Chinese Astronauts Return Home After Spacecraft Debris Incident

Beijing, Nov 14 (AP) Three Chinese astronauts, who were stranded at their nation's space station due to their spacecraft being seemingly struck by space debris, set off for home on Friday. This was made possible by using the craft that had delivered a replacement crew, according to China's space agency.

Their capsule is expected to touch down in a remote section of the Inner Mongolia region in northwest China later on the same day. The astronauts had been on a scheduled six-month rotation at the space station and were initially planned to return on November 5, a few days after the new crew's arrival.

However, their return was postponed for over a week. The Manned Space Engineering Office in China explained that minor cracks had appeared in a window of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, likely caused by the impact of space debris.

There are millions of fragments of mostly tiny debris orbiting the Earth at velocities surpassing that of a bullet. Originating from space launches and collisions, they pose a danger to satellites, space stations, and astronauts involved in extravehicular activities.

The three Chinese astronauts — Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie — are returning aboard the Shenzhou-21 craft, as confirmed by the Manned Space Engineering Office.

The Shenzhou-20 is set to remain in orbit. It is yet to be revealed whether switching spacecraft will impact the timing of future space station missions, which are typically scheduled at six-month intervals. The engineering office confirmed the upcoming launch of Shenzhou-22 but did not disclose its timing.

The returning crew journeyed to the Tiangong space station in April and is "in good condition, working and living normally," stated the office earlier this week.

Since 2003, China's space program has achieved steady progress. It has established its own space station with an ambitious goal of landing a man on the moon by 2030.

The Shenzhou-21 mission also transported four mice to the space station to examine the effects of weightlessness and confinement on them. (AP) RD RD