On April 15, 2023, the Shenzhou-15 crew carry out their fourth EVA. Photo: China Manned Space Agency

The crew of the Shenzhou-15 set a new record in China's manned space history for extravehicular activity (EVA) by a single crew, after the Chinese taikonauts completed their fourth EVA on Saturday. 

The Global Times learned from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Sunday that the Shenzhou-15 crew, onboard the orbiting China Space Station, completed their fourth EVA on Saturday, with taikonauts Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu completing all extravehicular work, supported by crewmate Deng Qingming from inside the vehicle and ground control. 

The crew has completed four EVAs in the mission that started in November, setting a new record for extravehicular activities by a single crew in China's manned space history, according to the CMSA. 

With the four spacewalks, the three-strong crew of China's Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship worked in close collaboration, successfully completed missions including the installation of the extravehicular extension pump set, cross-vehicle cable installation and connection, and the extravehicular load exposure platform support rod installation, which has laid the foundation for subsequent large-scale extravehicular science and technology experiments, said the CMSA. 

The crew has been living in orbit for three months since they entered the space station combination on November 30, 2022, and is scheduled to return to Earth in May.

The CMSA announced that the Long March-7 Y7 carrier rocket, which is to send China's space station cargo vessel Tianzhou-6 into orbit in early or mid-May, has been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in South China's Hainan Province.

All engineering participants in the Tianzhou-6 mission are stepping up preparations for the launch next month. It will be the first spaceflight since China's space station entered the era of application and development, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday. 

Global Times