China’s orbiting space station has successfully completed a record-breaking nine-hour spacewalk by two astronauts, Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong. The extravehicular activity (EVA) was the longest by Chinese astronauts and marked the first spacewalk by an astronaut born in 1990.
The mission, which took place on Tuesday evening, saw Cai and Song install space-debris protection devices with assistance from the station’s robotic arm and ground-based teams. Wang Haoze supported the mission from inside the station. After completing their tasks, the crew expressed their joy at finishing the mission and thanked the ground team for their support.
The Shenzhou-19 crew is set to conduct a range of space-science experiments and technical tests, as well as additional extravehicular activities. This marks Cai’s second EVA in space, following his initial EVAs during the Shenzhou-14 mission two years ago. Song became the first Chinese astronaut born in 1990 to carry out an EVA.
China’s space agency has announced that the crew will be conducting further experiments and tests outside the space station. The successful spacewalk is a testament to China’s growing expertise in space exploration and its commitment to advancing space science.
Source: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-12-17/Shenzhou-19-crew-members-complete-first-spacewalk-1zpF1XM1Pl6/p.html