November 1, 2023

The Shenzhou 16 capsule after landing (Photo courtesy Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)

Yesterday, the three Chinese taikonauts of the Shenzhou 16 mission returned to Earth after spending 154 days on the Chinese Tiangong space station, landing at a site called Dongfeng in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. During the capsule’s descent, some observers noticed a hole in the parachute. The speed of descent may have been faster than normal and the capsule toppled over after landing. It has already happened in the past that the capsule didn’t remain vertical and no consequences were reported for the taikonauts on board Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu. In fact, there are no official communications regarding anomalies during the landing.