---
title: "Something “Contaminated” Spacesuit During NASA Spacewalk"
description: "A strange \"contaminant\" hitchhiked on the glove of NASA astronaut Christine Koch's spacesuit and made its way back into the station."
date: "2019-10-22"
modified: "2019-10-22"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/contaminated-spacesuit-nasa-spacewalk"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "astronaut"
  - "iss"
  - "NASA"
  - "spacewalk"
  - "the digest"
---

# Something “Contaminated” Spacesuit During NASA Spacewalk

![A strange "contaminant" hitchhiked on the glove of NASA astronaut Christine Koch's spacesuit and made its way back into the station.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/something-contaminated-spacesuit-during-nasa-spacewalk.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Contamination

NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir [completed](<https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/oct/18/nasa-all-female-spacewalk-christina-koch-jessica-meir>) the first-ever all-female spacewalk last week to replace a failing battery unit on the exterior of the International Space Station. But a strange "contaminant" hitchhiked on the glove of Koch's spacesuit and made its way back into the station, [*Space.com* reports](<https://www.space.com/spacesuit-gloves-contaminated-during-spacewalk-christina-koch.html>).

The likely culprit: grease from the ISS's Canadarm2 robotic arm, a key piece of equipment that has been used since 2001 in various maintenance and assembly tasks.

## Robot Grease

To replace the Battery Charge-Discharge Unit on the outside of the ISS, Koch had to ride the Canadarm2, which necessitated installing a foot restraint on the end of it.

"What the engineers think at this point is that my hand just brushed up against some of that when I was installing that foot restraint," Koch said during a webcast yesterday according to *Space.com*.

## Food Fight

According to Koch, the "stained" glove is being analyzed on board the space station.

"Unfortunately, I wish I could stay just as clean when I'm in my spacesuit as I attempt to do when I'm eating in the galley and our food floats around," Koch added.

**READ MORE:** [Spacesuit Gloves Contaminated During All-Woman Spacewalk](<https://www.space.com/spacesuit-gloves-contaminated-during-spacewalk-christina-koch.html>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on spacewalks:** *[Watch Astronaut Jessica Meir Tell Trump He’s Wrong, From Space](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-spacewalk-astronaut-trump-wrong>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)