First all-women spacewalkers leave their mark

on history
By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 10.24.19
Word Count 733
Level 810L

Image 1. Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir (at top) exit the International Space Station to fix a broken part of the station’s solar
power network on October 18, 2019. Photo by: NASA via AP

The International Space Station hovers high above Earth. NASA uses it to study space. NASA is the
U.S. space agency. Other countries' space agencies also use the International Space Station.

The station was facing some technical troubles, including a broken power supply.

Christina Koch and Jessica Meir are astronauts for NASA. They were ready to fix the problem.

Historical Moment

The pair headed out of the station on October 18.

This was a historical moment. The two women became the world's first all-female spacewalking
team ever.

America's first female spacewalker from 35 years ago, Kathy Sullivan, was thrilled. She said it's
good to finally have enough women astronauts trained for spacewalking. Even more are "running

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

the control" as well as space centers and ships, she said.

NASA leaders, Girl Scouts and others cheered Koch

and Meir on. Parents also sent messages of thanks
and encouragement on social media sites. NASA
included some on its TV programs. "Go girls go," two
young sisters wrote on a sign in crayon. A group of
middle schoolers held a long sign reading "The sky is
not the limit!!"

At the same time, many expressed hope this will

become common in the future.

Tracy Caldwell Dyson is a three-time spacewalker who looked on from Mission Control in
Houston, Texas. She added, "Hopefully, this will now be considered normal."

NASA originally wanted to hold an all-female spacewalk last spring. However, the space agency
did not have enough medium-size suits ready to go until summer. Koch and Meir were supposed
to install more new batteries in a spacewalk this week. They had to be sent out three days earlier to
deal with an equipment failure that occurred over the weekend. It was the second such failure of a
battery charger this year.

The women completed the job with wrenches, screwdrivers and power-grip tools.

Inspiration To People All Over The World

NASA official Jim Bridenstine watched the big event unfold from Washington D.C., headquarters.

"We have the right people doing the right job at the right time," he said. "They are an inspiration to
people all over the world, including me. And we're very excited to get this mission underway."

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi congratulated Koch and Meir "for leaving their mark on
history." The House of Representatives is one of two law-making bodies in the United States.

The spacewalkers' main job was to change the broken 19-year-old charge-regulating device. It's the
size of a big, bulky box. This would get replaced for one of the three new batteries that was
installed the previous week by Koch and Andrew Morgan. An early check showed everything to be
good 250 miles up. Several more hours were needed to confirm that.

"Jessica and Christina, we are so proud of you," said Morgan, one of four astronauts inside. He
called them his "astrosisters."

Spacewalking is widely considered the most dangerous assignment in orbit. Italian astronaut Luca
Parmitano operated the station's robot arm from inside during the October 18 spacewalk. He
almost drowned in 2013 when his helmet flooded with water from his suit's cooling system.

Meir by day is a marine biologist, studying sea life. She made her first spacewalking trip, becoming
the 228th person in the world to spacewalk and the 15th woman. It was the fourth spacewalk for
Koch, an electrical engineer. She is seven months into an 11-month mission that will be the longest
ever by a woman. Both are members of NASA's Astronaut Class of 2013, the only one equally split
between women and men.

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Pairing up for a spacewalk was especially meaningful
for Koch and Meir. They're close friends. They're also
both former Girl Scouts.

It took 20 years for women to catch up with men in

the spacewalking world.

The world's first spacewalker on March 18, 1965, was

Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. He died earlier in
October. NASA astronaut Ed White became the first
U.S. spacewalker less than three months after
Leonov's feat. Women did not follow out the hatch
until 1984. The first was Russian cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya. Sullivan followed three months
later.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Quiz

1 Read the section "Historical Moment."

Which sentence from the section shows why Koch and Meir's first planned spacewalk was canceled last spring?

(A) Even more are "running the control" as well as space centers and ships, she said.

(B) However, the space agency did not have enough medium-size suits ready to go until summer.

(C) Koch and Meir were supposed to install more new batteries in a spacewalk this week.

(D) They had to be sent out three days earlier to deal with an equipment failure that occurred over the
weekend.

2 When did the first spacewalk completed by a woman happen? How do you know?

(A) This year; "This was a historical moment. The two women became the world's first all-female
spacewalking team ever."

(B) Thirty-five years ago; "America's first female spacewalker from 35 years ago, Kathy Sullivan, was
thrilled."

(C) 1965; "The world's first spacewalker on March 18, 1965, was Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov."

(D) 1984; "Women did not follow out the hatch until 1984. The first was Russian cosmonaut Svetlana
Savitskaya."

3 Read the summary of the MAIN ideas of the article below.

Christina Koch and Jessica Meir are NASA astronauts. They made history by being the world's
first all-female spacewalking team. They were sent out to fix an equipment failure.

Which answer choice would complete the summary?

(A) Koch and Meir were supposed to do a spacewalk last spring.

(B) Koch and Meir are both from NASA's Astronaut Class of 2013.

(C) Koch and Meir were good friends before they did their spacewalk together.

(D) Koch and Meir have inspired people with their memorable spacewalk.

4 Read the paragraph from the article.

Meir by day is a marine biologist, studying sea life. She made her first spacewalking trip,
becoming the 228th person in the world to spacewalk and the 15th woman. It was the fourth
spacewalk for Koch, an electrical engineer. She is seven months into an 11-month mission that
will be the longest ever by a woman. Both are members of NASA's Astronaut Class of 2013, the
only one equally split between women and men.

HOW does this paragraph support the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) It demonstrates that spacewalking can be a very dangerous assignment.

(B) It shows how Meir and Koch felt about doing their spacewalk together.

(C) It gives background information about Meir and Koch as astronauts.

(D) It highlights a problem that Meir and Koch experienced on their spacewalk.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Answer Key

1 Read the section "Historical Moment."

Which sentence from the section shows why Koch and Meir's first planned spacewalk was canceled last spring?

(A) Even more are "running the control" as well as space centers and ships, she said.

(B) However, the space agency did not have enough medium-size suits ready to go until summer.

(C) Koch and Meir were supposed to install more new batteries in a spacewalk this week.

(D) They had to be sent out three days earlier to deal with an equipment failure that occurred over the
weekend.

2 When did the first spacewalk completed by a woman happen? How do you know?

(A) This year; "This was a historical moment. The two women became the world's first all-female
spacewalking team ever."

(B) Thirty-five years ago; "America's first female spacewalker from 35 years ago, Kathy Sullivan, was
thrilled."

(C) 1965; "The world's first spacewalker on March 18, 1965, was Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov."

(D) 1984; "Women did not follow out the hatch until 1984. The first was Russian cosmonaut Svetlana
Savitskaya."

3 Read the summary of the MAIN ideas of the article below.

Christina Koch and Jessica Meir are NASA astronauts. They made history by being the world's
first all-female spacewalking team. They were sent out to fix an equipment failure.

Which answer choice would complete the summary?

(A) Koch and Meir were supposed to do a spacewalk last spring.

(B) Koch and Meir are both from NASA's Astronaut Class of 2013.

(C) Koch and Meir were good friends before they did their spacewalk together.

(D) Koch and Meir have inspired people with their memorable spacewalk.

4 Read the paragraph from the article.

Meir by day is a marine biologist, studying sea life. She made her first spacewalking trip,
becoming the 228th person in the world to spacewalk and the 15th woman. It was the fourth
spacewalk for Koch, an electrical engineer. She is seven months into an 11-month mission that
will be the longest ever by a woman. Both are members of NASA's Astronaut Class of 2013, the
only one equally split between women and men.

HOW does this paragraph support the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) It demonstrates that spacewalking can be a very dangerous assignment.

(B) It shows how Meir and Koch felt about doing their spacewalk together.

(C) It gives background information about Meir and Koch as astronauts.

(D) It highlights a problem that Meir and Koch experienced on their spacewalk.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.