Overview
- The three astronauts—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie—touched down at the Dongfeng landing site after riding home in the Shenzhou-21 return module.
- China’s space agency said the Shenzhou-20 return capsule developed a minor crack in a window, most likely from a small piece of orbital debris.
- The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft undocked and landed on Nov. 14, leaving the current station crew temporarily without a dedicated lifeboat.
- CMSEO said Shenzhou-20 will remain in orbit for experiments, and an uncrewed Shenzhou-22 launch is planned to reestablish on-orbit escape capacity.
- The returning crew spent about 204 days in orbit, a new duration mark for Chinese astronauts, and were reported to be in good health after landing.