Get ready, space fans! China's Shenzhou-20 spaceship is gearing up for an unmanned return to Earth after a tiny space debris nick cracked its window last month. 🛰️🔍
Back in early November, the Shenzhou-20 crew spotted a weird, triangular mark on the ship's window – it turned out to be a micro-crack caused by debris smaller than a grain of sand but traveling at insane speeds. To keep everyone safe, mission teams swapped out the astronauts for the Shenzhou-21 vessel, which brought them home on November 14.
China then pulled off its first-ever emergency launch on November 25, sending Shenzhou-22 up to serve as a back-up ride for the orbiting team. Now, the Shenzhou-21 crew is settling into a six-month stay, and might suit up for a spacewalk to inspect and patch up that cracked window using specialized tools delivered by Shenzhou-22. 🧑🚀🛠️
Meanwhile, Shenzhou-20 is set to make an unmanned descent soon, giving engineers real-world data on how these repairs hold up—critical info for future missions. Bonus fact: four mice got an extended space trip too, spending nearly two weeks aboard before returning safe and sound.
This whole sequence is a win for space safety and tech innovation, showing how quick thinking and solid backup plans can keep missions on track. Keep an eye on your phones for the landing livestream and more behind-the-scenes action from China's space station! 🚀📱
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
