3 astronauts defy space peril aboard debris-damaged craft

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday, state TV footage showed, after a delay caused by their spacecraft being struck by debris in orbit.

The Tiangong space station, the crown jewel of China’s space program, is crewed by teams of three astronauts who are exchanged every six months.

The return of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft and crew was planned for 5 November, after the Shenzhou-21 mission arrived to relieve them.

However, because of a debris strike, their return was delayed.

Alternative plans were made for the three astronauts to come back aboard the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft instead, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.

The landing vessel successfully separated from the space station at 11:14 a.m. (0314 GMT) on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

More than five hours later, at around 4:40 p.m., it touched down with its parachute deployed in the northern Inner Mongolia region, live pictures on CCTV showed.

The astronauts — Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie — were all “in good condition” following a “successful” touchdown on Earth, CCTV said.

Receiving the astronauts in the vast, barren landscape were teams driving large vehicles, seen on state TV rushing to the expected landing site.

Two large Chinese flags planted on either side of the landed vessel billowed in the wind beneath a cloudless afternoon sky, while preparations were made for the astronauts to emerge, the footage showed.

‘Space dream’

Beijing’s space program is the third to put humans in orbit, after the United States and the former Soviet Union.

China has ramped up plans to achieve its “space dream” under President Xi Jinping, successfully landing its Chang’e-4 probe on the far side of the Moon in 2019, the first spacecraft to do so.

It then landed a small robot on Mars in 2021.

The damaged Shenzhou-20 spacecraft will remain in orbit “to conduct relevant experiments,” according to an earlier report by CCTV.

Its window glass developed a minor crack, believed to be from the debris strike.

Last month, CMSA outlined a series of “crucial upcoming tests” it was undertaking in preparation for its 2030 Moon goal.

In addition to advancing scientific research, the Shenzhou-21 crew is expected to go on spacewalks and install anti-debris shields on Tiangong’s exterior.