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A set of Chinese astronauts will have to wait a bit longer for their return from space. According to CNN, the mission to return Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie to Earth from China's Tiangong space station has been delayed indefinitely owing to potential debris damage to their Shenzhou-20 spaceship.
According to the publication, the country's National Space Administration announced on November 5 that "impact analysis and risk assessment are underway."
The three astronauts initially left China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in April for a six-month mission in orbit. Their successors arrived in Tiangong on October 31 for a transfer ceremony broadcast on state-owned CCTV.
"We are about to return to Earth," Chen Dong told CNN at that time, "and now I am handing over the hatch key that symbolizes the right to maintain operations on this Chinese space station to you."
The postponement comes seven months after NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore arrived on Earth after an extended stay aboard the International Space Station.
The two were intended to come home in June 2024 following an eight-day mission, but they instead spent nearly 300 days in space due to failures on their Boeing vehicle, including a helium leak that began not long after their launch.
"My first thought was, 'We've just got to pivot,"
