According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, as of May 27, the Shenzhou-18 astronaut crew has been working and living in orbit for 32 days since successfully entering the space station complex on April 26.

At present, the Shenzhou-18 astronaut crew is in good condition, the space station complex is operating stably, and conditions are in place for extravehicular activities; the crew will carry out its first extravehicular activity at an appropriate time.

What preparations has the Shenzhou-18 crew made for the extravehicular activity?

What preparations do all three Shenzhou-18 astronauts need to make for this extravehicular mission? Let's take a look.

Before the Shenzhou-18 astronaut crew conducted its first extravehicular activity, they inspected and tested the extravehicular spacesuits. Extravehicular spacesuits play a vital role during astronauts' extravehicular activities. At present, there are three extravehicular spacesuits aboard the China Space Station, all of them second-generation "Feitian" spacesuits, which are used in rotation to support astronauts in carrying out extravehicular activities.

Although the astronauts have trained in the extravehicular suits countless times during ground training, because the weightless environment cannot be fully simulated on the ground, the astronauts will also carry out corresponding suit-donning training in orbit before formally executing the extravehicular mission. Each extravehicular spacesuit can support a single working session of 8 hours.

According to the mission arrangements for this extravehicular activity, the astronauts also set and confirmed the status of the extravehicular operation equipment and tools needed during the work process.

The China Space Station is currently in a configuration of three modules and two spacecraft. During extravehicular missions, the robotic arm can quickly transport astronauts to the work sites. Before executing an extravehicular mission, the astronauts will also confirm the status of the robotic arm and review and train in relevant operations in orbit in advance.

At the same time, the astronauts will also conduct concentrated study and rehearsal of the extravehicular activity manual to ensure that the entire extravehicular mission can proceed smoothly and in an orderly manner as planned.

Chinese astronauts have successfully completed 14 extravehicular activities

Since entering the space station phase, Chinese astronaut crews have so far successfully completed 14 astronaut extravehicular activities, carried out the installation of multiple extravehicular facilities and equipment, and verified the ability of astronauts to work in coordination with the large and small robotic arms as well as the functions and performance of extravehicular activity-related support equipment.

During this period, multiple "firsts" were achieved, leaving more Chinese "footprints" in the vastness of space.

On July 4, 2021, after about 7 hours of extravehicular activity, the Shenzhou-12 astronaut crew successfully completed the first extravehicular activity in China's space station phase. They completed tasks such as the assembly of extravehicular activity-related equipment and the raising of panoramic cameras, and for the first time verified the functions and performance of China's new-generation extravehicular spacesuits. A month later, on August 20, the Shenzhou-12 astronaut crew successfully completed its second extravehicular activity, carrying out work such as installing an extended pump set, raising panoramic cameras, and installing an extravehicular toolbox, further verifying the ability of astronauts to work in coordination with the robotic arm and the reliability and safety of extravehicular activity-related support equipment.

The Shenzhou-13 astronaut crew successfully completed two extravehicular activities on November 8 and December 27, 2021, carrying out operations including the installation of robotic arm suspension devices and adapters, the raising of the space station's extravehicular panoramic cameras, the installation of foot restraints at extravehicular work sites and related ergonomic verification, and verification of object transfer, and also completed tests of typical movements in space while wearing extravehicular spacesuits, accumulating experience for subsequent assembly and construction tasks.

The Shenzhou-14 astronaut crew successfully completed three extravehicular activities during its time in orbit. They were also the first astronaut crew to exit from the airlock cabin of the Wentian experiment module, conducted the first extravehicular rescue verification operation, and realized extravehicular walking across modules for the first time, verifying the ability of astronauts to work in coordination with the small robotic arm and the functions and performance of the Wentian experiment module's airlock cabin and extravehicular activity-related support equipment.

On April 15, 2023, the Shenzhou-15 astronaut crew set a new record for extravehicular activities by a single Chinese astronaut crew. During four extravehicular activities, the three Shenzhou-15 astronauts worked closely together both inside and outside the cabin, successively and successfully completing tasks such as the installation of an extravehicular extended pump set, the installation and connection of cross-module cables, and the installation of support rods for the extravehicular payload exposure platform, laying the foundation for subsequent large-scale extravehicular scientific and technological experiments.

On July 20, 2023, the Shenzhou-16 astronaut crew successfully completed all scheduled tasks of its extravehicular activity, successively carrying out tasks such as the installation and raising of the in-orbit bracket for panoramic camera B on the core module and the unlocking and raising of panoramic cameras A and B on the Mengtian module. With this, the task of raising all eight cameras on the space station was fully completed.

The Shenzhou-17 astronaut crew completed China's first maintenance task on extravehicular facilities of an in-orbit spacecraft. Through two extravehicular activities on December 21, 2023 and March 2, 2024, they conducted inspections of the space station's hull condition and carried out maintenance work on the solar wings of the Tianhe core module, eliminating the effects of earlier impacts from tiny space particles. After evaluation and analysis, the solar wings' power generation performance was normal.