The EVA focused on station upgrades and maintenance tasks, including installing a thermal cover on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, which is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector that has been attached to the station since 2011.

The astronauts attempted to restore the port truss ammonia cooling system to its original configuration. A spacewalk conducted in November 2012 tried to isolate a leak in the truss' cooling supply, but the leak was subsequently traced to a different component.