Expedition 74 Prepares for First Spacewalk of 2026 as Station Maintenance Continues

Houston, Texas; January 6th, 2026.

Aboard the International Space Station, preparations are underway for the first spacewalk of the new year, as members of Expedition 74 move through final checks ahead of a scheduled extravehicular activity designed to support ongoing station maintenance and system upgrades.

According to NASA, astronauts currently assigned to Expedition 74 spent recent days reviewing procedures, configuring spacesuits, and staging tools that will be used during the upcoming spacewalk. The operation marks the first time astronauts will exit the station in 2026, continuing a routine but critical part of maintaining the orbiting laboratory.

The planned spacewalk will focus on infrastructure tasks outside the station, including work on power and communications systems that support daily operations and future missions. Spacewalks of this kind are not performed casually; each is the result of months of planning, training, and coordination between flight controllers on the ground and crew members in orbit.

Crew members involved in the operation have been conducting detailed walkthroughs, reviewing contingency procedures, and preparing the station’s airlock for depressurization. Spacesuits have been inspected and configured to ensure thermal control, oxygen supply, and mobility once the astronauts are outside the station.

From the ground, mission controllers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center have monitored each step, coordinating timelines and verifying that all systems are ready before giving final approval. These preparations are standard but essential, as conditions outside the station expose astronauts to vacuum, extreme temperature changes, and constant orbital motion.

The spacewalk is part of Expedition 74’s broader mission to support scientific research and keep the station operating safely as it continues to serve as a platform for microgravity experiments, international cooperation, and long-duration human spaceflight experience. Each extravehicular activity extends the station’s operational life while allowing engineers and scientists to test equipment and procedures that will inform future missions beyond low Earth orbit.

While spacewalks have become more familiar to the public over the years, they remain among the most complex and demanding tasks astronauts perform. Every movement is deliberate, every tool accounted for, and every minute planned well in advance. The upcoming operation reflects the steady, methodical pace that has defined space station operations for decades.

As Expedition 74 moves closer to stepping outside the station, the focus remains on precision, safety, and continuity. The work may not draw crowds or headlines on its own, but it represents the kind of quiet, technical labor that keeps human presence in space possible, one task at a time.

Sources

Primary First-Hand Sources
• NASA — Official Expedition 74 mission update detailing crew preparations, objectives, and scheduling for the first spacewalk of 2026.