China's Shenzhou-20 crew completes 4th spacewalk mission

ANKARA

The crew of China's Shenzhou-20 on board the country's orbiting space station mission completed their fourth extravehicular activity (EVA), the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said Friday.

The three astronauts, Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie spent nearly six hours outside the station, completing assigned tasks with support from the station’s robotic arm and mission control on the ground, Xinhua News reported, citing a statement from CMSA.

Chen Zhongrui and Wang, tasked with conducting spacewalk operations, completed the installation of space debris protection devices and the inspection of external equipment, said the agency.

The CMSA added that it was the first time two astronauts from China’s third batch of taikonauts jointly performed an extravehicular mission.

The astronauts entered the Tiangong space station on April 25.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid