China's taikonauts are on a roll! 🌟 The Shenzhou-18 crew just wrapped up their second spacewalk of about 6.5 hours, marking the 16th epic extravehicular adventure by Chinese astronauts aboard the China Space Station (CSS) in the last three years.
Li Cong, one of the Shenzhou-18 taikonauts, made headlines (and some stellar selfies!) as he ventured into space for his first-ever spacewalk. Dressed in a sleek white spacesuit, Li floated against the breathtaking backdrop of our blue planet, giving us serious interstellar vibes. 🌌
Even though spacewalks are becoming routine for the CSS crew, each one feels like a new chapter in a sci-fi saga. It's like watching our own real-life Guardians of the Galaxy! 🚀
Fun fact: Since the CSS began its application and development phase, 17 taikonauts have taken the leap into space. Talk about a dream team! 💫
Breaking Records and Making History
Let's take a quick trip down memory lane:
- Shenzhou-12 (2021): Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo conducted the first CSS spacewalk, lasting about seven hours. Before this, China's only other spacewalk was during Shenzhou-7 back in 2008.
- Shenzhou-13 (2021-2022): Wang Yaping became China's first female spacewalker, inspiring millions of young girls to shoot for the stars. ✨
- Shenzhou-14 (2022): Dubbed the \"busiest space crew,\" they completed three spacewalks, with the shortest gap between EVAs at just 16 days. Talk about hustle! 🏃♂️
- Shenzhou-15 (2022-2023): This trio set a new record with four spacewalks in six months, showing us the sky isn't the limit—it’s just the beginning! 🌠
With each mission, China's space explorers are pushing boundaries and setting new milestones. Who knows what cosmic achievements await us next? Maybe we'll soon see taikonauts dancing on the moon or even Mars! 🌕
Stay tuned, space fans, because the universe is just getting started. And remember, as Buzz Lightyear says, \"To infinity and beyond!\" 🚀
Reference(s):
China Space Station sets milestones with 16 record-breaking spacewalks
cgtn.com
