Beijing, August 28: The astronauts of the Shenzhou-23 mission successfully completed a spacewalk on Friday at the Chinese space station. Astronaut Chu Yangzhu stepped into space for the first time in three years, while Chang Qiyuan accomplished his first-ever spacewalk.
According to Beijing time, the spacewalk began at 1:59 PM and lasted for approximately five and a half hours. During this time, astronauts Chu Yangzhu, Chang Qiyuan, and Li Qiaoying coordinated with ground scientists to repair solar panels and install debris avoidance equipment using the station’s robotic arm.
Both astronauts returned safely to the Tianhe core module, marking the spacewalk as a complete success. This was the first spacewalk for the Shenzhou-23 crew and the second external repair of solar panels by Chinese astronauts, effectively ensuring the stability and safety of the space station’s power supply.
It is noteworthy that on May 24 of this year, astronauts Chu Yangzhu, Chang Qiyuan, and Li Qiaoying launched into space aboard the Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft. They entered the Tiangong space station the following morning.
According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, since arriving at the space station, the Shenzhou-23 crew has conducted orbital transfers, payload deployments, docking exercises, medical drills, and pressure emergency drills. They have also performed regular maintenance, life support, and health management tasks. Progress continues in experiments related to space life sciences, human body research, microgravity physics, and space technology.
The three astronauts have been in orbit for over three months. In the coming days, they will continue their planned scientific experiments, technical tests, payload operations, and science education activities.
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