The astronauts of the International Space Station (ISS) have welcomed the new year from space facilities without a solution to their problem: they are seven people and three of them have no way to return to Earth. Specifically, Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev y Dmitry Petelinand NASA astronaut Frank Rubiowho arrived in September on the ship Soyuz MS-22 in which they should return next March; however, the plan was cut short after a leak was reported on December 15 just before a routine spacewalk.
Since then, the situation of the astronauts on the ISS has been compromised: although they are not in imminent danger, in the event that it were necessary to evacuate the facilities, right now there would be no return seats for everyone. That is why both the Russian space agency Roscosmos and NASA are devising a plan for both “normal and emergency scenarios”, according to a statement, although little is known about it.
Currently, the damaged Soyuz capsule is habitable: despite the fact that a vital part of the refrigeration system that regulates the ship’s temperature was damaged (probably by a micrometeorite crash, although the causes are still being investigated), the controllers in Earth have managed to keep the temperature stable by ventilating the probe thanks to an open hatch to the ISS. However, using it again without undertaking any repairs does not seem likely, since “the temperature would rise rapidly” if the aforementioned hatch were closed, as he explained at a press conference. Sergei KrikalevRussia’s head of manned space programs.
The most viable plan to date seems to be the launch of a new empty Soyuz. The problem is that Roscosmos could not send it until mid-February, just two weeks before the originally scheduled date and leaving the astronauts trapped in a situation of risk in an emergency for a month and a half.
NASA is also exploring its own solutions. Sandra Jones, a spokeswoman for the US space agency, explained that they were in talks with SpaceX, the Elon Musk that transports North American astronauts to the ISS, to test the options. “We have asked SpaceX some questions about its ability to send additional crew members on Dragon if necessary, but that is not our primary focus at this time,” Jones said in a statement.
The letter did not specify whether information had been requested about whether the current SpaceX ship docked at the ISS, named Endeavour, is capable of transporting more than the four crew members for which it is designed or whether a new Dragon ship will be would move to astronauts who have no way to return to Earth. It is also not known if, in the event that more crew members fit than those established (NASA astronauts Nicole Mann y josh cassadathe Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and the cosmonaut of Roscosmos Anna Kikina) The fact that they do not have the suit that SpaceX designs for astronauts traveling in their Dragon will be another drawback. At the moment, neither the space agencies nor the company have issued any statement in this regard.
Normal life on the ISS
Despite the crisis, activity on the ISS continues as normal: astronauts from all agencies cooperate and have even celebrated Christmas, sending congratulatory videos from space and photos with Santa Claus hats. Onboard research and maintenance activities continue into the new year as engineers and scientists discuss Soyuz capabilities and potential next steps.
“The Expedition 68 crew remains in good condition, performs a variety of maintenance and research activities, and expects to have time off on New Year’s Day,” they explain from NASA in a statement. “NASA astronauts Frank Rubio, Josh Cassada, and Nicole Mann continued to work to repair the spacesuits used by Rubio and Cassada to install a new ISS deployable solar array.” In addition, cosmonauts Prokopyev, Petelin and Kikina worked on different maintenance and research tasks.
“NASA and Roscosmos continue to conduct various engineering reviews and are consulting with other international partners on methods to safely return Soyuz crew home for both normal and contingency scenarios. A final decision on the way forward is expected in January,” they insist.
The crew is also preparing for the undocking and departure of the SpaceX CRS-26 cargo spacecraft on Monday, January 9. The probe, which does not allow passengers, is scheduled to bring back valuable samples for scientific research.