In between two spacewalks, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station took some time off for the day, after the two spacewalks that took place earlier this week, and prepare for the Friday’s third and last spacewalk, scheduled to begin at 8:35 a.m., that will be performed by Mission Specialists Rex Walheim and Stan Love.

In the meantime, while some astronauts prepare for a new spacewalk, German astronaut Hans Schlegel managed to successfully complete his first spacewalk on Wednesday in a nearly 7-hour mission, where, together with Walheim, had the mission of installing a new NTA, as part of the regular maintenance of the Space Station.

As of today, Rex Walheim and Stan Love will be preparing for tomorrow’s spacewalk by spending the night in the Quest Joint Airlock aboard the Space Station, in order to eliminate the nitrogen from their bodies before exiting the ISS. The Quest Joint Airlock consists of a pressurized chamber in which astronauts are required to stage before carrying on with a spacewalk mission.

The purpose of this final spacewalk is to install two payloads outside Columbus: SOLAR, an observatory in charge of monitoring the sun, and the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF), which will provide data and support research on materials exposure to the space environment, with nine instrument modules working simultaneously.

“The experiments and facility infrastructure are accommodated on the Columbus External Payload Adapter (CEPA), consisting of an adapter plate, the Active Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism (A-FRAM) and the connectors and harness. The experiments are mounted either directly on the Adapter plate or a support structure that elevates them for optimum exposure to the ram (direction of flight) and zenith directions,” the official NASA website explains.

EuTEF’s tasks will include measuring the radiation environment, measuring EuTEF’s thermal environment, studying the tribology of materials, examining material degradation, and will feature an atomic oxygen detector, an exobiological exposure facility and an Earth observing camera, all within the 350 kg facility.