Chinas astronauts have conducted their first tandem spacewalk on their nations new Tiangong stationThe station is in orbit around Eart
Two astronauts conducted China’s first tandem spacewalk on Sunday, working on the outside of their nation’s new Tiangong station in orbit around Earth. Three Chinese astronauts blasted off in June, docking at the space station where they are to remain for three months in China’s longest crewed mission to date. On Sunday morning, two of them exited the core module, said the China Manned Space Agency. The first, Liu Boming, was transported with help from a mechanical arm to a work site and the other, Tang Hongbo, moved by climbing outside the hatch. In a video clip of Liu leaving the cabin, he exclaimed: “Wow, it’s too beautiful out here.” Their mission involves elevating a panoramic camera outside the Tianhe core module, as well as testing the robotic arm which will be used to transfer future modules around the station, state media said. Television footage showed the astronauts preparing for the spacewalk by donning gear and conducting health checks while exercising. The crew members were later shown opening the hatch and exiting the module separately, wearing newly developed suits said to weigh some 130 kilograms.
