The latest episode of Beyond mission podcast ESA Explores is out now and this time the focus is spacewalks. This month will see astronauts exit the airlock and work outside the International Space Station at least six times before even more spacewalks in November. But what does it take to prepare for the most dangerous and exhilarating astronaut task? 

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Head of ESA’s EVA and parabolic flight training unit Hervé Stevenin is a spacewalk instructor for European astronauts and leads the team that develops and implements spacewalk training at ESA’s astronaut centre in Cologne, Germany. He has more than 20 years’ experience in astronaut training and providing operational support for astronauts, and has received extensive astronaut training himself – including in both the American and Russian spacesuits. We brought him in to tell us more about how astronauts prepare before flying to the International Space Station.

Listen in and find out more from Luca about the suit he’ll wear when he steps into space.

ESA Explores is available via all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean and SoundCloud. Subscribe to stay up-to-date as episodes are released and watch this space for bonus Italian episodes coming soon.