Space shuttle Endeavour took off for space on Friday, having as destination the International Space Station. The shuttle’s main mission was to deliver equipment to the space station in order to provide accommodation that would serve a larger crew of people living in outer space. Astronauts had to embark in spacewalking missions, to clean one solar wing that was not functioning as it should and to move an empty tank into Endeavour’s cargo bay.

 People at NASA think that the first spacewalk mission is the most important and that if the first one runs smoothly and without any problems, the others will follow the same pattern. The first spacewalk mission also has the capacity to boost astronauts’ morale. The preparations for this kind of mission are pretty harsh as the brave astronauts had to spend an entire night into a depressurized chamber in order to eliminate as much nitrogen from their bodies as it’s humanly possible. This is done in order to prevent decompression sickness, which creates nitrogen bubbles in blood and tissue.

The first spacewalking mission wasn’t really uneventful, as astronauts lost a tool bag to the cold grip of outer space. Capt. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper was cleaning up the mess of a grease gun erupting inside her tote bag, when the tool bag containing two grease guns and other equipment, gently and irreversibly floated into outer space.  

NASA trains all astronauts for spacewalking missions, and in training it is very important to know how not to lose objects they use, but it is not uncommon for some things to get lost during spacewalking missions.