NASA's first all-female spacewalk could happen this month

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir are set to make history Oct. 21 in the first all-female spacewalk. Aboard the International Space Station on Friday, the two answered questions on NASA TV about the assignment process. 

Meir said everyone on the ISS is fully qualified to perform the upcoming spacewalks and several partner combinations could happen, but everyone will get to go. Koch said that the final assignments aren't set in stone, but that there are enough properly sized suits this time.

NASA had planned the first all-female spacewalk for International Women's Month in March. That walk was scrubbed due to a lack of enough medium-size suits. NASA announced the change in assignment later that month and Koch did the spacewalk with fellow astronaut Nick Hague.  

.@Astro_Jessica talks about the spacewalk assignment process and partnering with @Astro_Christina for the spacewalk scheduled on Oct. 21. pic.twitter.com/RLPTjMON44

— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) October 4, 2019

Koch, who is set to break a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, said it's important to recognize women's achievements and representation in space.

Meir said, "It's really nice to see how far that we've come." 

NASA tweeted on Friday of six upcoming spacewalks. Meir said that during the walks they'll upgrade the ISS with new lithium ion batteries that'll better conserve the station's power supply. 

.@Astro_Christina and @Astro_Jessica are scheduled for a spacewalk together on Oct. 21. They recently talked about how their accomplishments are viewed in terms of being female astronauts. pic.twitter.com/yTJ0kVH40f

— Intl. Space Station (@Space_Station) October 4, 2019

Astronauts Andrew Morgan and Luca Parmitano are also set to do spacewalks.