Shenzhou-19 crew completes third extravehicular activities

Members of the Shenzhou-19 crew aboard China's orbiting space station completed their mission's third series of extravehicular activities at 8:50pm on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze worked for about seven hours to complete multiple tasks, including the installation of space debris protection devices and extravehicular auxiliary facilities, as well as extravehicular equipment inspection. They were assisted by the space station's robotic arm and a team on Earth.

Cai and Song, the two crew members assigned to undertake spacewalk duties, have since returned to the Wentian lab module safely. Cai has now carried out five extravehicular missions, more than any other Chinese astronaut to date, according to the CMSA.

The Shenzhou-19 crew has been in space for nearly five months, and the various space scientific experiments and tests are progressing smoothly. The crew is scheduled to return to Earth in more than a month.