China's Shenzhou XX astronauts to return to Earth

BEIJING -- China's Shenzhou XX crew is scheduled to return to Earth on Friday aboard the Shenzhou XXI spacecraft, the China Manned Space Agency announced.

The spaceship will return to the Dongfeng landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The astronauts — Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie — are in good shape, and the landing zone and all participating systems are making preparations for their touchdown.

The crew's return, originally scheduled for Nov 5, was postponed due to a suspected impact from tiny space debris on the Shenzhou XX spaceship.

The Shenzhou XXII spacecraft will be launched at an appropriate time in the future, according to the CMSA.