China’s Tiangong space station just got some more protection against debris strikes.
Two astronauts from the three-person Shenzhou 20 mission installed additional shielding on Tiangong during a six-hour spacewalk on Friday (Sept. 26), according to the state-run broadcaster CCTV.
It was the fourth spacewalk of the Shenzhou 20 mission, which arrived at Tiangong on April 24.
Beefing up Tiangong’s debris shield is apparently a Shenzhou 20 priority; similar work was done during extravehicular activities (EVAs) on both May 22 and Aug. 15.
Taikonauts Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie ventured outside Tiangong during Friday’s EVA, while fellow crewmate Chen Dong remained inside the T-shaped, three-module station, according to CCTV.
The two spacewalkers accomplished all of their prescribed tasks, which included “the installation of debris protection devices and the inspection and maintenance of external equipment,” CCTV wrote in a description of the activities.
Tiangong is about 20% as massive as the International Space Station, but that may change: Chinese officials have said that they’re considering adding more modules to the outpost.
Shenzhou 20 is the ninth crewed mission to Tiangong. Its three taikonauts are in the home stretch of their space stay; crewed flights to the orbiting outpost last about six months.