The International Space Station is no longer the only space outpost, as China now has its own space station in orbit. Now, Chinese astronauts have also completed their second spacewalk to install equipment outside the station. Called Taingong, the space station saw its first spacewalk just days after its launch.

Second spacewalk is successful

The second spacewalk was performed by astronauts Liu Boming and Nie Haisheng, and details of the spacewalk were made public by the China Manned Space Agency, via Space.com. They exited the space outpost at 10:12 am Beijing time, and spent around four hours installing equipment. They moved equipment using the robotic arm and also installed a backup part of the air conditioning system.

China is preparing to mark its presence in space with a big push. With the launch of the new space station, it will soon start sending unscrewed missions to deliver cargo to the space station. As per a report by the Guardian, China will launch an uncrewed Tianzhou 3 cargo with the help of Long March 7 rocket carrying supplies in advance for the arrival of another crew. 

China’s space ambitions going strong

The cargo ship will be sent just days after the crew launch, in a similar manner to how the first launch was performed. The launch of the new crew is expected to happen in October, with astronauts performing a six-month mission on the outpost.

Recently, China’s Zhurong rover that was built for a three-month mission has outlived its expected life. The rover has finished all the tasks it was expected to perform. The rover has traveled around 900 meters on Mars, extracting data, clicking images, and leaving wheel tracks as it passes a region. The rover might not be functional between mid-September and late October due to an expected communications disruption. The disruption happens frequently as the Sun gets in between Earth and Mars. The rover will get back to basics after that.