Image above: Astronaut Nicole Stott, Expedition 20 flight engineer, participates in the STS-128 mission's first session of extravehicular activity (EVA) as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Hopefully this doesn’t sound too wacky, but I would like to say thanks to my EMU for treating me so well during my spacewalk.  I still can’t believe I had the opportunity to step outside and spend 6 hours working outside of the comfortable protection of our space station.  The vacuum of space is a harsh place and our bodies aren’t built to tolerate it.  So, we have special equipment to protect us, to allow us to venture out and work on our space craft.  The EMU (extravehicular maneuvering unit) is our special protection during our EVAs (extravehicular activities), i.e. our spacesuit for our space walks.  The EMU is our personal spaceship while we’re outside.  It supplies us with everything we need to survive in the vacuum of space.  Pretty amazing that everything we need to maintain our body temperature and pressure, to breathe, and to stay hydrated is so neatly packed into this suit.

Image above: Astronaut Nicole Stott, STS-128 mission specialist, poses for a photo with an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit on the middeck of the Space Shuttle Discovery during flight day three activities. Credit: NASA

And while I’m thanking my EMU, I would also like to thank my 128 crewmates for their amazing support before, during and after our EVA.  Danny was an amazing partner and mentor to me, Christer helping us out as he prepared for his spacewalks, Kevin flying me so smoothly on the arm that it felt like the Earth and station and shuttle were the ones moving up to meet me instead of me to meet them, and Jose’, Pat and CJ making sure everything was where it should be, providing us with the play-by-play choreography to complete all our tasks, and for safely helping us in and out of the hatch.  These guys were all a pleasure to train and fly with!