Astronaut helmet leak forces abrupt end to spacewalk

WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse

In this image made from video provided by NASA, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano stands on the end of a robotic arm during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. AP Photo/NASA

An Italian astronaut had a leak in his helmet while doing a spacewalk at the International Space Station Tuesday, forcing an early end to the outing, NASA said.

"A little more (than) one hour into the spacewalk, Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency reported water free-floating behind his head inside his helmet," the US space agency said.
 
Parmito and fellow astronaut US Chris Cassidy made it back into the orbiting research lab at about 1326 GMT, according to NASA television.
 
The purpose of the spacewalk, the second of two planned this month, was to prepare the ISS for a new Russian module and to make some repairs.
 
The outing lasting one hour 32 minutes, NASA said. It was supposed to last six hours and 15 minutes.
 
Parmitano, who is the first Italian astronaut to walk in space, was making the second spacewalk of his career.