The Tiangong space station is a Chinese space station in low Earth orbit, and is operated by the China Manned Space Agency. Extravehicular activities are crucial for both the construction and maintenance of the station. Zhai Zhigang completed the first Chinese spacewalk in 2008, during the Shenzhou 7 mission. Since then, every other Chinese spacewalk has been carried out at the Tiangong space station.
^denotes spacewalks performed from the Wentian module
Mission | Spacewalkers | Start (UTC) | End (UTC) | Duration | |
1. | Shenzhou 12 EVA 1 * | Liu Boming Tang Hongbo | 4 July 2021 00:11 | 4 July 2021 06:57 | 6 hours, 46 minutes |
Tested an updated version of the Feitian space suit, completed installation of the station's robotic arm, and installed exterior equipment for use on future missions, including a camera lifting bracket.[1] [2] | |||||
2. | Shenzhou 12 EVA 2 * | Nie Haisheng Liu Boming | 20 August 2021 00:38 | 20 August 2021 06:33 | 5 hours, 55 minutes |
Tested spacecraft equipment, installed a backup thermal control pump, and installed and raised panoramic camera D.[3] | |||||
3. | Shenzhou 13 EVA 1 * | Zhai Zhigang Wang Yaping | 7 November 2021 11:28 | 7 November 2021 17:16 | 5 hours, 48 minutes |
Installed a dual-arm connector to the station's robotic arm along with testing EVA equipment. Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to perform an EVA.[4] [5] | |||||
4. | Shenzhou 13 EVA 2 * | Ye Guangfu Zhai Zhigang | 26 December 2021 10:44 | 26 December 2021 16:55 | 6 hours, 11 minutes |
Installed panoramic camera C, installed a foot restraint, and tested methods of moving objects outside of the station.[6] | |||||
5. | Shenzhou 14 EVA 1 ^ | Chen Dong Liu Yang | 1 September 2022 10:26 | 1 September 2022 16:33 | 6 hours, 7 minutes |
Installed an extended pump set on the exterior of Wentian, raised panoramic camera B, installed an exterior workbench, and tested procedures for an emergency return to the station.[7] | |||||
6. | Shenzhou 14 EVA 2 ^ | Chen Dong Cai Xuzhe | 17 September 2022 05:35 | 17 September 2022 09:47 | 4 hours, 12 minutes |
Installed EVA foot restraints and exterior workbenches, worked on the extended pump set, and verified EVA rescue capabilities.[8] | |||||
7. | Shenzhou 14 EVA 3 ^ | Chen Dong Cai Xuzhe | 17 November 2022 03:16 | 17 November 2022 08:50 | 5 hours, 34 minutes |
Installed an inter-chamber connection device between Tianhe and Mengtian, raised panoramic A on Wentian, and installed a small mechanical arm power-assisted handle.[9] | |||||
8. | Shenzhou 15 EVA 1 ^ | Fei Junlong Zhang Lu | 9 February 2023 09:10 | 9 February 2023 16:16 | 7 hours, 6 minutes |
Tasks included the installation of a fourth external pump (Z01-04) on Mengtian and other tasks related to Mengtian | |||||
9. | Shenzhou 15 EVA 2 ^ | Fei Junlong Zhang Lu | Unknown | ||
Tasks completed were not revealed publicly and no announcement was given prior to the spacewalk. Rumors suggest it took place on February 28, however no date was officially given.[11] Taikonauts installed electrical equipment, according to some Chinese-language sources.[12] | |||||
10. | Shenzhou 15 EVA 3 ^ | Fei Junlong Zhang Lu | Unknown | ||
Tasks completed were not revealed publicly and no announcement was given prior to the spacewalk. Rumors suggest it took place on March 30, however no date was officially given. Taikonauts installed and connected cables across the cabin.[13] | |||||
11. | Shenzhou 15 EVA 4 ^ | Fei Junlong Zhang Lu | Unknown | ||
Tasks completed were not revealed publicly and no announcement was given prior to the spacewalk. Rumors suggest it took place on 15 April, however no date was officially given. Taikonauts disposed of trash bags, completed the installation of the fifth extended pump (Z02-01) set on Mengtian, installed and connected cross-cabin cables, and installed the external load exposure platform and support brackets for later science and technology experiments. | |||||
12. | Shenzhou 16 EVA 1 ^ | Jing Haipeng Zhu Yangzhu | 20 July 2023 05:45 | 20 July 2023 13:40 | 7 hours, 55 minutes |
Taikonauts installed & lifted the bracket for Tianhe panoramic camera B and unlocked & lifted panoramic camera A/B on Mengtian. Zhu Yangzhu became first Chinese flight engineer to conduct an extravehicular activity.[14] | |||||
13. | Shenzhou 17 EVA 1 ^ | Tang Hongbo Tang Shengjie | 21 December 2023 6:10 | 21 December 2023 13:35 | 7 hours, 25 minutes |
Tasks included a repair test of the Tianhe core module's solar panels, which have sustained minor damage caused by impacts of space debris and micrometeoroids.[15] | |||||
14. | Shenzhou 17 EVA 2 ^ | Tang Hongbo Jiang Xinlin | 1 March 2024 21:40 | 2 March 2024 05:32 | 7 hours, 52 minutes |
Tasks included maintenance of the solar pannels of the Tianhe core module, which have sustained minor damage caused by impacts of space debris and micrometeoroids; evaluation and analysis of the performance status of the solar pannel power generation and also inspection of the status of the space station modules.[16] | |||||
15. | Shenzhou 18 EVA 1 ^ | Ye Guangfu Li Guangsu | 28 May 2024 02:35 | 28 May 2024 10:58 | 8 hours, 23 minutes |
Longest Chinese spacewalk to date. Tasks included installing space debris protection shields and conducting inspections of extravehicular equipment and facilities.[17] | |||||
16. | Shenzhou 18 EVA 2 ^ | Ye Guangfu Li Cong | 3 July 2024 07:21 | 3 July 2024 14:51 | 6 hours, 30 minutes |
Tasks included installing further space debris protection shields on pipelines, cables, and other equipment, and inspecting the exterior of the station. |