The Shenzhou-15 taikonauts aboard the orbiting Chinese Tiangong space station finished their first spacewalk at 12:16 a.m. (Beijing time) on Friday.
The Shenzhou-15 taikonauts aboard the orbiting Chinese Tiangong space station finished their first spacewalk at 12:16 a.m. (Beijing time) on Friday according to the China Manned Space Agency.
To complete all assigned tasks, Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu worked together with Deng Qingming, who supported his crewmates by working inside the space station. Since then, Fei and Zhang have safely arrived at the Wentian lab module.
They completed a number of tasks during their first spacewalk or extravehicular activities (EVAs), which lasted for about seven hours, including installing the extension pumps outside the Mengtian lab module.
These were the first EVAs carried out after the Chinese space station was finished. According to the agency, the Shenzhou-15 crew will perform several spacewalks in the future. China’s space program has produced the crewed spacecraft Shenzhou-15. Chinese astronauts are referred to as “Taikonauts.
The first module of the Tiangong space station was launched in 2011 and was followed by a series of missions to add additional modules and resupply the station.
The station has also been visited by a number of taikonauts (Chinese astronauts) who have conducted experiments and evaluated the potential of human spaceflight.
Shenzhou-15 is the most recent iteration of the Shenzhou spacecraft, launched in 2021 as part of China’s efforts to build a permanent space station. The mission was China’s first crewed space mission in over five years, and it marked a significant milestone in the country’s space programme.
Spacewalks are challenging and dangerous activities, as astronauts are exposed to the harsh environment of space and must rely on their spacesuits for life support.
The spacesuits are equipped with systems to provide air, regulate temperature, and protect against radiation and micrometeoroids.
Spacewalks are an important aspect of human space exploration and provide valuable opportunities for astronauts to carry out important tasks and conduct scientific experiments in the unique environment of space.