
Photo: Sheldon Cooper /SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Two Chinese astronauts on Sunday made the first spacewalk outside China's new space station core module Tianhe to set up equipment on a 15-meter robotic arm.
State of play: Astronauts Liu Boming's and Tang Hongbo's spacewalk was streamed on local media. They were supported by a third crew member, Nie Haisheng, who stayed inside the cabin.
- Liu and Tang spent seven hours outside of the station, AP reports.
The big picture: Liu, Tang and Nie landed on June 17 for a three-month mission on China’s third orbital station, part of the program that landed a robot rover on Mars in May.
Worth noting: Liu participated in the Shenzhou 7 mission in 2008, where another astronaut made China's first-ever spacewalk, per AP.
What to watch: China is planning a total of 11 launches throughout the end of 2022 to add more modules to their newest space station.