The Shenzhou-15 taikonauts on board the orbiting Chinese Tiangong space station completed their first spacewalk at 12:16 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Fei Junlong and Zhang Lu, together with Deng Qingming who worked inside the space station to support his crewmates, collaborated to pull off all set tasks. Fei and Zhang have since safely returned to the Wentian lab module.

Astronaut Zhang Lu, one of the trio of the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft, is from Hanshou County, Changde City, Hunan Province. Born in November 1976, Zhang joined the PLA Air Force in August 1996 and was an elite fighter jet aviator at a training base. He was selected as one of the seven second-generation astronauts in May 2010. After a comprehensive evaluation, he was selected into the Shenzhou-15 crew.

During the extravehicular activities (EVAs) lasting about seven hours, they completed several tasks, including the installation of the extension pumps outside the Mengtian lab module.

These were the first EVAs conducted after the completion of the Chinese space station. The Shenzhou-15 crew, as planned, will carry out several spacewalks in the future, said the agency.

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Shenzhou-15 taikonaut Zhang Lu exiting the space station lab module Wentian to conduct extravehicular activities (EVAs).

The Shenzhou-15 taikonauts on board the orbiting Chinese Tiangong space station completed their first spacewalk at 12:16 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency. (Xinhua/Liu Fang)

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Shenzhou-15 taikonauts Fei Junlong (R) and Zhang Lu (L) conducting extravehicular activities (EVAs) out of the space station lab module Wentian.

The Shenzhou-15 taikonauts on board the orbiting Chinese Tiangong space station completed their first spacewalk at 12:16 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency. (Xinhua/Liu Fang)

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Shenzhou-15 taikonaut Zhang Lu returning to space station lab module Wentian after finishing extravehicular activities(EVAs).

The Shenzhou-15 taikonauts on board the orbiting Chinese Tiangong space station completed their first spacewalk at 12:16 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency. (Xinhua/Liu Fang)

This screen image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Shenzhou-15 taikonauts Fei Junlong (R) and Zhang Lu (L) preparing to exit the space station lab module Wentian.

The Shenzhou-15 taikonauts on board the orbiting Chinese Tiangong space station completed their first spacewalk at 12:16 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Friday, according to the China Manned Space Agency. (Xinhua/Liu Fang)

Source: Xinhua; enghunan.gov.cn