Beijing (AP) — Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to perform EVA as part of a six-month mission to the country’s space station.
According to the Chinese manned space agency, Wang and fellow astronaut Zhai Zhigang left the station’s main module on Sunday night, spending more than six hours installing equipment and performing tests beside the station’s robot service arm. I did.
The CMS said on its website that Ye Guangfu, the third member of the crew, helped from inside the station.
Both Wang (41) and Zai (55) traveled to the now retired Chinese experimental space station, where Zai made his first EVA in China 13 years ago.
The three are the second crew members of the permanent station, and the mission, which began on October 16th, will be the longest space-time ever for Chinese astronauts.
The station’s Tianhe module will be connected to two sections named Mengtian and Wentian next year. The completed station weighs about 66 tons, much smaller than the International Space Station, which launched its first module in 1998, and weighs about 450 tons.
Three extravehicular activities are planned for the station expansion, with crew members assessing the living conditions of the Tenwa Module and conducting experiments in space medicine and other areas.
China’s military-operated space program plans to send multiple crew members to the station over the next two years to make the station fully functional.