Two astronauts made their first spacewalk at China's orbiting station just a few weeks after they arrived at it.Sunday's extravehicular Activity (EVA), as spacewalks in Chinese are known, was the first spacewalk to be done as a pair. The Chinese astronauts were also the first to perform it as a pair.The EVA video clips astronaut Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo working on the outside of the space station. Nie Haisheng (another astronaut on the three-man crew) remained inside the station to assist his two fellows by operating a small robotic arms located outside the satellite.SpaceNews reports that the couple used foot restraints to walk and installed an extravehicular platform for work before setting up a panoramic camera.The EVA lasted seven hours. A second one is expected to be performed later in the three month mission.China Manned Space Agency released a statement stating that the safe return of astronauts Tang Hongbo and Liu Boming to the Tianhe core modules marks the success of our country's first spacewalk.The core module is orbiting approximately 230 miles above Earth and 20 miles below the International Space Station (ISS), providing astronauts with 50 cubic meters of living space. At a later date, two laboratory capsules will be bringing 110 cubic meters of habitable space to China's new station. This is approximately a third the space available on the ISS.According to Chinese news outlet CGTN six zones are provided for sleep, hygiene, sanitation, eating, exercise and work. The astronauts will be able to enjoy 120 dishes that are geared towards maintaining their good health.The U.S. law prohibiting Chinese participation in the ISS made it impossible for the Asian nation to build its own orbiting laboratory. In 2011, the project began with the Tiangong-1 prototype. Five years later, the Tiangong-2 prototype was completed. The core module of the station's current, most advanced station, the Tiangong-2, was deployed in April 2021.China's space program is currently a success as it seeks out new frontiers and inspires the next generation of engineers and scientists. China's President Xi Jinping stated earlier that the country's first operational space station would open up new horizons for humanitys search for knowledge about the cosmos.China launched last year a Mars rover mission. It arrived on the red planet in February 2021.Recommendations of Editors
