THE NEW SPACE RACE: Astronauts stranded in space after their capsule is struck by mystery object.

Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui and Chen Dong, who were part of the Shenzhou-20 space mission, flew to the Tiangong space station in April.

They were expected to return yesterday after a six-month mission, and the Shenzhou-21 crew, who were sent to replace them, had already arrived on the weekend.

The China Manned Space Agency said: ‘The Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft is suspected to have been struck by a small piece of orbital debris, and assessment of the impact and associated risks is currently underway.

‘To ensure the health and safety of the astronauts and the successful completion of the mission, it has been decided that the originally planned return of Shenzhou-20 on November 5 will be postponed.’

The two crews remain on board Tiangong. A risk assessment is currently underway.

Godspeed.