On Monday, April 18, two Russian cosmonauts undertook the first of two spacewalks to activate the International Space Station's (ISS) new European Robotic Arm.

Cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev, both of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, departed the Russian-built Nauka science module at 11:00 a.m. EDT to install the automated arm's control panel, returning to the ISS at 5:48 p.m EDT, as per UPI.com.

NASA said that this was Artemyev's fourth spacewalk, and the first for Matveev. It will be the station's fourth spacewalk for this year and the 249th for space station assembly, maintenance, and modifications.

A Spacewalk Is Completed by Cosmonauts To Install a Robotic Arm

The cosmonauts' nearly seven-hour operation during the spacewalk to activate the 37-foot long arm, which will be used to transfer heavy objects and assist space walkers, was live-streamed on NASA's website.

The two cosmonauts also placed handrails on Nauka and removed protective covers from the arm.

The new arm, according to the European Space Agency, will navigate across the Russian part of the space station and be capable of carrying a payload of up to 17,000 pounds. It's one of three technologies capable of transporting and moving huge objects outside the ISS.

As per Space.com, the cosmonauts will do a second spacewalk on April 28 to remove the arm's protective thermal blankets on Nauka, which were utilized during its launch in July 2021 but are no longer required.

The cosmonauts will also conduct extra work on the new robotic arm, such as testing its mobility.

Read More: Axiom Launches First All-Private Astronaut Mission Ax-1 With SpaceX and NASA - Who Are the First Space Tourists?

The two spacewalks by Artemyev and Matveev are most likely just the beginning of the Nauka module's systems being fully activated.

Additional spacewalks are planned to complete the European robotic arm's outfitting and to activate Nauka's airlock in preparation for future spacewalks, NASA said.

Other Spacewalks To Look Out for This Month

Space.com mentioned that the spacewalk on April 18 takes place during a busy week on the ISS, which is home to 11 people.

The station's professional Expedition 67 crew includes four private astronauts working for Axiom Space on SpaceX's Ax-1 mission, three cosmonauts, three NASA astronauts, and a European Space Agency astronaut.

The four Ax-1 astronauts will detach their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the station on Tuesday, April 19, with a planned splashdown off the Florida coast a day later.

Voyage commander Michael López-Alegra (a former NASA astronaut) and paying passengers Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe, and Mark Pathy will return to Earth after a 12-day mission. It's the world's first all-private space trip to the ISS.

SpaceX will then launch the professional Crew-4 astronaut crew to the ISS on Saturday, April 23. Three NASA astronauts and one European Space Agency astronaut make up the crew.

Its arrival will pave the way for the crew of the station's Crew-3 to return to Earth later this month.

Related Article: SpaceX's Crew-4 Mission Cleared for Launch on April 23; Crew-3 Astronauts Excited to Return Home