Shenzhou XVII will carry out first spacewalk

The Shenzhou XVII mission crew will soon carry out their first spacewalk, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The agency said in a news release on Wednesday afternoon that the Shenzhou XVII trio - mission commander Senior Colonel Tang Hongbo, Lieutenant Colonel Tang Shengjie and Lieutenant Colonel Jiang Xinlin－had worked 54 days as of Wednesday and have been in good condition. They are ready for their first spacewalk and will take the step in the coming days, it noted.

The astronauts, who are the sixth inhabitants of the Tiangong space station, arrived at the colossal flying outpost on Oct 26 to take over from their peers in the Shenzhou XVI flight.

During the past days since their arrival, the astronauts have examined and maintained equipment, tested extravehicular suits and made preparations for their first spacewalk. They have also carried out exercises on robotic arms manipulation, emergency evacuation and medical response as well as conducting a host of science and technology tasks, according to the release.

By now, Chinese astronauts have made 13 spacewalks. The most recent was made by the Shenzhou XVI crew in July and lasted eight hours.

Orbiting about 400 kilometers above the ground, the Tiangong currently consists of three major components, the Tianhe core module and Wentian and Mengtian science lab modules and is connected with two visiting craft, the Shenzhou XVII crew ships and the Tianzhou 6 cargo ship.