Divided on Earth, US-Russia Unite to Rescue Astronauts from Space

Although the tussle between the US and Russia over the latter’s Ukraine invasion has not ended, the two superpowers are planning a joint space mission to rescue astronauts from the International Space Station.

America has imposed sanctions on Russia after the Ukraine invasion. But both countries continue their unity and cooperation for space exploration.

Scientists from the US and Russia are jointly planning a mission to rescue astronauts from the International Space Station. This has become the need of the hour after a Soyuz spacecraft suffered irreparable damage because of a micrometeoroid hit last year.

Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut were to return back to earth on this Soyuz spacecraft. As it is damaged, it will return to earth without any astronauts.

NASA of America and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, are investigating into a coolant leak on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked at the International Space Station. Together they are adjusting the International Space Station’s flight plan.

Experts of both these major space agencies of the earth have remarked that the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is not in a position to transport astronauts back to earth.

“The Soyuz MS-22 will be replaced by the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft that will launch to the space station without a crew,” said NASA in a blog update.

This spacecraft is expected to reach the Space Station on February 20 to rescue the three astronauts, whose mission time has been extended due to the non-availability of a space vehicle to return back.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin are waiting in the Space Station to return back to earth. They had arrived at the Space Station in the now-damaged Soyuz spacecraft.