Three Russian cosmonauts just arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) three hours after leaving for space aboard a Soyuz capsule.
Their Russian, American, and German colleagues warmly greeted them as they made an appearance in their yellow and blue spacesuits, colors that match the Ukrainian flag.
The International Space Station Knows No Borders
"When you're in space, there's no borders. You don't see country lines or state lines," this was NASA ISS program manager Joel Montalbano's response to a reporter's question last Monday, March 14.
The statement still holds true a few days later as the all-Russian crew safely arrived in the ISS earlier among American colleagues and wearing Ukraine's colors, yellow and blue.
Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov have entered the International Space Station to begin their six-and-a-half month expedition.
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) March 18, 2022
Their arrival temporarily raises the station’s crew complement to 10.https://t.co/GAptC5htE9 pic.twitter.com/wBJpOQAaf5
The trio of Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov will join the ranks of four Americans, two fellow Russians, and one German aboard the ISS.
When asked why the cosmonauts chose the yellow suits, they nonchalantly replied that it was for practicality's sake: "It became our turn to pick a color. But in fact, we had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it. So that's why we had to wear yellow," said Artemyev, as reported by the Associated Press.
The real reason may not be truly known. There is a possibility that the cosmonaut did not explicitly say anything that would hint at his criticism on the Russia-Ukraine events because of Putin's warning yesterday.
"The Russian people will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths," Putin said in disgust for Russians who are displeased with the "special military operations" in Ukraine.
While tensions run high on Earth, NASA and Roscosmos, U.S.' and Russia's respective space agencies, continue to run their agreed operations together. They remain to be focused on the goal of bringing more information into the Earth's collective knowledge of space.
"The teams continue to work together. Are they aware of what's going on Earth? Absolutely. Astronauts and cosmonauts are some of the most professional groups you'll ever see. They continue to operate well, and there's really no tension with the team. This is what they've been trained to do and they're up there doing that job," Montalbano said confidently.
NASA-Roscosmos Tension Buildup
While everything appears to be clear now that Russia and the U.S. will not sever their professional relationship in space exploration, previous events have shown otherwise.
Just before record-holder astronaut Mark Vande Hei stepped foot back on Earth, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin had threatened the U.S. that it will prevent Vande Hei's return. The threats were made after U.S. sanctions piled up on Russia, severely compromising its economy.
However, Vande Hei is now back on Earth and Rogozin's threats were proven to be more metaphorical than realistic. It seemed that Bill Nelson, NASA's Administrator already knew this at the time and was more than aware of Rogozin's temperament.
"That's just Dmitry Rogozin. He spouts off every now and then. But at the end of the day, he's worked with us," remarked Nelson.
Despite the initially dangerous threats, Nelson's remarks and Roscosmos' non-action are quite telling of the relationship between the two major superpowers when it comes to space. No matter the tension and conflict on the ground, Americans and Russians in space remain to be colleagues and will exhibit professionalism until the foreseeable future.
