Shenzhou-13 spaceship astronauts conduct 2nd spacewalk to build Tiangong space station

Two crew members of China's Shenzhou-13 spaceship have entered open space for the second time to carry out works for the construction of the Tiangong space station.

Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman to walk in space outside the Tiangong space station. (AFP)

This screen grab made from video released by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV shows Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping stepping outside China's Tiangong space station in orbit around Earth on November 7, 2021. (AFP)

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This screen grab made from video released by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV shows Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping stepping outside China's Tiangong space station in orbit around Earth on November 7, 2021. (AFP)

Their Shenzhou-13 mission is China's longest since it first put a human in space in 2003, becoming only the third country to do so after Russia and the U.S.

The three are the second crew on the permanent station, which upon completion will weigh about 66 tons, much smaller than the International Space Station, which launched its first module in 1998 and weighs around 450 tons.

Along with installing equipment in preparation for the station's expansion, the crew is assessing living conditions in the Tianhe module and conducting experiments in space medicine and other areas.

China's space program was barred from the International Space Station, mainly due to U.S. concerns over its intimate military connections.

China has also pushed ahead with un-crewed missions, and its lunar exploration program generated media buzz this week when its Yutu 2 rover sent back pictures of what was described by some as a “mystery hut, but was most likely only a rock of some sort.

The rover is the first to be placed on the little-explored far side of the moon, while China's Chang'e 5 probe returned lunar rocks to Earth for the first time since the 1970s last December. A Chinese rover, meanwhile, is searching for evidence of life on Mars.

The program has also drawn controversy. In October, China's Foreign Ministry brushed-off a report that China had tested a hypersonic missile two months earlier, saying it had merely tested whether a new spacecraft could be reused.

China is also reportedly developing a highly secretive space plan