NASA astronaut loses mirror during spacewalk, adding to debris orbiting Earth

The lost item did not pose any risk to the spacewalk or the ISS. (Picture credit: nasa.gov)

An astronaut added to the millions of pieces of debris orbiting the Earth when he lost a small mirror attached to his spacesuit during a spacewalk, news agency AP reported.

US Commander Chris Cassidy lost the mirror while stepping out of the International Space Station (ISS) for battery work. Cassidy and Bob Behnken were conducting their first of at least four spacewalks, replacing the station batteries when the incident happened.

Cassidy and Bob Behnken did maintenance work during their first of at least four spacewalks on Friday. (Picture credit: YouTube/ NASA)

However, the lost item did not pose any risk to the spacewalk or the ISS, AP reported quoting NASA.

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Spacewalking astronauts wear wrist mirror on both their suit sleeves to get a better view of things while stepping out of the space station.

Behnken and Doug Hurley made history when they set off towards the ISS in a Space X Dragon capsule, marking the first-ever first human spaceflight through a government-private partnership.

(With inputs from AP)