Chinese astronauts arrive home after suspected debris strike delays return to Earth

Three Chinese astronauts landed back on Earth on Friday more than a week later than their scheduled arrival, capping an extended stay in space after a suspected debris strike left their spaceship with a cracked window.

The crew of the Shenzhou-20 spaceflight had been due to finish their mission at China’s Tiangong space station last Wednesday; they’d even handed the keys to the space station to a new crew who had just arrived for their own six-month mission.

But instead, their journey home was postponed “due to a suspected impact from tiny space debris” to their ship, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.