Ankara: The return of China's Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed after a suspected impact from tiny space debris, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced.

According to Anadolu Agency, the CMSA stated that impact analysis and risk assessment are currently underway. "The decision to delay the return aims to ensure the astronauts' safety and mission success," the agency explained. However, the new date for the crew's return has not yet been announced.

On Tuesday, the agency reported that the crew of China's Shenzhou-20 spacecraft completed an in-orbit handover with the Shenzhou-21 team aboard the Chinese Space Station. Initially, the Shenzhou-20 astronauts were scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday.

The Shenzhou-20 crew has been in orbit for 188 days. Notably, the commander of the crew, Chen Dong, has set a milestone as the first Chinese astronaut to spend over 400 days in space. He also holds the record for the most spacewalks by a Chinese astronaut, having completed six extravehicular activities.

On Friday, China launched its sixth crewed flight mission into space, which included three astronauts and marked the involvement of its youngest-ever astronaut. The mission also included four mice, consisting of two males and two females, who are onboard the Tiangong space station to conduct experiments.