Chinese astronauts stuck in space, replacement ship scheduled

Three Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station are currently stranded and unable to return safely to Earth.

According to ScienceAlert, the Shenzhou 21 crew — Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang — were trapped after their return vehicle sustained damage from space debris in early November.

The porthole glass cracked, prompting the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) to prepare a replacement spacecraft, scheduled for launch on November 25.

Experts have raised concerns about the potential risks to the crew while awaiting the new vehicle. This incident marks the second time in the past two years that astronauts have been stranded in orbit. In March of this year, a NASA mission initially planned for eight days had to be extended to nine months due to issues with the return spacecraft.

The growing amount of space debris is increasing the likelihood of collisions, posing a greater danger to orbital missions. The full extent of the damage to the Chinese spacecraft is still unknown, and the global community is closely monitoring the situation for the astronauts’ safe return.

Jan Osburg, senior engineer at the RAND Corporation’s engineering and applied sciences department, told Space.com that such incidents are “a massive wake-up call.” She described the situation as “certainly a bad situation” and expressed hope that the astronauts would return safely soon.

In recent years, collisions with debris have become more frequent. In 2021, the International Space Station (ISS) was struck, damaging part of its robotic arm. On several occasions, the ISS has had to manoeuvre to avoid flying space junk, highlighting the growing hazards of Earth’s increasingly cluttered orbit.

By Tamilla Hasanova