Shenzhou XIII crew carries out emergency exercise

The Shenzhou XIII mission crew has carried out an emergency evacuation exercise recently, China Central Television reported on Sunday.

The three-member crew — Major General Zhai Zhigang, Senior Colonel Wang Yaping and Senior Colonel Ye Guangfu — practiced evacuating the Tiangong space station and returning to their Shenzhou XIII spacecraft in a scenario simulating the station losing its inner pressure after being hit by space debris.

The exercise took several minutes and was supported by ground controllers, the State broadcaster said. Wang Chunhui, deputy chief trainer of Chinese astronauts, told CCTV there is a set of well-planned procedures to analyze and handle emergencies such as pressure loss or fire.

The Shenzhou XIII mission was launched on Oct 16 by a Long March 2F carrier rocket at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China’s Gobi Desert and soon entered the Tianhe module, the first and central section of Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace.

They are scheduled to undertake a six-month journey inside the station, fulfilling the nation’s longest space mission.

They have moved living and work materials from the Tianzhou 2 and 3 cargo spaceships to the station’s core module, named Tianhe, or Harmony of Heavens, tested their extravehicular suits, and conducted training on robotic arm control and medical aids, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

The agency said on Friday the three crew members were in good condition and were ready for their first extravehicular activity, or spacewalk.

Their peers in the Shenzhou XII mission, which lasted three months and concluded in mid-September, performed two spacewalks.