Russian Cosmonauts Install Semiconductor Experiment During ISS Spacewalk

Two Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station (Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky) spent roughly six hours outside the station on Oct. 16, 2025, completing critical maintenance tasks. They installed a new semiconductor research experiment on the station's exterior and removed an old high-definition video camera system from one of the modules. They also cleaned a window on the service module and retrieved an exposed materials sample for return to the station. These tasks support ongoing research projects and station upkeep aboard the ISS.

Installing a semiconductor experiment

According to a Space.com report, during the spacewalk, the crew attached an experiment unit in the form of a drum of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) experiment to the Nauka laboratory module named Ekran-M. This device will be used to expand ultra-thin semiconductor materials in microgravity, which is far thinner than can be produced on Earth.

The cosmonauts hooked up its power and data cables in and loaded a changeable sample cassette. It is the hope of scientists that these materials made in space will be applied to future electronics, optics and sensors.

Jettisoning an outdated camera

Cosmonauts also brought to the station a massive high-definition camera system in the Zvezda module of the station. This Canadian commercial payload of 180 pounds was no longer required. Zubritsky would then launch the camera into space at the end of a robotic arm and make sure that it was floating away in space at a safe distance.

Mission control said the release was complete with “Jettison is complete and the camera would safely burn up on re-entry into the atmosphere of the earth.