Published on Nov. 6, 2025, 8:22 PM
It’s unclear when the crew will be able to return home.
Three Chinese astronauts — Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui, and Chen Dong — of the Shenzhou-20 space mission remain in space after their return vessel collided with a piece of debris, Reuters reports.
In a statement, officials from the China Manned Spaced Agency (CMSA) said they are investigating but, as of the time of this writing, there is no indication of how badly the return capsule was damaged, or when the crew will be able to come home.
The trio has been living aboard China’s Tiangong space station since April 24, and they were originally scheduled touch down on Earth on Wednesday, November 5, after handing over the reins to the Shenzhou-21 crew, who arrived at the station on October 31.
The Shenzhou programme transports trios of astronauts to the Tiangong space station for six-month stays. During that time, they perform research and maintenance.
Protocols state that if the Shenzhou-20 vessel is unable to be repaired aboard the space station, Senzhou-21 will transport the ‘20’ crew back home. CMSA also has backup spacecraft that can be deployed in the event of an emergency.
There’s a lot of junk in pace
‘Space junk’ is a loose term used to define pieces of machinery or equipment left behind in space. It can refer to big objects — like dead satellites — or small pieces of debris.