Astronauts take a walk in space

Astronauts Andrew Feustel, top, and Mike Fincke work in space Sunday.The second spacewalk of Endeavour's mission takes place Sunday morningLater Sunday, astronauts will talk with students at an Arizona elementary schoolThe youngest victim of January's massacre in Tucson attended the schoolRep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head, is the wife of the mission's commander

(CNN) -- Two astronauts started a 6 1/2-hour spacewalk Sunday morning, the second of four spacewalks of the Space Shuttle Endeavour mission.

The spacewalk began shortly after 2 a.m. ET. Mission specialists Andrew Feustel and Mike Fincke will perform maintenance work on the international space station, including refilling radiators with ammonia and lubricating Dextre, a two-armed space station robot that can handle delicate assembly tasks currently performed by spacewalkers, NASA said.

Later Sunday, Fincke and Cmdr. Mark Kelly will speak with students at Mesa Verde Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona -- the school 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green attended.

Christina was the youngest of six people killed in a mass shooting in January at U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' meet-and-greet in Tucson.

Giffords -- the wife of the shuttle mission's commander -- is recovering from a gunshot wound through her head.

The talk is scheduled to air live on NASA Television at 10:45 p.m. ET, according to NASA, and viewers will be able to watch both the astronauts and the students.

"The opportunity allows students to ask astronauts orbiting the Earth questions about what it's like to live in microgravity," Cindy McArthur, Teaching From Space project manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, said in a statement.

The mission's first spacewalk took place Friday. Feustel and astronaut Greg Chamitoff completed a 6-hour, 19-minute spacewalk at the space station to retrieve experiments, among other tasks, according to NASA.

On Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI spoke with the astronauts aboard the space station, and specifically mentioned Giffords.

"I know that Mark and his wife were the victim of a serious attack, and I hope that her health continues to improve," the pope said.

Kelly thanked the pope for mentioning Giffords, who is recuperating from recent brain surgery following the assassination attempt.

The two men also talked about how technology used in space may help relations between people on Earth.

"I think it must be obvious to you how we all live together on one Earth, and how absurd it is that we fight and kill each one," the pontiff said.

Space Shuttle Endeavour launched last Monday on a 16-day mission, its final flight.

Space Shuttle Atlantis will make NASA's final shuttle voyage July 8 on a mission to deliver supplies and spare parts to the international space station, the agency said.

CNN

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