Chinese astronauts add debris shields to Tiangong space station during 8-hour spacewalk (video)

A pair of taikonauts have completed their first spacewalk aboard China's Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Two Shenzhou-20 crewmembers performed the mission's first extravehicular activity (EVA) on Thursday (May 22). The duo worked outside the Chinese low-Earth orbit laboratory for eight hours, wrapping up at 4:49 a.m. EDT (0849 GMT; 4:49 p.m. local time in Beijing). Chinese astronauts Chen Dong and Chen Zhongrui served as the EVA's assigned spacewalkers, while their crewmate Wang Jie assisted from inside Tiangong with mission operators coordinating on Earth.

Dong and Zhongrui exited the space station through the node cabin of the Tianhe module, marking the first time that airlock has been used for an EVA since Tiangong became operational.

This was the 19th time taikonauts aboard Tiangong have conducted an EVA; many of these spacewalks have focused on installing debris shields to the station's exterior. With assistance from the station's robotic arm, Dong and Zhongrui successfully positioned a protective sheet on a designated exterior location on Tiangong. The pair also performed routine station maintenance and equipment inspections.

The Shenzhou-20 crew arrived at Tiangong on April 24, and are just about one month into their six-month-long mission. The trio replaced China's Shenzhou-19 astronauts, who returned to Earth on April 30.

China has at least one more crewed mission planned for 2025. Shenzhou-21 is expected to launch sometime this fall. The Tiangong space station was completed in 2022 and has a continual occupancy planned for at least the next decade. The station presently consists of three main modules, but allows for China to launch more should they wish to expand the orbiting lab.