For the first time, a Chinese woman goes on a spacewalk

Astronaut Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to do a spacewalk, which aimed to advance the construction of the Tiangong space station, Chinese authorities reported on Monday.

The 41-year-old pilot and army colonel is part of the Shenzhou-13 mission, launched in October.

Tiangong, which means “Heavenly Palace,” is the latest achievement in China’s effort to become a space power, after sending a rover to Mars and probes to the Moon.

The station’s central module entered orbit this year and should be operational by 2022.

Wang and his colleague Zhai Zhigang left the module Sunday night, waving at the camera as they arrived outside the station to install a suspension apparatus and transfer connectors.

“This marks the first extravehicular activity by the Shenzhou-13 crew and is also the first walk in Chinese space history involving a female astronaut,” the China Manned Space Agency said in a statement.

“The process was smooth and successful,” the agency added in the statement released Monday.

Tiangong will have to remain operational for at least 10 years, and Wang is the first woman to visit her.

The mission commander, Zhai, is a former fighter pilot who conducted the first Chinese spacewalk in 2008.

Sunday’s operation came weeks after Wang, Zhai and the third crewman, Ye Guangfu, took off from the Jiuquan launch center in northwest China’s Gobi Desert.

Ye, who remained inside the ship during the walk, is a pilot of the People’s Liberation Army.

The mission’s work involves installing test equipment and technology for future construction, and it will conduct at least one more spacewalk.

The team will have to spend six months at the station.

A previous team that visited Tiangong returned to Earth in September after three months at the station. (I)