Having moved into China’s space home for nearly three months, the Shenzhou-14 crew smoothly conducted its first extravehicular(舱外的) activity on Thursday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said. The entire process took about six hours, and it was the first time that astronauts ventured out through the airlock cabin(气闸舱) in the Wentian lab module(舱), which just arrived at the space station about a month ago.

Mission commander of Shenzhou-14 Chen Dong and crew member Liu Yang were assigned to conduct the spacewalk mission this time, while their teammate Cai Xuzhe was responsible for various support work inside the cabin. They began preparing for their exit wearing spacesuits at 3:48 pm on Thursday, and at 7 pm, the two successfully moved out of the cabin. Together, Chen and Liu completed the installation of the extended pump set of the Wentian and the lifting of the panoramic(全景的) camera, as well as other tasks with the help of the small robotic arm.

Unlike previous times when the Shenzhou-12 and -13 crews exited the space station through the Tianhe core cabin, the Shenzhou-14 crew for the first time ventured out through the airlock cabin in the Wentian lab module, which just arrived at the space station on July 25. The node cabin(节点舱) for the astronauts’ exit in the Tianhe has a gate width of 85 centimeters, while the airlock cabin in the Wentian is one meter wide, allowing astronauts with space suits on and equipment in hand to walk more “freely” into space. Therefore, the airlock cabin of the Wentian will become the main exit-entry point for extravehicular activities, while the previous one in the Tianhe will serve as backup(备用物). The two exit-entry cabins will better ensure the safety of astronauts in case of an emergency during extravehicular work.

_____________________ The first team of astronauts entering the Tianhe, the Shenzhou-12 crew, carried out one spacewalk mission, while for the Shenzhou-13 crew, two missions were successfully completed. The Shenzhou-14 crew is expected to conduct two to three spacewalk missions.

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