CHINESE ASTRONAUTS BREAKS SPACEWALK RECORD

Two astronauts have given the China Manned Space Agency massive bragging rights.

On Tuesday, Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong completed a nine-hour spacewalk. The previous record was held by the two American astronauts.

In 2001, James Voss and Susan Helms set the previous record after they walked consecutively for eight hours and 56 minutes.

Xuzhe and Lingdon were crew members of the Shenzhou-19 spaceflight.

Over recent years, the Chinese government has thrown billions of dollars towards their space initiative.

CNN reports that China has mounted a significant effort to establish itself as a major player in space, a domain that nations, including the United States, are increasingly looking to not only for scientific benefit but also with an eye to resources and national security.

China’s National Space Administration has recently carried out several increasingly complex robotic lunar missions. This included the first-ever return of lunar samples from the far side of the moon earlier this year.

CNN also reports that China has been angling to become the second country, after the US, to land on the moon, and has unveiled a specifically designed spacesuit for the mission, set to take place by 2030.

Image credit: YouTube