Shenzhou-23 astronauts complete spacewalk, repair space station solar wing

China's Shenzhou-23 crew completed a spacewalk on Friday, carrying out repairs on the China Space Station's solar wing and installing protection against space debris, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The extravehicular activity ended at 1:59 p.m. Beijing Time after about 5.5 hours.

Astronauts Zhu Yangzhu and Zhang Zhiyuan worked outside the space station with support from crew member Li Jiaying, the station's robotic arm and ground teams. Zhu and Zhang returned safely to the Tianhe core module after completing the scheduled tasks.

The mission marked the second time Chinese astronauts have conducted an extravehicular repair on the space station's solar wing, helping ensure the safety and stability of its power supply.

It was Zhu's first spacewalk in three years, while Zhang carried out an extravehicular activity for the first time.

Since arriving at the space station on May 25, the crew has spent more than three months in orbit, completing an in-orbit handover, payload transfer tasks, rendezvous and docking drills, medical emergency training and full-system emergency exercises, while carrying out routine station maintenance and health-related work.

Experiments in space life science and human research, microgravity physics and new space technologies are progressing as planned. The crew will also continue scientific experiments, technology tests, payload transfer and science outreach activities during the rest of the mission.