Wang Yaping becomes the first Chinese woman to walk in space New Spaces

Wang Tiangong is one of three astronauts on a six-month mission to build the space station.

Astronaut Wang Yaping has become the first Chinese woman to walk in space, authorities said Monday as part of a six-month mission to the country’s space station.

Wang and fellow astronaut friends Zhai Zhigang left the main module of Tiangong Station for more than six hours to install equipment and test it next to the station’s robotic arm as part of the ongoing construction, according to the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMS).

A third member of the crew, Ye Guangfu, provided assistance from inside the station, the CMS said on its website.

Tiangong, which means “heavenly palace,” is a crucial section for the Chinese-led military to become a major space power after a Rover lands on Mars and sends probes to the Moon.

Its core module entered orbit earlier this year, and the station is expected to be up and running by 2022.

Wang, 41, and Zhai, 55, traveled to China’s now-retired experimental experimental stations, and Zhai took China’s first spacewalk 13 years ago.

They both promised to the camera while they were tied to the outside of the station.

“This is the first extravehicular activity of the Shenzhou-13 crew, and it is also the first in the history of China to involve a female astronaut,” the CMS said Monday morning.

“The whole process was smooth and successful,” the agency added.

Tiangong is expected to operate for at least 10 years, and three astronauts are the second group to stay with Wang’s first wife.

Their job involves setting up equipment and testing technologies for future construction, with at least one spacewalk planned.

The group is expected to spend six months at the station.

The station’s Tianhe module will be connected to two other sections called Mengtian and Wentian next year. The completed station will weigh about 66 tons, much smaller than the International Space Station that launched the first module in 1998, and weighs about 450 tons.

Three spacewalks are planned to prepare for the expansion of the equipment installation station, and the crew will also assess living conditions in the Tianhe module and conduct experiments in space medicine and other fields.