The Shenzhou-20 crew installed protection devices and completed vital inspections on China's orbiting space station, completing their mission's fourth round of extravehicular activities on Friday morning, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The astronaut trio -- Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie -- worked together for approximately six hours and completed all assigned extravehicular tasks at 01:35 Beijing Time, assisted by the Tiangong space station's robotic arm and a ground control team.
At around 19:45 on Thursday, astronaut Wang Jie opened the hatch door of the Wentian lab module and exited the cabin. He climbed onto the automated foot restraint at the end of the robotic arm, which then began to move.
Chen Zhongrui was at the hatch door, passing relevant equipment and tools to Wang, and exited the cabin at around 20:34 to work alongside Wang.
During the spacewalk operations, the two astronauts completed the installation of debris protection devices and the inspection and maintenance of extravehicular equipment, according to the CMSA. This was the first time that two members of China's third batch of astronauts had jointly carried out a spacewalk, the agency noted.
During the extravehicular operations, astronaut Chen Dong provided support from inside the Tianhe core module.
"This was the first time that we used Tianhe core module's robotic arm adapter to support the extravehicular operations, after installing the [automated] foot restraint adapter, so the entire path was newly panned. Meanwhile, since the locations for protection devices installation are relatively concentrated, we optimized the path design for the robotic arm, to make the extravehicular operations more efficient and save more time. After this spacewalk, the previously planned debris protection devices for the space station's Wentian lab module section have all been installed, marking the completion of a phase of the project," said Li Zhihai, an engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
At 01:35 on Friday, the two astronauts tasked with conducting the spacewalk operations safely returned to the Wentian lab module and closed the hatch door, marking the successful completion of the extravehicular activity.
Up to now, the orbiting Shenzhou-20 crew has completed four extravehicular activities, making it one of the two Chinese crews that have carried out the most spacewalks.
"The Shenzhou-20 crew has been in orbit for over five months. Overall, their work has been quite busy. They have successfully completed four extravehicular activities while also conducting a series of scientific experiments and platform payload maintenance tasks. Additionally, they have carried out the separation and withdrawal of the Tianzhou-8 cargo craft and the rendezvous and docking with the Tianzhou-9 cargo craft, as well as the loading and unloading of the cargo airlock. Overall, their work is quite full and in smooth progress. The three astronauts are also in excellent condition," said Zhong Weiwei, a member of the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.
The Shenzhou-20 crew has been in orbit for more than 150 days. As planned, they will also carry out many scientific experiments and technological tests.
The three astronauts will celebrate the upcoming National Day (Oct 1) and Mid-Autumn Festival (Oct 6) in the space station, the CMSA said.
"This is the fourth spacewalk of our crew, and it is also the first time that we two members of our country's third batch of astronauts had performed an extravehicular task together. Our big thanks to the strong support from the ground team, which helped us successfully complete this task," said Wang.
"[The successful completion of the task] is the result of the joint efforts of our crew and the cohesive collaboration between our crew in space and the support team on Earth. This is our crew's final spacewalk. After the successful completion of four such tasks, it feels like we haven't had enough of it yet, and we look forward to the next one," said Chen Zhongrui.
"There will be plenty of opportunities ahead. This is my seventh involvement in a spacewalk, but it's the first time that I have sat in front of the screen to support my two teammates in completing the task. Although I didn't go out of the cabin, it was by no means easy [to work inside here]. It was such wholehearted support that ensured the task's successful completion. In a few days, it will be the National Day. We Shenzhou-20 crew members send our early greetings from space. We wish happy holiday to everyone, healthy and stable operation to our space home, and peace, harmony and prosperity to our great motherland," said Chen Dong.
China's Shenzhou-20 crew completes multiple tasks in 4th spacewalk
