China launches emergency mission to its space station

The Shenzhou-22 spacecraft that China launched on November 25 has already reached the Tiangong space station, according to SpaceNews and Chinese state media. Now that it’s docked with the station, the astronauts onboard are no longer left without a vehicle that they can use to head home in case of emergencies. The astronauts part of the Shenzhou-21 mission haven’t had a lifeboat since November 11, because the team before they arrived had to use their vehicle to return to Earth. On November 5, the astronauts from the Shenzhou-20 mission were supposed to make their way back home aboard their own spacecraft. But just hours before their departure from the station, China’s space agency discovered minor cracks in their vehicle’s window from a suspected debris impact. The Shenzhou-20 crew [...]