Nasa has cancelled its first ever all-female space walk outside the International Space Station after it emerged it did not have enough suits to fit women.

In a blow to what would have been one great leap for womankind, the plan for Christina Koch and Anne McClain to change a battery on the exterior of the ISS had to be called off.

Both astronauts required a medium sized spacesuit to carry out the spacewalk, but the station only has one because most of the male astronauts rely on large or extra-large sizes. As a result, Nasa said Ms McClain would have to give up her place to a male spacefarer.

It would have been the first time two women carried out the space walk, rather than a team comprising of a man and a woman.

The news has reignited the debate about whether the traditionally male-dominated space industry is unconsciously biased against female workers.