Shenzhou XIX crew to carry out third spacewalk

The Shenzhou XIX mission crew members aboard China's Tiangong space station are scheduled to carry out their third spacewalk in the coming days, the China Manned Space Agency said on Thursday.

The three astronauts — mission commander Senior Colonel Cai Xuzhe, Lieutenant Colonel Song Lingdong and Lieutenant Colonel Wang Haoze — have been aboard the station for nearly five months since their arrival on Oct 30. They made their first spacewalk on Dec 17 to install space debris shield devices and check the condition of extravehicular equipment. Their second spacewalk took place on Jan 20 and 21, completing same assignments.

Since their second spacewalk, the astronauts have successively conducted training for rendezvous and docking, as well as full-system pressure emergency drills, steadily advancing experimental tasks in areas such as space life sciences and medical research, microgravity physics, and new space technologies.

"The crew members are in good spirits, and the Tiangong space station remains in stable condition. The astronauts will perform their third spacewalk in due course," the agency said in a news release.

Cai and his team are the eighth crew to live aboard the Tiangong station, one of the largest orbiting outposts ever deployed. The crew is expected to return to Earth in late April or early May.