Voskhod 2 included Alexei Leonov’s first spacewalk in 1965.
The Soviet mission launched on 18 March 1965 with cosmonauts Pavel Belyayev and Alexei Leonov aboard. Leonov left the spacecraft for about 12 minutes, becoming the first person to perform an extravehicular activity. His space suit inflated in the vacuum, making it difficult to re-enter the airlock.
The mission encountered several serious problems, including trouble closing the hatch, an automatic landing failure and a landing far from the planned recovery area. Belyayev and Leonov spent a night in a snowy forest before rescuers reached them.
The United States performed its first spacewalk during Gemini 4 later in 1965, when Edward White left his spacecraft. Spacewalks are also called extravehicular activities, or EVAs, and are used for repairs, construction and scientific work outside a spacecraft.