Astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie at a news conference ahead of their Shenzhou-20 mission at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu, China, on April 23, 2025. China Daily/Reuters

Three Chinese astronauts will return to Earth on Friday, more than a week later than their scheduled landing, capping an extended stay in space after fears their spaceship was hit by debris.

The crew of the Shenzhou-20 spaceflight had been due to finish their mission at China’s Tiangong space station last Wednesday; they’d even handed the keys to the space station to a new crew who had just arrived for their own six-month mission.

But instead, their journey home was postponed “due to a suspected impact from tiny space debris” to their ship, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.

After a

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