This is an image taken on the evening of September 25 at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, showing Shenzhou-20 crew member Wang Jie conducting extravehicular operations outside the space station complex. Photo: Xinhua
The Shenzhou-20 crew members, who are currently on-board China’s space station, successfully conducted their fourth round of extravehicular activities on early Friday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Friday.
At 1:35 am Beijing time on Friday, after about six hours of extravehicular activity, the Shenzhou-20 crew — Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie — worked in close coordination. With support from the space station’s robotic arm and ground researchers, they successfully completed all scheduled tasks. Taikonauts Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie have safely returned to the Wentian lab module, marking the full success of the mission, the CMSA said in a release on Friday.
During the extravehicular activity, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie installed debris protection devices on the space station and carried out inspections of external equipment and facilities. This was the first time two taikonauts from China’s third taikonaut group jointly performed extravehicular operations. So far, the Shenzhou-20 crew has completed four extravehicular activities, making it one of the Chinese crews with the most spacewalks, according to the CMSA.
The crew has now been in orbit for more than 150 days. According to plan, they will continue to conduct a wide range of scientific experiments and technical tests, and will celebrate both National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival aboard the Chinese space station, the CMSA said in the release.
Global Times