China currently has a three-astronaut team in space building the new Tiangong Space Station. A female astronaut, who is part of the team, has become the first Chinese woman to walk in space, Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera reports.
On Monday, November 10, the China Manned Space Agency stated that astronaut Wang Yaping and her fellow crew member Zhai Zhigang left the main module of the Tiangong station for more than six hours to install equipment and carry out tests alongside the station’s robotic arm as part of its ongoing construction.
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«This marks the first extravehicular activity of the Shenzhou-13 [space ship] crew, and it is also the first in China’s space history involving the participation of a woman astronaut,» it was said in the announcement.
The Tiangong Space Station is a key element China’s military-led drive to reach the status of a leading space power, after landing a rover on Mars and sending probes to the Moon. The space station’s core module entered orbit earlier in 2021 and with the work of the current crew it is planned to have it by 2022, Al Jazeera reports.