China has broken the US-held record for the world’s longest spacewalk after two of its astronauts completed a nine-hour spacewalk on Tuesday. Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong, aboard the Tiangong space station, wrapped the nine-hour extravehicular activity (EVA), also known as a spacewalk, at 9.57 pm (Beijing time), according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The earlier record was held by US astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms, who spent eight hours and 56 minutes outside the space shuttle Discovery during a mission to the International Space Station on March 12, 2001, according to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
China’s Space Mission
The records-breaking spacewalk was also a milestone in China’s space exploration journey, which is angling to become the second country to land on the moon, after the US. The EVA surpassed the benchmark set by Shenzhou-18 astronauts Ye Guangfu and Li Guangsu, who completed a similar feat by spending eight hours and 23 minutes outside Tiangong, according to a report by South China Morning Post.
The first ever spacewalk undertaken by a Chinese astronaut was in September 2008, when Zhai Zhigang spent around 20 minutes outside the Shenzhou-7 spacecraft. In recent years, China has been making significant efforts to establish itself as a major player in the space sector and even unveiled a special spacesuit for the lunar mission, set to take place by 2030.
Personal Milestones
A video footage of the spacewalk was released by China’s space broadcaster CCTV. It showed both astronauts leaving the Wentian lab module at Tiangong, tethered with safety cables. Their EVA was supported by crewmate Wang Haozhe from inside the station, Tiangong’s robotic arms and ground control teams.Â
The Shenzhou-19 crew members on board China’s orbiting Tinagong space station completed their first extravehicular activities (EVAs) at 21:57 Beijing Time on Tuesday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). https://t.co/ChJdYJJvQH pic.twitter.com/n0re772KpK
— CCTV+ (@CCTV_Plus) December 18, 2024
After the spacewalk was completed, the CMSA declared it a “full success.”
As per the South China Morning Post report, the mission was a personal milestone for the two astronauts, especially Song, a former fighter pilot with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). He became the first Chinese astronaut born in the 1990s to conduct a spacewalk. Â
It was the second spacewalk of mission commander Cai at the Tiangong. He had earlier completed a 5.5-hour spacewalk in November 2022 as part of the Shenzhou-14 crew.Â
About the MissionÂ
The crew of Shenzhou-19, who reached Tiangong in late October, are scheduled to return to Earth in late April or early May 2025. They will reportedly land at the Dongfeng site in Inner Mongolia. Till then, more spacewalks will be conducted as part of the mission, which will also include a large number of scientific experiments and technical tests, according to the CMSA.
