Overview
- China’s human spaceflight agency said analyses and a formal risk assessment are underway, and the return is postponed until further notice.
- The Shenzhou 20 astronauts—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie—remain aboard the Tiangong space station.
- A replacement trio on Shenzhou 21—Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang—has already reached the station for the crew handover.
- The planned landing in the Gobi Desert on Wednesday was scrubbed following the suspected debris contact with the reentry capsule.
- Some outlets report a visible impact mark on the capsule, which has not been independently verified, and officials have not announced a new date; ESA estimates more than one million orbiting debris pieces larger than one centimeter.