Fears for astronauts left stranded in space after ship was 'struck by unknown object'

A troubling event has left a group of three astronauts stranded in space for an indefinite period of time, as a 'mysterious object' struck their return spaceship just before it was about to take them back home to Earth.

While some astronauts might not complain about being forced to spend more time in space, the nature of being stranded on board a space station with no return in sight is certainly a frightening prospect for most.

It feels like only yesterday that NASA's stranded astronauts finally returned home after nearly a year on board the International Space Station, and a recent emergency has many worried that it could be happening all over again.

As reported by the Express, three Chinese astronauts were forced to have their planned return on November 5 cancelled after a 'mysterious object' struck the spacecraft that was set to take them back to Earth, leaving them currently 'stuck' in space.

Wang Jie, Chen Zhongrui, and Chen Dong have been stranded on board the Tiangong space station (Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images)

The three astronauts in question are Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie, and all three had been conducting experiments for around six months on board the Tiangong space station, which has been dubbed by some the 'Heavenly Place'.

According to China's Manned Spaceflight Agency (CMSA), "the Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft is suspected of being hit by a tiny piece of space debris, and an impact analysis and risk assessment are underway."

The existing team on board have thankfully been joined by another group of astronauts that were set to take over after their return home, meaning that there's double the number of people working on repairing the issue and ensuring that everything is safe once again.

The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft saw another group of astronauts join the stranded team before their craft was hit by the mystery object (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

There's currently no set date for when the issue will be resolved, with the CMSA stating: "To ensure the safety and health of the astronauts and the success of the mission, it has been decided that the Shenzhou-20 return mission, originally scheduled for 5 November, will be postponed."

Hopefully everything will be able to resolved quickly and without any further complications, but the astronauts on board will have to be wary about any health issues that might crop up as a result of their extended stay in space.

The low gravity environment can cause the body's muscle to significantly decrease as it has to work far less than it would on Earth, and there are also issues when it comes to the far higher levels of radiation in space, leading to a potential risk of developing cancer.