Three Chinese astronauts who were stuck in space after debris crashed into their spacecraft have returned to Earth.

The Shenzhou-20 crew successfully landed in Inner Mongolia at 4:40pm local time on Friday, state broadcaster China Central Television reported. The astronauts are in good physical condition and used the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft — the vehicle that had transported their replacements to the Tiangong space station — to make their return, it said.

The astronauts were originally scheduled to return to Earth on Nov. 5. But the mission was postponed after the window glass on the Shenzhou-20’s return capsule developed a minor crack, likely caused by space debris, according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office. The damaged spacecraft will remain in orbit to conduct experiments and the agency has previously said that a Shenzhou-22 spacecraft will be launched “at an appropriate time.”

The Shenzhou-20 crew had been at the Tiangong space station since late April as part of China’s ‘one launch, one backup’ strategy. The approach, first applied in 2021, sees one spacecraft launched for the primary mission with another fully assembled spacecraft and rocket on standby for emergency rescue.

The trio’s plight had revived memories of two NASA astronauts that were stuck in orbit for nine months due to technical issues. While the Chinese astronauts were stranded for far less time, their experience highlights the growing dangers of space junk, with volumes rising quickly as more and more companies launch satellites.

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