Handrail, Extravehicular Activity (EVA)

Handrails serve as mobility and stability aids for astronauts during extravehicular activity. Handrails are installed to define a safe path and provide sturdy anchors for the astronauts to use while they are working outside the spacecraft. Handrails also serve as handles for equipment, giving the astronauts a secure hold on large components like the scientific instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. They are yellow to be easily visible against the white, silver, and black materials normally used on spacecraft and payloads. After the last servicing mission, NASA released this flight-ready handrail from the Hubble servicing equipment inventory.