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(Image credit: VCG/VCG through Getty Images)
3 Chinese astronauts have actually gone back to Earth after a believed piece of area scrap left them stranded on China’s Tiangong spaceport station, authorities have actually revealed.
Chen Dong, Wang Jie and Chen Zhongrui– the team of China’s Shenzhou-20 objective– left the spaceport station in a return pill and landed in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday (Nov. 14), Chinese state-run news firm Xinhua reported. The team invested 204 days in orbit, a brand-new record for a taikonaut (Chinese astronaut) team.
The taikonaut trio started their record-breaking remain at the Tiangong spaceport station– Mandarin for “heavenly palace” — in April. They were initially due to go back to Earth on Nov. 5 however were required to extend their time in area after their initial return pill was struck by an item, thought to be area particles, simply hours before it was because of leave.Previously today, agents from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) stated that engineers were carrying out tests on a backup pill to bring the stranded taikonauts home. The Shenzhou-20 team has actually now returned in the return pill of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship, which brought their replacement team to the spaceport station.
The Shenzhou-21 spaceship undocked from the Tiangong spaceport station on Friday at 11:14 a.m. Beijing time (10:14 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 13). The return pill consisting of the taikonauts separated from the Shenzhou-21’s orbital pill at 2:49 p.m. Beijing time (1:49 a.m. ET), before landing on Earth at 4:40 p.m. Beijing time (3:40 a.m. ET), Xinhua reported.
There’s still unpredictability surrounding precisely what occurred to the initial return pill. The quantity of area scrap around Earth is increasingwith things like rocket boosters and other disposed of area travel things jumbling up the location and increasing the threat of accidents with crewed spacecraft.
The Shenzhou-20 crewmembers are apparently in great health after their eventful stay, according to Xinhua. Their 204 days in orbit might be a record for Chinese teams, however it’s far from the longest time people have actually invested in areaNASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were notoriously on the International Space Station (ISS) for 286 successive days in between 2024 and 2025 due to problems with Boeing’s Starlinerwhich went back to Earth with no travelers. The astronauts were ultimately brought home aboard a SpaceX spacecraft, 272 days after they were arranged to go back to Earth.
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Astronauts frequently have long stays at the ISS, with astronaut Frank Rubio setting the American record after inadvertently investing 371 days there in between 2022 and 2023.
Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov has the world record– or out-of-this-world record– for the most successive days invested in area, having actually dealt with Russia’s previous Mir spaceport station for 437 days, in between 1994 and 1995.
Investing extended durations in area can have a range of health effectshowever any modifications in the body normally go back to regular within 6 months of going back to Earth. That stated, scientists still have a lot to discover how area travel impacts human health.
Patrick Pester is the trending news author at Live Science. His work has actually appeared on other science sites, such as BBC Science Focus and Scientific American. Patrick re-trained as a reporter after investing his early profession operating in zoos and wildlife preservation. He was granted the Master’s Excellence Scholarship to study at Cardiff University where he finished a master’s degree in global journalism. He likewise has a 2nd master’s degree in biodiversity, advancement and preservation in action from Middlesex University London. When he isn’t composing news, Patrick examines the sale of human remains.
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