Three Chinese astronauts who were set to return home after six months in space will have to wait a bit longer, after their spacecraft was possibly hit by space junk.
The astronauts—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie—were meant to land in northern China on Wednesday, but their return has been delayed.
The spacecraft, called Shenzhou-20, may have been struck by tiny pieces of debris orbiting Earth. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) is now checking the ship carefully to make sure it’s safe to bring the crew back.
The astronauts had been living and working aboard the Tiangong Space Station, carrying out tasks such as maintenance and repairs. They were part of the Shenzhou space programme, which regularly sends groups of three astronauts to the station for six-month missions.
Although the delay is not expected to be long, a new return date has not yet been announced. Meanwhile, a new crew arrived at the station last week on the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft to begin their own mission.
This isn’t the first time astronauts have had to wait in space longer than planned. Earlier this year, two American astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, were stuck in space for nine months due to issues with their return spacecraft.
Space debris is becoming a growing problem for missions, as even very small pieces can cause damage when moving at high speeds.
