New spacesuits debuted for Shenzhou XXI's first spacewalk

BEIJING -- Shenzhou XXI astronauts Zhang Lu and Wu Fei completed the first series of extravehicular activities (EVAs) of their mission on Tuesday, donning newly delivered extravehicular spacesuits for their inaugural use in space.

The mission marked the debut of the space station's D and E extravehicular spacesuits, which were delivered by the Tianzhou 9 cargo spacecraft on July 15 as part of the second-generation Feitian spacesuit series. While maintaining white as the primary color, one suit features a red trim and the other a blue trim.

"The EVAs fully demonstrated the critical role of human capabilities in extravehicular operations, with the suits providing robust safety assurance for astronauts," said Zhai Zhihong from the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.

The operational lifespan of the suits has been upgraded from the previous standard of 15 EVAs over three years to 20 EVAs within four years, according to the center.

The second-generation Feitian extravehicular spacesuits have reliably supported all EVAs conducted during both the construction and operational phases of China's space station.