Chinese Astronauts Break 23-Year-Old Spacewalk Record with a Grueling 9-Hour Extravehicular Mission

Two Chinese astronauts have shattered a twenty-three-year-old world record by completing a grueling nine-hour spacewalk, marking a significant milestone in China’s space program.

China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Wednesday that Shenzhou 19 crew members Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong successfully concluded their extended extravehicular activity at 9:57 PM on November 19 (Beijing time).

Shenzhou 19, launched on October 30, successfully docked with China’s Tiangong space station. During their spacewalk, Cai and Song installed protective equipment on Tiangong’s exterior and performed crucial maintenance before safely returning to the station.

South China Morning Post reported that this nine-hour spacewalk set a new record for China and surpassed the previous global benchmark.

NASA records show that American astronauts James Voss and Susan Helms held the previous world record for the longest single spacewalk. On March 11, 2001, the Space Shuttle Discovery crew members relocated a docking port outside the International Space Station for eight hours and fifty-six minutes.

The Shenzhou 19 mission is slated to continue for six months. The crew will conduct various experiments in space life sciences and protein crystal structure analysis aboard Tiangong. China has ambitious plans to launch the Shenzhou 20 and 21 missions next year, further solidifying its position as a major player in space exploration.