Celebrating 20 Years of International Space Station Spacewalks

Jul 20, 2021



NASA Johnson

On July 20, 2001, two NASA astronauts took the first “steps” out of the International Space Station’s Quest airlock, marking the start of two decades of successful spacewalks in support of station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades enabling all of the life and work onboard to take place. On the same date 32 years before this milestone spacewalk outside the space station, two Apollo astronauts were taking historic steps of their own on the lunar surface for the first time. Astronaut Mike Gernhardt tells us what it was like to follow in such momentous footsteps and how crucial innovations, like the airlock and many others, are to the future of human exploration near and far.