The Shenzhou-19 crew members on board China's Tiangong space station will conduct their third extravehicular activities (EVAs) within the next few days, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Thursday.
Since completing their second spacewalk this year, the crew members have undertaken a series of tasks, including training for rendezvous and docking, conducting system-wide pressure emergency drills, and performing experiments and tests in the fields of space life sciences and human research, microgravity physics, and new space technologies.
The space station is operating smoothly, and the three crew members, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong, and Wang Haoze, have also made comprehensive preparations for the third EVAs, according to the CMSA.
The Shenzhou-19 astronauts entered the orbiting space station for a six-month spaceflight on Oct 30 last year.
On Dec 17 last year, the Shenzhou-19 crew members conducted their first series of EVAs, which lasted nine hours, setting a world record for the duration of such single operation.
During the mission, the three astronauts worked closely together with the support of the space station's robotic arm and ground researchers. They completed tasks such as the installation of space debris protection devices on the space station, inspection and disposal of extravehicular equipment and facilities.
This mission marks the first time in two years that astronaut Cai Xuzhe has walked in space again, and Song Lingdong has become China's first astronaut born in the 1990s to conduct an extravehicular activity.
The crew successfully completed their second series of EVAs from Jan 20 to Jan 21 this year. During the 8.5-hour mission, Cai and Song worked outside the space station while Wang provided assistance in the space station's core module Tianhe.
Shenzhou-19 crew set for third extravehicular activities
Ahead of the United Nations' World Water Day on Saturday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held the inaugural World Day for Glaciers from Thursday to Friday, as part of the efforts to build a platform for dialogue and action concerning the state of the world's glaciers and their impacts on global water security, communities, and ecosystems.
The rapid melting of glaciers has profound consequences for both humanity and the planet. The loss of the ice-flows causes sea levels to rise, and also affects water supplies for agriculture, hydropower and human settlements.
Over the course of two days, UNESCO convened scientists and policymakers for discussions and events centered on "Glaciers' Preservation," the theme of this year's World Water Day.
"It will be largely these extreme events, the climate changes, that are going to force us to finally wake up," said Lonnie Thompson, a renowned professor of earth science professor, who has dedicated three decades to researching ice cores, exploring ice sheets, and observing glacial retreat.
"They (glaciers) have no political agenda. They cannot be lobbied, [by] special interest groups, it doesn't matter. They just sum up temperature, precipitation, humidity, cloudiness, radiation, and they respond. And they're all responding in one direction in today's world. And they're retreating," said Thompson.
The high-level gathering coincides with the launch of the 2025 World Water Development Report by the UNESCO, themed "High Mountains and Glaciers", which warns of an "imminent peril" facing many of the world's glaciers.
The UNESCO report highlights that the retreat of glaciers poses a significant threat to the food and water security of approximately two billion people globally.
"There's only one way and we have to reduce our carbon emissions to the atmosphere, the greenhouse gases. They have to be lowered, or we will lose all of our mountain glaciers and eventually the polar glaciers," said the expert.
China has been one of the key nations in developing local strategies to adapt to shrinking glaciers. It confronts critically endangered glaciers, such as Dagu Glacier in southwestern Sichuan Province.
Ice sheets are critical to life, as their meltwater is essential for drinking water, agriculture, industry, clean-energy production and healthy ecosystems.
But a warming world is causing glaciers to disappear. It is hoped that events like this can catalyze actions to mitigate the adverse impacts of glacier loss.
UNESCO observes World Day for Glaciers, urging global action on conservation
