US Astronaut’s Only Ride Home is in a Soyuz. Awkward!

Automologist MAC lets us know how the invasion of Ukraine is also affecting space. 

Remember in space no one can hear you scream.

Okay, this one could be a little delicate. Currently, NASA Astronaut, Mark Vande Hei, who is due to return to earth from the International Space Station (ISS) around March 30th after setting the record for longest ever time spent in space, will do so in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. This is of course a very awkward situation given the current tensions between the US of A and Russia over that Ukrainian outing currently being taken by the Red Army.

A selfie taken by Mark Vande Hei.

The Space Community has been actively distancing themself from Russia after the Ukrainian invasion, which is creating a humanitarian crisis of devastating proportions. Unfortunately for Vande Hei, the Soyuz spacecraft has become the Space Taxis for getting astronauts of all nations to the ISS, especially after the Space Shuttles were retired.

NASA has been trying to redress the balance and of late, Space X has stepped up to the plate with their Dragon spacecraft, which is capable of ferrying crew to the ISS. But Vande Hei’s return trip is scheduled to be on a Soyuz and after all that time up in space I just hope he is good at small talk. There could have been an option for him to blag a ride on the private Axion Spaces Ax-1 Mission but apparently, this was a non-starter.

The International Space Station is the result of literally decades of collaboration between Russia and the US of A, and recent press releases from NASA claim that daily life on the ISS is all fine and dandy regardless of the developments down here on terra firma. However, I am doubting that a little after Dmitry Rogozin, who is the head of Roscomos, the Russian equivalent of NASA, who seemed to threaten to let the ISS drop out of orbit uncontrollably, possibly over American soil.

For now, it looks like Vande Hei will be coming home on a Soyuz but he may well be one of the last to rely on Roscomos for a lift. Assuming that the ISS does remain in orbit, and right now that is a big IF, this is because of the growing ability of Space X but also because I really don’t think the Americans want to be reliant on Soyuz anymore.

Why has Vande Hei been in space so long? No, it is not because he is a sucker for punishment, but it is all a part of the research about the effects of long-term space travel on the human body. Vande Hei will have completed some 353 days living onboard the ISS, which will break the current record of 340 days held by Scott Kelly. The extended stay is crucial to further our understanding of the toll on the human body for trips to places further afield, such as Mars where the return trip could take more than two years