in the Russian Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, while Matveev wears a spacesuit with blue stripes.

It is Matveyev’s first spacewalk and fourth spacewalk veteran Artemyev.

This will be the fourth spacewalk outside the space station this year and 249th overall In support of the assembly, maintenance and development of the orbiting laboratory.

During a second spacewalk, on April 28, astronauts will remove the thermal blankets used to protect the robotic arm when it was launched last year along with the Nauka module. Matveev and Artemyev will also flex the joints of the robotic arm, release the restraints, and test its ability to grapple.

These are the first upcoming spacewalks that will focus on preparing Nauka and the robotic arm for future use.

In response to a question about how geopolitical tensions with Russia affect life on the space station, NASA astronaut Dr. Tom Marshburn said during a news conference Friday that it has been “a very collective and friendly relationship together here, and we work together.”

He said the NASA crew and Russian cosmonauts regularly share meals and watch movies together.

“We depend on each other for our survival, it’s a dangerous environment,” Marshburn said. “And so we just go with our training; we go with the recognition that we’re all here for the same purpose: to explore and to maintain this space station.”