Space debris may have hit a Chinese spacecraft, delaying return of Shenzhou 20 astronauts
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Newly arrived Shenzhou 19 and Shenzhou 20 astronauts pose for a photo on China’s Tiangong space station on April 24, 2025. | Credit: CCTV
Three Chinese astronauts will live in space a little longer, after their return vehicle was hit by a suspected space debris strike.
The astronauts are part of the Shenzhou 20 mission, launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on April 24 and arrived in Tiangong after a six-hour orbital chase.
THE Shenzhou 20 threesome — mission commander Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie — were to leave Tiangong today (November 5), but the suspected impact of a small piece of debris on their spacecraft canceled that departure, according to a online publishing of the China Human Spaceflight Agency (CMSA).
The Shenzhou 20 replacements, the three astronauts of the Shenzhou 21 mission, launched in Tiangong on October 31 to begin their own six-month rotation. The two crews will now both remain on board Tiangong while an impact analysis is completed on the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft.
The two crews held a change of command ceremony in the days leading up to Shenzhou 20’s scheduled departure, during which Dong handed over the keys to Tiangong’s new commander, Shenzhou 21 astronaut Zhang Lu.
The Shenzhou 20 astronauts have been very busy during their six-month rotation aboard Tiangong. For example, they completed four spacewalks for installing debris shields and other external equipment. But they also set aside time for fun, celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival this season, mark the occasion in the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a special meal.
Shenzhou 20 is Dong’s third trip to space and Zhongrui and Jie’s first. This is the ninth crewed mission launched by China to Tiangong, construction of which began in April 2021 with the launch of the Tianhe core module.
Once a new departure date is determined, Shenzhou 20 will land under a cover of parachutes at the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
