Record-Breaking Spacewalk by Astronauts in China
On May 28th, 2024, the astronauts of China from the Shenzhou 18 mission accomplished a remarkable mission by completing a record-breaking spacewalk outside the Tiangong Space Station. The crew members completed the spacewalk on Tuesday around 6:58 pm (Beijing time standard). The two scientists who have completed this new spacewalking milestone for the country are Ye Guangfu and Li Guangsu. This spacewalk has created a history as it is the longest spacewalk compared to previous ones which is 8.5 hours of extravehicular activity (EVA).
Source: Twitter
Key Accomplishments
During this EVA the three astronauts have successfully installed space protection devices. An important task for safeguarding the station against the increasing threat of space debris. As per the statement of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the crew is aiming to engage in numerous technical tests and Science experiments. Moreover, they will conduct more spacewalks and integrate equipment outside the space station.
Resolving the concerns of Space Debris
Space Debris is a Concerning matter for the Chinese Space officials. As reported by the study On March 1 2024the Chinese Tia Gong space station experienced a partial loss of power due to correlation with space debris. this incident occurred during the space walk by astronauts from the Senza 17 Mission.
As a result of this incident debris struck and damaged the sonar panels of the space station further leading to power loss despite this setback the Spaceworks were completed. However, CMSA acknowledged this incident during the press conference and emphasized that they will be taking measures to protect the space station from similar incidents.
Source: CTGN
During these 8.5 hours of spacewalks, the three astronauts effectively collaborated on critical tasks such as installing space debris protection equipment and inspecting extravehicular facilities and equipment. The mission is successfully carried out with the help of the robotic arm of the space station and ground-based executives. After completing the task, all the crew members successfully returned to the Wentian Lab module.
Experienced and First-Time EVA Participants
This is the second spacewalk of Ye while Li Guangsu embarked on this mission for the first time. Until now, Chinese Astronauts have successfully carried out 16 EVAs. In September 2008, astronaut Zhai Zhigang in the Shenzhou-7 mission conducted a spacewalk that lasted for 19 minutes.
Since entering the PlayStation of China the crew of the Shenzhou 18-manned space flights consistently carried out unique experiments in the micro-negative environment of space. In this. The Chinese space station also carried out numerous experiments including the first-ever fresh tank ecosystem experiment at the Chinese space station measuring bone density. Other experiments included studying the behavior of zebrafish and other fish in the space environment.
In conclusion, China has achieved significant milestones in the history of Spaceboxand record-breaking 8.5 hours of space work conducted by the astronauts during the mission of Shenzhou 18. The mission not only created history for the country but also addressed significant loopholes during the space missions that are witnessed in past missions. The crew members effectively collaborated and successfully completed the mission with the support of a robotic arm and ground-based personnel and later they successfully returned to the lab module.
It is evident the success of the mission will open door to new research in space. China is also the third country that has carried out space walks in 2003 followed by United Nations and Soviet Union. It has also sent rovers in the moon that later brought lunar samples to the earth. The spacewalk mission and successful return of the astronauts after a long walk in space is a significant achievement for China.
