Chinese astronauts' return to Earth delayed after spacecraft possibly hit by small debris
Published: 05 Nov. 2025, 14:36
Updated: 05 Nov. 2025, 14:39
![Chinese astronauts Zhang Lu, front, Wu Fei, middle, and Zhang Hongzhang attend a send-off ceremony at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Oct. 31. [XINHUA/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/05/2dee7a75-23f3-4bb5-bcb8-415684fee569.jpg)
Chinese astronauts Zhang Lu, front, Wu Fei, middle, and Zhang Hongzhang attend a send-off ceremony at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Oct. 31. [XINHUA/YONHAP]
A group of Chinese astronauts faces a delayed return to Earth, as their spacecraft is believed to have been struck by a small piece of debris.
Their return, originally scheduled for Wednesday, will be pushed back to an unspecified date, according to state broadcaster CCTV, which offered no further details.
The Shenzhou-20 mission consists of three astronauts: team leader Chen Dong, fighter pilot Chen Zhongrui and engineer Wang Jie. The team flew to the Tiangong space station in April for a six-month rotation.
Their replacements on the Shenzhou-21 mission successfully docked with the space station on Saturday.
China has made steady progress with its space program since 2003. It has built its own space station and aims to have a person land on the moon by 2030.
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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