The crew of China’s Shenzhou-20 mission successfully landed at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia. After spending more than six months in low Earth orbit aboard the Tiangong space station, all three astronauts returned safely. Commander Chen Dong, along with Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, have exited the descent module and appeared in good condition following the parachute-assisted landing.
According to the original schedule, the crew was set to depart the station on November 5, but the flight was postponed. The delay was caused by a detected impact, likely from a small piece of space debris, which could have damaged the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft. It was only on the night of November 14 that the crew was finally able to leave Tiangong, but not aboard the same vehicle they used to reach the station. The astronauts had to return in the spacecraft used by the Shenzhou-21 crew, leaving their own module “parked” at Tiangong.
According to the China Manned Space Agency, Tiangong-20 no longer meets the safety requirements for crewed return and will remain in orbit for further experiments. The agency also reported that small cracks were detected in the viewing window of the descent module, most likely caused by impacts from space debris.
The Shenzhou-20 astronauts launched on April 24. For Chen Dong, this was his third spaceflight, while Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie were on their first mission. During their expedition, the crew conducted a series of scientific experiments and key projects, and completed four spacewalks to install additional debris shields and new equipment on the exterior of the station.
A new crew arrived at the station on October 31 to replace their predecessors and begin their own six-month mission. However, their spacecraft remained in orbit for much less time than expected. According to Chinese media, when the Shenzhou-21 mission concludes, the crew will return to Earth aboard Shenzhou-22, which will be launched “at an appropriate time in the future” and is expected to fly uncrewed.
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Source: space
