Shenzhou-21 Crew Completes Third Spacewalk; Zhang Lu Sets EVA Record with Seven Extravehicular Activities

Summary: At 01:36 on April 17, 2026, Shenzhou-21 taikonauts Zhang Lu and Wu Fei completed a ~5.5-hour spacewalk, installing space debris shields and conducting external equipment inspections. Zhang Lu has now performed seven EVAs, setting a new individual record for Chinese taikonauts. The crew's orbital stay will be extended by approximately one month.

Credit: Our Space / CNSA

Mission Details

The spacewalk was conducted by taikonauts Zhang Lu and Wu Fei, with Zhang Hongzhang providing support from the core module. Key tasks included:

• Debris shield installation: Installing space debris protection devices on critical module exteriors to enhance the station's resilience against micrometeoroid and orbital debris impacts
• External equipment inspection: Comprehensive checks of scientific payloads and structural components on the external exposure platform

Both taikonauts safely returned to the Wentian laboratory module. The spacewalk was declared a complete success.

Zhang Lu Sets Individual EVA Record

Zhang Lu has now accumulated seven extravehicular activities, surpassing the previous individual EVA record for Chinese taikonauts. This achievement underscores the extensive experience and exceptional proficiency of China's taikonaut corps in long-duration orbital operations.

Mission Extension Announced

Since completing their second spacewalk on March 16, the Shenzhou-21 crew has continued advancing experiments in space life sciences, human research, and microgravity physics, while conducting routine station maintenance, environmental monitoring, and emergency drills.

The three taikonauts have now been in orbit for over five months and remain in good condition. After thorough evaluation, mission planners have decided to extend the crew's orbital stay by approximately one month to further validate long-duration habitation technologies and maximize the utility of Shenzhou-22's emergency resupply capability. The crew will continue scientific experiments and celebrate China Space Day and International Workers' Day in orbit.

Sources

• Shenzhou-21 crew completes third spacewalk — Guancha
• Source: WeChat official account "China Manned Space"