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By Matthew Robinson
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Three Chinese astronauts are currently stranded in space after their spacecraft was used to return another group to Earth.
The three astronauts are currently taking part in a six-month mission called Shenzhou-21 on board China's Tiangong space station.
But their spacecraft was used on Friday to return the previous crew, taking part in the Shenzhou-20 mission, after their own capsule was damaged by suspected space debris, delaying their return by more than a week.
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China's Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said that the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft, the crew's expected return option, "will be launched at an appropriate time in the future," without specifying an exact date, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Newsweek contacted the CMSA for comment by email.
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Why It Matters
The three astronauts are currently on board the Chinese space station without a spacecraft in case of an emergency.
The damage to the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft raises concerns regarding safety of crew members and vulnerability of spacecraft to space debris.
In 2021, NASA astronauts were forced to delay a spacewalk due to a space debris alert for increased risk following a Russian anti-satellite test.
What To Know
Members of the Shenzhou-20 crew were scheduled to return to Earth on November 5 after a six-month rotation, four days after a new crew arrived at the Tiangong space station, according to The Associated Press.
However, their return was delayed by nine days after a window in the Shenzhou-20 capsule suffered tiny cracks, likely from space debris.
Rather than using the damaged Shenzhou-20 craft, the astronauts returned on board the Shenzhou-21 capsule, which had just brought their replacement crew to the station. The change left the Tiangong's new crew without a dedicated return vehicle.
The Shenzhou-20 crew landed in a remote area of China's Gobi Desert on Friday around five-and-a-half hours after departing the space station, the AP reported.
The astronauts remained in space for a total of 204 days, the longest-ever stay for astronauts at China's space station.
Four mice also returned with the astronauts after they were transported to the space station on board the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft around two weeks ago.
The mice were transported to Tiangong to study how weightlessness and confinement would affect them, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
What People Are Saying
Chen Dong, the Shenzhou-20 commander, said after returning to Earth on Friday, according to AP: "The path of human space exploration is not smooth.
"It’s filled with difficulties and challenges. But that is exactly why we choose to walk this path."
The CMSA said, according to Xinhua: "The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft does not meet the requirements for the astronauts' safe return and will remain in orbit to continue relevant experiments."
What Happens Next
The CMSA has said that a new Shenzhou-22 spacecraft will be launched to the Tiangong space station, but an exact date remains unknown.
It remains unclear whether the damage to the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft will have an ongoing impact on the timing of future missions.
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