Roscosmos State Corporation and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will continue to jointly study the issue of the safe return of the crew members of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, which suffered a coolant leak and an increase in temperature. This was announced by NASA spokesman Kelly Humphreys in a conversation with RIA Novosti.
“NASA and Roscosmos will continue to work together to explore options before making a final decision on how to get the crew home safely. The crew of Expedition 68 remains in good condition, carrying out maintenance and research work,” she said.
Humpfires also did not disclose the details of the existing options for the return of astronauts and specify whether the Crew Dragon ship of the American company SpaceX will be involved in this.
On December 15, Roskosmos reported damage to the skin of the spacecraft, which caused pressure in the cooling system to drop on the Soyuz MS-22. Later, the state corporation noted that the damage could have been caused by a micrometeorite entering the radiator. Roscosmos stressed that the temperature on the ship is within normal limits and is not critical, as indicated by the crew members themselves. Their lives are not in danger, the company said.
The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft was launched to the ISS on September 21, the crew included Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petelin, as well as American Francisco Rubio. Their mission was to last 188 days.