More Debris Protection Devices Installed [SZ-20 EVA-1]
Just one month after arriving, Tiangong's new crew performed a spacewalk.
The Shenzhou-20 taikonaut trio onboard the Tiangong Space Station has completed their first spacewalk, almost one month after beginning their mission. For their first spacewalk, Chen Dong, in the blue suit, and Chen Zhongrui, in the red suit, exited the station through the Tianhe module’s airlock, the first spacewalk from Tianhe since December 2021.
This spacewalk is reported to have lasted eight hours on May 22nd, with the spacewalkers returning into the module by 16:49 pm China Standard Time (08:49 am Universal Coordinated Time), having left at 08:50 am China Time (00:50 am Universal Time). For Chen Zhongrui, this was his first spacewalk, while it was Chen Dong’s fourth, bringing his total time spent outside of Tiangong to almost twenty-four hours.
With support from Wang Jie inside the station, the two spacewalkers installed various space debris protection devices onto the the Tianhe module. The space stations robotic arm, overseen by ground controllers and Wang, is said to have assisted in the installation of the protection devices pre-staged outside by Mengtian’s cargo airlock.
As is routine now for spacewalks onboard Tiangong, inspections of the three modules, Tianhe, Wentian, and Mengtian, as well as external hardware were conducted. These inspections ensure the station is operating as expected, along with identifying where additional protection devices are needed, to ensure Tiangong remains operational until its late-2030s retirement.
Continuing to utilize the three spacesuits, distinguished by either red, blue, or yellow details, onboard the space station, the second-generation Feitian (飞天航天服) spacesuits were used for the twentieth time. This follows the last spacewalk of Shenzhou-19 which demonstrated an extension for their useable lifespan.
At present, the Shenzhou-20 crew will spend five more months onboard Tiangong until they are relieved by the Shenzhou-21 crew in October. It is unknown how many more spacewalks are planned for the Shenzhou-20 mission, with the Shenzhou-19 trio demonstrating a short one-month gap between eight hour-long spacewalks, allowing for possibly up to five if needed for the current mission. These spacewalks will be scheduled to avoid the arrival of the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft, along with possibly the first visits from the Qingzhou (轻舟) and Haolong (昊龙) commercial cargo spacecraft.
Meanwhile inside the station, the Shenzhou-20 trio will conduct science and technology experiments related to life sciences, such as one for a zebra fish-hornwort co-cultivation ecosystem, the expression patterns of microbial active substances and enzymes in space environments, and an investigation into the regeneration of planarians in microgravity. The planarian experiments will study tissue regeneration in microgravity, while the zebrafish experiment will focus on microgravity-caused loss of bone mass and cardiovascular dysfunction.
Meet the Shenzhou-20 crew
Chen Dong (陈冬)
For his third spaceflight, having flown for the Shenzhou-11 and Shenzhou-14 missions, Chen Dong of Henan province, born December 1978, is the Commander for the Shenzhou-20 mission. Chen was selected as a taikonaut in 2010 as part of the second batch.
Prior to his space career, Chen enlisted in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force in 1997 and joined the Communist Party of China in 1999. Following the Shenzhou-11 mission, he was awarded the Spaceflight Merit Medal (Third Class) along with the honorary title of hero taikonaut in 2016.
Chen Zhongrui (陈中瑞)
For his first spaceflight, Chen Zhongrui of Henan province, born October 1984, is the Operator for the Shenzhou-20 mission. Chen was selected as a taikonaut in 2020 as part of the third batch.
Prior to his space career, Chen enlisted in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force in 2003 and joined the Communist Party of China in 2005.
Wang Jie (王杰)
For his first spaceflight, Wang Jie of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, born September 1989, is the Science Operator for the Shenzhou-20 mission. Wang was selected as a taikonaut in 2020 as part of the third batch.
Prior to his space career, Wang was an engineer from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and joined the Communist Party of China in 2009.