Shenzhou astronauts conduct their second spacewalk.

On Sunday, Colonel Ye Guangfu, a member of the Shenzhou-13 crew, began his spacewalk outside the Tianhe core module of the space station. Major General Ye Zhigang and Major General Zhai Zhigang adjusted the position of the panoramic camera and conducted tests on their spacesuits and the robotic arm. [Photo/CCTV]

The crew of China’s Shenzhou-13 conducted their second extravehicular activity on Sunday.

During the spacewalk that began at 6:44 p.m. on Sunday, mission commander Major General Zhai Zhigang and Colonel Ye Guangfu repositioned the panoramic camera and conducted tests of their spacesuits and the robotic arm.

Colonel Wang Yaping remained aboard the Tiangong Space Station to support the mission.

According to the China Manned Space Agency, this spacewalk helped enhance the astronauts’ teamwork and ground control capabilities, while also accumulating valuable experience for future extravehicular activities.

This was the first spacewalk for Ye, who joined China’s second batch of astronauts in May 2010.

Pang Zhihao, a Beijing aerospace researcher who worked at the China Academy of Space Technology for several decades, stated that spacewalks have become a routine component of China’s crewed space missions.

“Our astronauts have gained extensive knowledge of extravehicular activities through previous spacewalks. Moving forward, they will undertake numerous challenging and demanding tasks during future spacewalks, such as installing equipment and repairing malfunctions,” he said.

Shenzhou-13 was launched on October 16 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s northwestern Gobi Desert aboard a Long March-2F carrier rocket, and its crew soon entered the Tiangong space station. They plan to work aboard the station for six months, marking China’s longest-ever space mission.

As of Sunday, the astronauts had been in space for 72 days. They completed their first spacewalk on November 8, and 41-year-old Ms. Wang became China’s first female spacewalker.

During their first spacewalk, Zhai and Wang installed components on the robotic arm and used it to practice extravehicular activities. They verified the arm’s functionality and its compatibility with astronaut requirements, inspected the safety and performance of the support equipment, and tested the capabilities of their extravehicular suits.

Shenzhou-13 is the fourth spacecraft to visit the Tiangong space station and the second crewed spacecraft to deliver astronauts to the orbital outpost.

Tiangong, also known as the Heavenly Palace, is one of China’s most challenging and complex space projects, ultimately comprising three main components: the Tianhe core module connected to two large space laboratories.

Its total mass will approach 70 metric tons. The entire space station is scheduled to operate in low Earth orbit, approximately 400 kilometers above the Earth, for about 15 years.

The first batch of astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station—Major General Nie Haisheng, Major General Liu Boming, and Colonel Tang Hongbo—completed their 92-day mission in mid-September. They conducted two spacewalks.

From ChinaDaily