China's astronauts make spacewalk to upgrade robotic arm

BEIJING:

Chinese astronauts edged into space on Friday to add the finishing touches to a robotic arm on the Tiangong space station.

The foray, the second spacewalk in two months and relayed on state television, is part of China's space programme which has already seen the nation land a rover on Mars and send probes to the moon.

In June, three crew arrived at the station, where they are set to remain in space for a total of three months in China's longest crewed mission to date.

On Friday, astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming successfully exited the Tianhe core module to install foot stops and a workbench on the station's robotic arm, said the China Manned Space Agency in a statement.

Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming both slipped out of the #space station core module Tianhe on Friday morning to conduct extravehicular activities for a second time, according to the China Manned Space Agency. pic.twitter.com/aiLZPTWoYp

— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) August 20, 2021

Video footage showed the astronauts working outside the spacecraft while tethered to it with a long rope.

Their tasks also include working on a thermal unit and adjusting a panoramic camera, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

This marks only the third spacewalk for Chinese astronauts, after the first in 2008 -- when Zhai Zhigang made China the third country to complete a spacewalk after the Soviet Union and the United States.

The second took place in early July, when Liu and the third crew member Tang Hongbo left the station.

It is China's first crewed mission in nearly five years and a matter of huge prestige as the country marks the 100th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party.