China joins spacewalk club: Here's everything you need to know about the cosmic adventure
On July 4, two Chinese astronauts made the country’s first spacewalk in thirteen years. They are the newest entrants to the club of ‘spacewalkers’ dominated by American and Russian astronauts. Here’s everything you should know about spacewalks.
Any time an astronaut gets out of a vehicle while in space, it is called a spacewalk. A spacewalk is also called an EVA or extravehicular activity. (Image: News18 Creative)
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The first spacewalk lasted 10 minutes; it was taken by Russian astronaut Alexei Leonov on March 18, 1965. (Image: News18 Creative)
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Astronauts go on spacewalks for many reasons. Here are some… (Image: News18 Creative)
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When astronauts go on spacewalks, they wear spacesuits to keep themselves safe. (Image: News18 Creative)
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Astronauts put on their spacesuits several hours before a spacewalk. (Image: News18 Creative)
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When on a spacewalk, astronauts use safety tethers to stay close to their spacecraft. The safety tethers keep astronauts from floating away into space. (Image: News18 Creative)
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SAFER (Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue) also keeps astronauts safe. It is worn like a backpack and uses small jet thrusters to let an astronaut move around in space. If an astronaut were to become untethered and float away, SAFER would help them fly back to the spacecraft. (Image: News18 Creative)
