Three Chinese astronauts, stranded at their country’s space station after their spacecraft was likely hit by space debris, have begun their journey back to Earth aboard the spacecraft that had brought a replacement crew, China’s space agency reported on Friday. Chinese astronauts return from space station
The astronauts—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie—were originally scheduled to return on November 5, four days after the new crew arrived, but their return was delayed for more than a week due to minor damage to the window of the Shenzhou-20 return capsule, most likely caused by space debris.
The three astronauts will now be returning aboard the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft, which had previously docked with the space station to deliver a new crew. The capsule is expected to land later the same day in the remote Inner Mongolia region in northwest China.
China’s Manned Space Engineering Office explained that millions of pieces of debris, which move at speeds faster than bullets, circulate Earth and pose significant risks to spacecraft, satellites, and space stations. This debris can result from past space missions, including rocket launches and orbital collisions.
Despite the delay, the astronauts have remained in good condition throughout their extended stay. The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, the one originally intended to bring the crew back, will remain in orbit, although it’s unclear how this change will affect future missions, which are typically scheduled six months apart.
China’s space program has made significant strides since its first manned spaceflight in 2003. The nation has built its own space station and is aiming to land a person on the moon by 2030. The Shenzhou-21 mission, part of this ongoing program, also delivered four mice to the station for a study on the effects of weightlessness and confinement in space.
With the return of the astronauts safely underway, China’s space agency continues its commitment to expanding its capabilities in space exploration.
