Three Chinese Astronauts Shenzhou-20 Stranded In Space While Carrying Out Missions

Three Shenzhou-20 crews (photo: China Space Station)

JAKARTA - After the Shenzhou-20 crew managed to land and carry out a mission on China's Tiangong Space Station, three crew members of the Shenzhou-20 plane were reportedly stranded and could not return.

The crew, which contains Commander Chen Dong, Operator Chen Zhongrui, and Scientific Operator Wang Jie, were originally scheduled to return to earth on Wednesday, November 5, but their mission was extended after the plane was allegedly hit by debris.

In its official statement, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) stated that their return had been delayed indefinitely while conducting an impact analysis and risk assessment.

"To ensure the safety and health of astronauts as well as the success of the mission as a whole, it has been decided that Shenzhou-20's return mission, originally scheduled for November 5, will be postponed," CMSA wrote on its official website.

CMSA has not specified the extent of the damage or any repairs it will require. If the spacecraft cannot be repaired, the protocol states that the Shenzhou-20 crew will use the Shenzhou-21 team capsule to return to Earth.

The Shenzhou program is carried out regularly by sending three Chinese astronauts to and from the Tiangong space station for a mission of 6 months. During the mission, they will carry out tasks ranging from scientific experiments to repairing debris damage.

But unfortunately, the Shenzhou-20 crew who managed to land at the Tiangong Space Station in April, actually experienced problems at the end of his return.

Meanwhile, their successor, which is part of the Shenzhou-21 mission, managed to dock at the station on Saturday. Its crew consists of astronauts Zhang Hongzhang, Wu Fei, and Zhang Lu.