On Saturday, astronauts aboard China’s Tiangong space station conducted the facility’s second spacewalk, engaging in an eight-hour mission focused on completing repairs to damaged solar panels.

Astronauts Tang Hongbo and Jiang Xinlin ventured outside the station, utilizing a robotic arm positioned on the facility’s exterior to address issues with the panels on the Tianhe core module, as reported by the China Manned Space Agency.

Tang Shengjie, the third member of the Shenzhou 17 crew, remained inside the station, collaborating with Earth-based scientists to oversee the control of the robotic arm, the South China Morning Post reported.

Following the successful completion of their tasks, astronauts Tang Hongbo and Jiang safely returned to the Wentian experimental lab module.

In addition to the solar panel repairs, the astronauts conducted inspections of the station’s surface during the repair mission.

Written by B.C. Begley