The Shenzhou 14 crew on the Tiangong space station successfully completed their third spacewalk mission on November 17.
According to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), astronauts Chen Dong and Cai Xuzhe completed all tasks as planned after departing from the Tiangong space station and safely returning to the Wentian laboratory module at 4:50 PM Beijing time on November 17.
The spacewalk, also known as an extravehicular activity, lasted 5 and a half hours with support from astronaut Liu Yang inside the Tianhe central module.
Working together, they successfully installed a “bridge” outside the cabin that connects the Tianhe module with the Wentian and Mengtian laboratory modules. Following this, Cai completed the first cross-module spacewalk via the bridge. They also unlocked the panoramic camera A of the Mengtian module and attached support handles for the small robotic arm.
The Shenzhou 14 crew was launched to China’s space station on June 5 for a 6-month mission. In the latter half of their mission, they oversaw the arrival of the Mengtian laboratory module.
Shenzhou 14 astronauts performing their third spacewalk. (Video: Reuters)
This was the third spacewalk for the Shenzhou 14 astronauts, marking the first time since the Tiangong space station completed its basic T-shaped configuration.
China plans to launch the Shenzhou 15 crewed spacecraft later this year. Earlier, on November 12, the country launched the Tianzhou 5 cargo spacecraft, which carries essential supplies for the upcoming mission.
