Lesson 3 of 5 · Working outside the cabin
Working outside the cabin
5 minute lesson · 3 checks along the way
Your goal for this lessonConnect a spacewalk to suits, pressure boundaries and teamwork.
In this lesson 3 sections · 3 checks
Using archive links & definitions
Follow a linked name to explore its archive card. “Back to your lesson” brings you to the same part of the reading.
Read & understand
A new operating environment
Shenzhou 7 carried out China’s first spacewalk in September 2008. Zhai Zhigang went outside with support from Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng. Moving from cabin air into vacuum introduced a different engineering problem from simply remaining inside a pressurized spacecraft.
Check 1 of 3
10 pointsUse the reading above. You can try again without losing points.
Read & understand
A suit becomes a small habitat
A spacewalking suit must sustain its wearer while allowing useful movement. The crew also needs a way to manage the pressure transition and a reliable route back inside. Each task has to fit the available time and supporting resources; reaching a handrail is only one part of completing an excursion.
Liu Boming in an Earth-based portrait. He supported the Shenzhou 7 spacewalk; this image does not show that operation. Display image resized and compressed.
Look closely
Who else matters when one astronaut is outside?
See what to notice
Inside crew and ground teams help manage the excursion and its return sequence.
Check 2 of 3
10 pointsUse the reading above. You can try again without losing points.
Read & understand
Evaluate the whole operation
Consider a fictional practice run in which the outside task is finished, but the return hatch cannot be closed. The excursion is incomplete. Training must include entry, checks and restoration of the cabin environment. A photograph of one astronaut should not erase the other crew members and ground specialists who make the operation possible.
Check 3 of 3
10 pointsUse the reading above. You can try again without losing points.
Put it together
Your lesson progress
Each check connects to a part of the story. Complete all 3 to earn your 25-point lesson bonus.
Explore further · Optional
Go to the source
Explore the evidence behind this lesson. These optional readings and videos open in a new tab.