Shenzhou-18 crew completes first spacewalk

Shenzhou-18 crew members on board China's orbiting space station completed the first spacewalk of their mission at 6:58pm (Beijing Time) on Tuesday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu worked for about eight-and-a-half hours to complete multiple tasks, including the installation of space debris protection devices, and were assisted by the space station's robotic arm and a team on Earth.

Ye and Li Guangsu, the two crew members assigned the spacewalk duty, have since returned safely to the Wentian lab module.

This marked Ye's second extravehicular activity (EVA), following his initial spacewalk during the Shenzhou-13 mission, while Li Guangsu embarked on a spacewalk for the first time.

The mission will involve numerous other tasks, with the Shenzhou-18 crew set to engage in a slew of scheduled space science experiments and technical tests, while they will also undertake additional extravehicular activities and install payloads outside the space station, according to the CMSA.