Astronaut Wang Yaping conducted her first spacewalk outside the Tiangong station on November 7, alongside commander Zhai Zhigang.
The three members of the Shenzhou 13 crew, commander Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu, arrived at the Tianhe core module of the Tiangong space station a few hours after launching on October 15. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced the spacewalk plans on November 5. At that time, CMSA did not provide specific details regarding the timing, objectives, or astronauts involved in the extravehicular activity.
Shenzhou 13 astronauts perform their first spacewalk. (Photo: CMSA)
On November 7, CMSA announced that astronauts Zhai Zhigang, commander of the Shenzhou 13 mission, and Wang Yaping completed a 6-hour spacewalk. Wang is the first female astronaut from China to participate in a spacewalk.
Wang Yaping became the second Chinese female astronaut to travel to space in 2013 during the Shenzhou 10 mission. Meanwhile, Zhai became the first Chinese astronaut to conduct a spacewalk during the Shenzhou 7 mission in 2008.
Prior to the spacewalk, astronauts unpacked the spacesuits delivered by the Tianzhou 3 cargo ship to the station and completed several tests to ensure the suits were suitable for extravehicular activities, according to Wu Hao, a research assistant at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.
Two suits had previously been transported to the station by Shenzhou 2 for spacewalks during the Shenzhou 12 mission. The new suit may have been specifically designed for Wang. The Shenzhou 13 crew is expected to conduct 2 to 3 extravehicular activities over the six months at the Tiangong station. Their primary goal is to install a conversion device that will allow the large robotic arm of the Tianhe module to connect with a smaller arm that will be placed in a future module.
The Shenzhou 12 crew has been in orbit for three weeks. This mission is planned to last twice as long as Shenzhou 12 (3 months). During this time, the astronauts successfully transferred supplies from the cargo ship Tianzhou, which was docking with the Tianhe module, including maintenance, daily exercise to counteract the effects of the microgravity environment, medical checks, and conducting scientific experiments.
Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu also examined bacteria in water samples from the Tianhe module. The crew prepared and practiced emergency response drills, such as evacuation and rescue operations. Meanwhile, at the Jiuquan launch center, the Long March 2F rocket and Shenzhou 14 spacecraft are always ready for emergency situations in orbit.
