There is nothing routine about a spacewalk. Every time someone adventures out of the safety of the space station they are risking their lives in an environment humans are not able to survive.
Yesterday, Astronaut Chris Cassidy was on his first spacewalk when a "lithium hydroxide CO2 scrubber broke [causing] lethal gas to build up to dangerous levels. Lithium hydroxide is a corrosive alkali hydroxide, a white hygroscopic crystalline material that is used in filters to purify air. Cassidy didn't notice any apparent effect, but the spacewalk came to a sudden ending after Houston noticed that things weren't right at all inside his suit."
Because of dedicated efforts and constant monitoring NASA was able to avoid a serious situation. While the astronauts always seem to get the praise for risking their life there is a crew of hundreds who help make the journey as safe as possible with constant monitoring.
Fortunately Chris was able to safely return to the space station at which point he said "I'm just going to sit here and wait for Dave and enjoy the view." After being close to death and not even knowing it is safe to say that enjoying the view is well deserved.
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