Russian members of the International space station’s crew started preparing a spacewalk, scheduled for August 3, 2011.

      The spacewalk will be full of various activities. First of all, cosmonauts will manually launch a microsatellite “Kedr” (“Cedar”), designed and built by students. The microsatellite started broadcasting signals on April 12, 2011, when a 50^th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s flight was celebrated.

      When placed to the orbit, the satellite will broadcast 25 “hello” messages in 17 languages, as well as images of our planet and telemetry from science facilities and other satellites.

      Another important task for spacewalkers is installation and putting into operation an onboard terminal of laser communication. Cosmonauts will also leave three “BioRisk” experimental containers outside the station. “BioRisk” experiment is aimed at understanding survival mechanisms of bacteria and plant seeds under harsh conditions of interplanetary vacuum.

      Source: ITAR-TASS