Wang Yaping was one of three astronauts from China's Shenzhou-13 spaceflight mission. She became the first Chinese woman ever to make a spacewalk. Xinhua via Getty Images
On November 8, astronaut Wang Yaping ventured out of China's Tiangong station to spend six hours.
She completed the spacewalk with Zhai Zhigang, a fellow Shenzhou-13 crewmember.
Shenzhou-13's crew of three is on a six month mission to help move construction at the Chinese space station forward.
Wang Yaping, an astronaut from China, is the first Chinese woman to go into space.
Wang, 41, is currently stationed at Tiangong's Tiangong space station as one of three astronauts (or taikonauts in Chinese). Shenzhou-13 crew gathered at a launch site in the Gobi Desert to begin a six-month mission into the Tianhe module. This is the core of the space station's space station.
Wang, 55-year-old Zhai Zhigang, a fellow astronaut, left the Tianhe Module and ventured into space on November 8, for six hours, to test and install equipment. Ye Guangfu (41), was the third crew member and assisted the team from the space station.
The CMS stated in a statement that "This is the first extravehicular activity by the Shenzhou-13 Crew, and it's also the first time in China's history that a woman astronaut has been involved." The whole process was successful and smooth.
South China Morning Post published a video showing the astronauts performing tasks outside of their space station. They also wave hello to Earth via livestream.
During their six-month stay, Wang, Zhai and Ye will continue work on the station. China's space agency stated that the team would "carry out tasks like mechanical arm operation, extravehicular activity, and module transfer" and will test how a long-term space stay would work in China's space station in terms of resource management, life support, and other aspects.
Tiangong, which can translate to "heavenly palace", is currently being constructed. The core module Tianhe, which is the heart of the station, will eventually be connected with two sections, Mengtian or Wentian. According to Reuters, China intends to complete its space station by 2022. This task will require at least seven additional missions.
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The 2011 Wolf Amendment prohibited Chinese astronauts from launching to International Space Station (ISS). This was a US law. The ISS could be out of service by the 2030s and Tiangong may become the last working space station.
China had previously sent another crew to space: taikonauts Tang Hongbo and Nie Haisheng, as well as Liu Boming. After a three-month stay at Tiangong's space station, the trio that made up Shenzhou-12 landed in Mongolia on September 17. Shenzhou-12's space flight was the longest in Chinese history at the time. However, Shenzhou-13's Taikonauts are now looking to break that record.
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