US and Russia Come Together on ISS Rescue Mission

As Moscow continues its invasion of Ukraine and bombs key cities, the West has imposed sanctions on Russia.

The war has also scuttled decades of integration between Russia and the West, raising international isolation.

Despite all the turmoil, NASA and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, are still collaborating on one vital matter — making sure astronauts are not stranded aboard the International Space Station.

In December, a micrometeoroid hit a Soyuz capsule docked at the ISS, blasting a hole through its radiator of cooling fluid and leaving two crew members, including NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, stranded.

The leak has sparked a new problem: How do you send two cosmonauts and an American astronaut back to Earth without the Soyuz?

But the answer may be simpler than expected. Instead of abandoning the ISS altogether, Russia plans to send an uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft to the orbiting laboratory in early February.

It will then bring back a crew of three, including Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergei Prokopyev as well as U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio, who were scheduled to end their missions in March.

In the aftermath of the ISS leak, a question has emerged: Is this a moment when US-Russian space cooperation comes to an end? Or is it merely a temporary setback?

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