Three Chinese astronauts have safely returned to Earth after a five-month stint in orbit at China’s Tiangong space station. However, their return bore a notable defect—a substantial hole in its parachute, which could have led to a major catastrophe.

The trio, comprising Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu, and Gui Haichao from Shenzhou 16 mission, touched down at China’s Dongfeng landing site, their capsule descending amid a cloud of orange dust into the Gobi Desert, with the sky clearly visible through the parachute hole.

Space programme historian and astronomer Jonathan McDowell of Harvard University posited that the hole may have been caused by venting propellant or a manufacturing defect. The concern with a hole in the parachute is its potential to enlarge, rendering the parachute ineffective, The South China Morning Post reported.

While China’s space authorities have yet to comment publicly on the incident, if confirmed, this would be a significant setback in China’s crewed space programme. The astronauts’ health was confirmed as good despite the parachute issue.

During their 154-day mission, they conducted scientific experiments and executed an eight-hour spacewalk. The trio was subsequently replaced by a new crew as part of the Shenzhou-17 mission.

The new team, comprising Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin, will carry out space science experiments and conduct maintenance to repair minor damage to the station caused by space debris.

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The Chinese Space Station Tiangong, an expansion of China’s space programme, is a pivotal space endeavour and is planned to consist of six modules in the future. The Tiangong orbits Earth at an altitude similar to the International Space Station (ISS), however notably smaller in size and lower in weight.

Tiangong is smaller than the ISS, as it has only three modules compared to the ISS’s 16 modules. Furthermore, Tiangong is significantly lighter than the ISS. Notably, China is not a participant in the International Space Station programme.

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