Stranded Chinese astronauts to return to earth aboard Shenzhou-21 after 8-month space odyssey

Beijing (The Uttam Hindu): The path is now clear for three stranded Chinese astronauts to return to Earth soon. Their return was delayed after their spacecraft collided with a piece of space debris during a space mission. China is now sending a new crew into space, and the stranded astronauts will return to Earth aboard the same new spacecraft (Shenzhou-21).

The three astronauts were on a six-month rotation mission at their Tiangong space station, according to Chinese state media. Their return was scheduled for November 1, four days after the arrival of the new crew.

However, the astronauts' return was cancelled after fears that their original spacecraft, Shenzhou-20, might collide with a small piece of space debris.

They left in April and will return on a new spacecraft

According to reports, they are now returning on the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft. The three astronauts – Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie – flew to the Tiangong Space Station in April this year.

China's Manned Space Engineering Office issued a statement clarifying their condition. "They (the astronauts) are in good condition, working and living normally," the statement said.

SpaceDebrisChina launched its space program in 2003 and has made steady progress since then. China has not only built its own permanent space station, but also has an ambitious goal of landing humans on the Moon by 2030.

The latest Shenzhou-21 mission has another special feature: it also carried mice for experiments, a first for China's space program.