China’s astronauts make spacewalk to upgrade robotic arm

Chinese astronauts edged into space on Aug. 19 to add the finishing touches to a robotic arm on the Tiangong space station.

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The foray, the second spacewalk in two months and relayed on state television, is part of China's heavily promoted space programme which has already seen the nation land a rover on Mars and send probes to the moon.

In June, three crew arrived at the station, where they are set to remain in space for a total of three months in China's longest crewed mission to date.

On Friday, astronauts Nie Haisheng and Liu Boming successfully exited the Tianhe core module to install foot stops and a workbench on the station's robotic arm, said the China Manned Space Agency in a statement.

Video footage showed the astronauts working outside the spacecraft while tethered to it with a long rope.

Their tasks also include working on a thermal unit and adjusting a panoramic camera, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

This marks only the third spacewalk for Chinese astronauts, after the first in 2008 - when Zhai Zhigang made China the third country to complete a spacewalk after the Soviet Union and the United States.

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The second took place in early July, when Liu and the third crew member Tang Hongbo left the station.

It is China's first crewed mission in nearly five years and a matter of huge prestige as the country marks the 100th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party.