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Astronaut Wang Jie of Shenzhou-20 crew waves outside the return capsule of the Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft which landed at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China November 14, 2025. Astronaut Wang Jie of Shenzhou-20 crew waves outside the return capsule of the Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft which landed at the Dongfeng landing site in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China November 14, 2025. via REUTERS - CHINA DAILY

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Issued on: 16/11/2025 - 14:49

A trio of Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday after getting stuck on China's space station, Tiangong, for more than a week due to their spacecraft sustaining debris damage, leaving China without an immediate way of bringing home the new crew in an emergency. Due to the risk of overheating, Russia's space agency decided to send Soyuz MS-23 to the ISS to bring back the crew of the slightly damaged vessel. In light of what has happened, how will China adapt its Space program? Answer and analysis by Ling Shin, science journalist at the South China Morning Post.

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