A Chinese space crew finds itself stranded at the country’s space station after their return capsule was reportedly struck by tiny pieces of space debris, China’s spaceflight agency announced on Wednesday.
The three-member Shenzhou-20 team had been slated to come back to Earth on Wednesday, but their mission has been temporarily extended while engineers conduct impact analysis and risk assessments on the damaged spacecraft, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) confirmed in a statement.
Their return date has been postponed indefinitely, according to state broadcaster CCTV, which did not provide further specifics.
The crew’s return capsule is thought to have been impacted by minute fragments of space junk – a growing danger in low Earth orbit. The CMSA has not specified the extent of the damage or what repairs, if any, will be required. Should the spacecraft prove irreparable, protocol dictates the Shenzhou-20 crew will use the Shenzhou-21 team’s capsule for their journey back to Earth.
The agency regularly dispatches crews of three Chinese astronauts to and from the Tiangong space station for 6-month assignments, where they carry out various tasks, including scientific experiments and repairing debris-related damage.
The Shenzhou-20 astronauts—mission commander Chen Dong, fighter pilot Chen Zhongrui, and engineer Wang Jie—arrived at Tiangong in April for a 6-month rotation. They were nearing the conclusion of their mission when the incident occurred.
Their replacements, part of the Shenzhou-21 mission, successfully docked with the station on Saturday. That crew comprises astronauts Zhang Hongzhang, Wu Fei, and Zhang Lu.
Since launching its crewed spaceflight program in 2003, China has steadily expanded its capabilities—building its own space station and setting its sights on by 2030.
This report includes contributions from The Associated Press and Reuters.