Shenzhou-20 crew's delayed return a bonus for space mice researchers
發佈日期: 2025-11-15 23:51
TVB News
Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday together with four mice after a stay in orbit that lasted longer than planned because of likely damage caused by debris to their return vehicle.
These mice have gone where no mice have gone before. Hundreds of miles above the Earth in their breeding cage as part of the Shenzhou-21 crew.
They spent longer than scheduled in space but researchers see it as a bonus, to see how their bodies adapted to weightlessness and confinement.
Here they are back on Earth, in Jiuquan, Gansu Province, with researchers checking on their condition.
The space mice will be compared to this control group of mice, who were kept in a similar confined capsule but on Earth.
The mice were monitored around the clock in orbit and adapted to the microgravity environment in a very short period of time, a researcher said.
Preliminary analysis showed the mice ate less but drank more while in the space station.
The Shenzhou-20 crew's return was delayed by more than a week after tiny cracks were discovered in the capsule's window.
They ultimately returned using the recently arrived Shenzhou-21 spacecraft instead.
A total of 46.67 kilograms of experimental samples were brought back to Earth for research in life sciences, materials science, and combustion science.
The return capsule of the Shenzhou-21 spaceship, carrying the Shenzhou-20 astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday, safely taking the three-member crew back home.
Following a review, the China Manned Space Agency announced that the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft no longer meets the stringent safety standards required for re-entry.
As a result, it will remain in orbit to continue relevant experiments. The next Shenzhou-22 space mission will be launched at an appropriate time, the agency said.
