#EVA#kosmická stanice#výstup
An extravehicular activity, or EVA, is work outside the protection of a pressurised cabin. Alexei Leonov made the first in March 1965; Ed White performed the first American spacewalk less than three months later. Since then, EVA has evolved from a pioneering experiment into a routine part of station operations and servicing missions.
A safe spacewalk requires an airlock or cabin depressurisation, an independent oxygen supply, thermal control, tethers, and carefully prepared tools. On the ISS, astronauts install equipment, route cables, replace failed units, and prepare the station for new modules during EVAs.
Key facts
- Alexei Leonov made the first EVA on 18 March 1965.
- An EVA suit functions as a small independent spacecraft.
- The ISS relies on regular crew EVAs for assembly and maintenance.
Sources & further reading
- NASA: definition of EVA, the first spacewalks by Leonov (18 March 1965) and White (3 June 1965), airlocks, tethers and suit life support.
- NASA NSSDCA: Gemini 4 mission, first American spacewalk by Edward White with cabin depressurisation.
- NASA: list and purpose of ISS spacewalks for assembly and maintenance.
- NASA: a fully equipped spacesuit is a one-person spacecraft (EMU).
Spaceflightpedia. (n.d.). Extravehicular Activity. Retrieved 18 October 2026, from https://spaceflightpedia.com/article/extravehicular-activity
article text — CC-BY-SA · ◉ NASA photography — public domain · ✦ AI illustration — marked, generated from sources
How it works
- How does a spacesuit work?
- Why are spacesuits so bulky?
- How does an astronaut stay cool in a spacesuit?
- How long can an astronaut stay in a spacesuit?
- What happens if a spacesuit is punctured?
- Can artificial gravity be created in space?
