Wang Yaping facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wang Yaping
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| Born | January 1980 (age 45) |
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| Status | Active | ||||||||
| Alma mater | Changchun Flight College | ||||||||
| Space career | |||||||||
| PLAAC Taikonaut | |||||||||
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Previous occupation
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Military transport pilot, PLAAF | ||||||||
| Rank | Senior Colonel, PLASSF | ||||||||
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Time in space
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197 days and 1 minute | ||||||||
| Selection | Chinese Group 2 | ||||||||
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Total EVAs
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1 | ||||||||
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Total EVA time
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6 hours, 25 minutes | ||||||||
| Missions | Shenzhou 10, Shenzhou 13 | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 王亞平 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 王亚平 | ||||||||
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Wang Yaping (Chinese: 王亚平; pinyin: Wáng Yàpíng) is a brave Chinese pilot and astronaut, also known as a taikonaut. She was born in January 1980. Wang Yaping made history as the second Chinese woman to travel to space. She was also the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk.
In April 2022, she set a new record for Chinese female astronauts. She spent a total of 197 days in space.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Wang Yaping grew up in Yantai, a city in Shandong province, China. Her parents were farmers. She has two sisters.
She started junior high school in Yantai in September 1991. Later, she attended Yantai Yizhong High School, graduating in 1997. After high school, she was accepted into the Changchun Flight College. This college is part of the People's Liberation Army Air Force.
Air Force Career
Wang Yaping joined the Chinese Air Force in August 1997. She was part of the seventh group of female military pilots in China. There were 37 women in her group. She graduated from flight school in 2001.
As a pilot, she flew military transport aircraft in Wuhan. She took part in many important missions. These included training exercises and helping with the Wenchuan Earthquake relief effort. She also helped with weather control for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. This involved making clouds disappear to reduce rain. Wang Yaping flew safely for 1600 hours. This earned her the title of Air Force Class II pilot. In May 2010, she officially became China's second female astronaut. At that time, she was a captain in the Air Force.
Spaceflight Adventures
Wang Yaping was considered for the Shenzhou 9 space mission in 2012. However, Liu Yang was chosen instead. Liu Yang became the first Chinese woman to travel to space. Wang Yaping was a backup crew member for that mission.
Shenzhou 10 Mission
Wang Yaping became the second Chinese woman in space on the Shenzhou 10 mission. This mission orbited Earth in June 2013. The spaceship also docked with the Tiangong-1 orbiting space station. People called her the "Goddess II." She was the first crew member announced for this mission.
On June 16, 2013, Wang Yaping was one of two women in space. This was the 50th anniversary of Vostok 6. Vostok 6 was the first spaceflight by a woman, Valentina Tereshkova. The other woman in space that day was Karen Nyberg, an American astronaut. Karen Nyberg was aboard the International Space Station.
While on Tiangong-1, Wang Yaping did science experiments. She also taught a physics lesson to Chinese students. This lesson was broadcast live on television. By 2018, she was an Air Force Colonel. She had trained to fly four different types of aircraft.
In March 2018, Wang was chosen to be a deputy in the National People's Congress. This is an important government role.
Shenzhou 13 Mission
In October 2021, it was announced that Wang Yaping would fly on Shenzhou 13. This was her second trip to space. She was one of three crew members going to the Tiangong space station. This mission marked the first time a Chinese woman traveled to space twice. She was also the first female astronaut to board the Tiangong space station. Most importantly, she was the first Chinese woman to perform a spacewalk. This mission was China's longest crewed space mission.
On October 15, 2021, the three Shenzhou 13 crew members arrived at the Tianhe core module of the space station. This was just hours after their launch. On November 7, the China Manned Space Agency announced a spacewalk was happening. Astronauts Zhai Zhigang and Wang Yaping were performing it. Wang Yaping became China's first female spacewalker.
The spacewalk started at 6:21 p.m. Wang exited the Tianhe Core Module at 8:28 p.m. Zhai and Wang finished their spacewalk and returned to Tianhe by 1:16 a.m. on November 8. The entire operation lasted 6 hours and 25 minutes. Wang wore a new spacesuit during the spacewalk. This suit was delivered to the station by the Tianzhou 3 cargo ship in September. Chinese state media reported that this suit was made to fit her shorter height.
Personal Life
Wang Yaping is married to Zhao Peng, who is also a pilot in the Chinese Air Force. They have one daughter. Wang Yaping is currently studying for a special degree in psychology at Peking University.
See also
In Spanish: Wang Yaping para niños
- List of Chinese astronauts
- Chinese space programme
- Women in space
- List of female astronauts
- Chinese women in space
- Liu Yang (first Chinese woman in space)
