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The three Chinese astronauts’ return to Earth has been delayed indefinitely following reports that their spacecraft was struck by a small fragment of space debris, as stated by Chinese state media.

The astronauts, who are part of the Shenzhou-20 mission, traveled to the Tiangong space station in April and were set to return on Wednesday after a six-month stay. The crew for Shenzhou-21 had already arrived earlier in the weekend.

“The Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft is believed to have been hit by a small fragment of space debris, with evaluations of the damage and related risks being conducted,” stated the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) in a release.

To guarantee the well-being of the astronauts and the achievement of the mission’s objectives, it has been determined that the scheduled return of Shenzhou-20 on November 5 will be delayed.

Authorities did not indicate the exact time the debris event took place. Earlier in the week, state media mentioned that both crews had eaten baked chicken made with the station’s first oven, brought by the Shenzhou-21 crew. On Tuesday, videos captured the two teams conducting a handover ceremony.

Yu Jun, a science educator who goes by the online name Steed’s Scarf, mentioned that if the spacecraft is considered too risky to bring back, officials might implement an alternative strategy.

“Shenzhou-22 and the Long March 2F (rocket) were already prepared. This is our rolling backup system. They are in ’emergency response’ mode and capable of safely retrieving our astronauts if necessary,” Yu said to his over five million followers on Weibo.

China has kept growing its human spaceflight initiative, having completed 37 missions and six manned flights up to now, and aiming to send astronauts to the moon by 2030.

The commander of the Shenzhou-20 mission, Chen Dong, has set China’s record for the most total time spent in space, exceeding 380 days, and has conducted the highest number of spacewalks, totaling six.

Chinese astronauts have not participated in the International Space Station, which is a collaboration involving the US, Russia, Europe, Canada, and Japan, because of a US law that prohibits NASA from working with China’s space program. Rather, China has stated that it is open to international collaboration on its Tiangong space station.

(The Guardian Uk)

FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE