Trio of Chinese astronauts stranded in space after their shuttle was used to rescue another group

Three Chinese astronauts are stuck in space after their shuttle was used to cart another group back to Earth , leaving them in the dust.

Astronauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, all with the Shenzhou-21 mission, are marooned at China’s Tiangong space station until another shuttle is available to pick them up.

The only problem is that the China Manned Space Agency has only vaguely confirmed that the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft, the crew’s likely only viable way back home, would be launched at “an appropriate time in the future.”

The trio arrived at the Tiangong space station on Oct. 31 and were set to take over for the station’s incumbent Shenzhou-20 crew, which was made up of astronauts Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui and Chen Dong, Space.com reported.

Each Shenzhou crew completes a six