A joint effort is combining sophisticated engineering analysis on the ground with old-fashioned hands-on work in space after ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli undertook the complex installation of a replacement water valve in ESA’s Columbus science laboratory.
 
ESA’s Columbus module on the International Space Station carries a number of life-support systems, including the thermal control system, which cools all the equipment and scientific payloads in the orbiting research module.

The thermal system has multiple valves that control the cold water flowing through pipes. The water pipes run from Columbus to the Station’s Node-2, where heat exchangers cool the water using radiators. The cooled water then flows back into Columbus.