Chinas Shenzhou 20 Astronauts Head Home To Earth After Space
Chinas Shenzhou 20 Astronauts Head Home To Earth After Space
The three astronauts of China’s Shenzhou 20 mission are coming home a bit late — and in a different spacecraft than the one they rode up in.
TheShenzhou 20 triowere supposed to leave China’sTiangongspace station on Nov. 5. But thedeparture was postponedafter their Shenzhou 20 spacecraft absorbed an impact, apparently from a small piece ofspace debris.
“The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft does not meet the requirements for the astronauts’ safe return and will remain in orbit to continue relevant experiments,” the state-run Xinhua news outletreported on Thursdayciting information from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
“Tiny cracks have been found in the return capsule’s viewport window, which are most probably caused by external impact from space debris, according to the CMSA,” Xinhua added.
Provided all goes according to plan, the three Shenzhou 20 taikonauts — commander Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie — will make a parachute-aided touchdown in the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region early on Friday morning (Nov. 14).
The Shenzhou 20 astronauts launched to Tiangongon April 24. Their mission is the third spaceflight for Dong and the first for both Zhongrui and Jie. The trio conducted a variety of scientific experiments and outreach activities during their time on the station. They also completed fourspacewalksinstalling (appropriately enough) debris shields and other equipment on Tiangong’s exterior.
The three-astronaut Shenzhou 21 missionlaunched to Tiangong on Oct. 31to relieve their predecessors and begin their own six-month stint aboard the orbiting outpost. But the newcomers’ vehicle ended up having an unexpectedly brief space stay, thanks to the debris strike on Shenzhou 20.
When the time comes, the Shenzhou 21 astronauts will apparently ride home on the Shenzhou 22 vehicle, which will launch (presumably uncrewed) “at an appropriate time in the future,” according toanother Xinhua report.
Shenzhou 20 was the ninth crewed mission to Tiangong, a three-module space station that was fully assembled by October 2022. Tiangong is about 20% as massive as theInternational Space Stationbut it may get bigger; Chinese space officials have mentioned the possibility of adding modules to the outpost.
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Author:[email protected] (Mike Wall)
Published on:2025-11-14 10:27:00
Source: www.space.com
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
Author: uaetodaynews
Published on: 2025-11-14 09:49:00
Source: uaetodaynews.com
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