Chinese space capsule lands in Gobi Desert

The damaged Chinese space capsule Shenzhou 20 returned to Earth without a crew on board on Monday, DPA reported.

According to official information, the capsule landed in the Gobi Desert in northern China, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

State news agency Xinhua reported that initial inspections showed the capsule appeared normal and that the supplies on board were in good condition. The return mission was therefore declared a “complete success.”

The Shenzhou 20 space capsule was originally scheduled to return to Earth on November 5, carrying three Chinese astronauts.

However, the return was delayed after cracks appeared in the capsule’s window, reportedly caused by collisions with small fragments of space debris, according to Chinese space experts.

The three taikonauts safely returned to Earth in mid-November aboard the same spacecraft that had transported their successors from the Shenzhou 21 mission to the Tiangong space station.

Space debris, or space junk, consists of defunct objects floating through space, such as satellites or satellite fragments. After decades of international space travel, space debris has become an increasingly pressing problem.