Shenzhou-20 taikonauts complete fourth series of extravehicular activities

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Sept. 25, 2025 shows Shenzhou-20 astronaut Wang Jie performing extravehicular activities outside China’s orbiting space station. The Shenzhou-20 crew aboard China’s orbiting space station completed their mission’s fourth round of extravehicular activities on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). (Xinhua/Li Minggang)

The Shenzhou-20 taikonaut crew on China’s orbiting space station completed their mission’s fourth round of extravehicular activities on Friday morning, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The trio — Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie — worked for approximately six hours and had completed all tasks by 1:35 a.m. (Beijing Time), assisted by the space station’s robotic arm and ground-based researchers.

Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, tasked with conducting spacewalk operations, completed the installation of space debris protection devices and the inspection of external equipment, according to the CMSA.

The agency noted that this marked the first time that two members of China’s third batch of taikonauts had jointly carried out a spacewalk.

To date, the orbiting Shenzhou-20 crew has completed four rounds of extravehicular activities — making it one of the two Chinese crews to have conducted the most extravehicular missions.

The Shenzhou-20 crew has been in orbit for more than 150 days. As planned, they will also carry out a large number of scientific experiments and technological tests.

The three taikonauts will celebrate the upcoming National Day (Oct. 1) and Mid-Autumn Festival (Oct. 6) on the Chinese space station Tiangong, the agency said. ■

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Sept. 25, 2025 shows Shenzhou-20 astronauts Wang Jie (L) and Chen Zhongrui working inside China’s orbiting space station. The Shenzhou-20 crew aboard China’s orbiting space station completed their mission’s fourth round of extravehicular activities on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). (Xinhua/Li Minggang)

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Sept. 25, 2025 shows Shenzhou-20 astronaut Chen Dong working inside China’s space station combination. The Shenzhou-20 crew aboard China’s orbiting space station completed their mission’s fourth round of extravehicular activities on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). (Xinhua/Li Minggang)

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Sept. 25, 2025 shows Shenzhou-20 astronaut Chen Dong working inside China’s space station combination. The Shenzhou-20 crew aboard China’s orbiting space station completed their mission’s fourth round of extravehicular activities on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). (Xinhua/Li Minggang)

This screen image, captured at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on September 25, 2025, shows Shenzhou-20 astronaut Chen Zhongrui working inside China’s space station. The Shenzhou-20 crew aboard China’s orbiting space station completed their mission’s fourth round of extravehicular activities on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). (Xinhua/Li Minggang)

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Sept. 25, 2025, shows Shenzhou-20 astronaut Wang Jie performing extravehicular activities outside China’s orbiting space station. The Shenzhou-20 crew aboard China’s orbiting space station completed their mission’s fourth round of extravehicular activities on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). 

Reference Link:- https://english.news.cn/20250926/b0fae042f8d54913a4d84180375f4edb/c.html;

Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan Founder & Chair, Global Silk Route Research Alliance

Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…

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