It is a strong symbol. For the first time, China has set a new record for the duration of a spacewalk. It was led by astronauts Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong, members of the Shenzhou 19 crew who arrived aboard the Tiangong space station at the end of October for a six-month stay.
The two men spent more than nine hours on a spacewalk, beating the previous record held since March 2021 by NASA astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms during an ISS maintenance mission.
Install a protective shield for Tiangong
During their spacewalk, the seventeenth since Tiangon was commissioned in 2021, the two taikonauts completed the installation of a protective shield against space debris. According to the China Human Spaceflight Agency (CMSA), the entire sequence took place nominally.
China's space program has continued to gain momentum in recent years, with resounding successes such as the construction of its Tiangong space station and several lunar missions, including two with sample return (Chang'e 5 and Chang' e 6).
The Chinese space program is very ambitious
Furthermore, Beijing is making strides towards its first manned mission to the Moon by 2030 followed by the installation of a base. The conquest of Mars is also in the sights, with a sample return mission in 2028 (Tianwen-3). Before that, in 2025, the Tianwen-2 mission will send a probe to meet the primitive asteroid Kamoʻoalewa to take samples which will return to Earth in 2028-2029.
Finally, in 2030, China plans to launch Tianwen-4, an interplanetary mission which plans to explore Jupiterits natural satellite Callisto and Uranus.
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