Three astronauts are stranded in space after their return capsule was struck by ‘orbital debris’, it has been reported.

Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui and Chen Dong, who were part of the Shenzhou-20 space mission, flew to the Tiangong space station in April.

They were expected to return yesterday after a six-month mission, and the Shenzhou-21 crew, who were sent to replace them, had already arrived on the weekend.

The China Manned Space Agency said: ‘The Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft is suspected to have been struck by a small piece of orbital debris, and assessment of the impact and associated risks is currently underway.

‘To ensure the health and safety of the astronauts and the successful completion of the mission, it has been decided that the originally planned return of Shenzhou-20 on No

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