Two Chinese astronauts, Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong, spent nine hours working outside in space during their first “extravehicular activities” on China’s Shenzhou-19 mission. The feat surpassed the previous record of eight hours and 56 minutes set by American astronauts in 2001.
Cai and Song, along with fellow astronaut Wang Haoze, completed their tasks to install equipment and inspect other components on the Tiangong Space Station. This marks a significant milestone for China’s space program, aiming to establish itself as a major player in space exploration.
The record-breaking spacewalk highlights China’s growing ambitions in space. In addition to conducting spacewalks and operating experiments, the astronauts are carrying fruit flies to study their behavior under reduced magnetism and microgravity conditions.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/world/asia/china-astronaut-spacewalk-record.html