NASA leaders have joined forces with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, marking a rare diplomatic gesture between the two countries, which are experiencing intense geopolitical tensions. The in-person meeting on American soil is an attempt at technical cooperation, especially regarding the International Space Station, with the potential for future collaboration on lunar missions.
Dialogue is rekindled with the first in-person meeting
NASA’s new temporary administrator on Thursday held a rare face-to-face meeting in Florida with Russia’s space agency chief, where they discussed cooperation on the moon and maintaining the space powers’ longstanding relationship on the International Space Station, Roscosmos said. The talks between Sean Duffy and Dmitry Bakanov at the U.S. space agency’s Kennedy Space Center represented the first in-person meeting between the heads of NASA and Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, since 2018.
NASA said late on Thursday the two chiefs “discussed continued cooperation and collaboration in space,” without providing further details. The meeting coincided with an attempt to launch a joint astronaut crew from Florida to the ISS that was postponed due to weather. It was a significant moment for Washington’s bifurcated space relations with Russia – especially for Duffy, an acting NASA administrator who was assigned to the role just this month while also overseeing the Transportation Department.
Roscosmos showed on Telegram a video of the meeting between Duffy and Bakanov, each flanked by staff, and other events where Bakanov and his delegation can be seen mingling with U.S. officials. The Russian space agency said:
“The parties discussed further work on the ISS, cooperation on lunar programs, joint exploration of deep space, and continued interaction on other space projects.”
Divergent paths of the Moon
Russia’s withdrawal from the Artemis program was not only a technical departure, but also a repositioning for lunar exploration. The country then aligned itself with China, intending to maintain a leading role in long-term missions. Now, with this meeting between Russia and the US, the country can rebalance its international relations, ensuring that political isolation will not compromise its presence in space exploration.
Russia had plans to participate in NASA’s flagship Artemis moon program until it invaded Ukraine in February 2022. It became a partner on China’s moon program, the International Lunar Research Station, a direct rival to the U.S. Artemis program. The war in Ukraine has led to a vastly isolated Russian space program, which has since boosted investments in military space efforts while nearly all of its joint space exploration projects with the West have collapsed.
ISS remains an essential link despite geopolitical tensions
The Russian delegation visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Wednesday and on Thursday was poised to watch the launch of Crew-11, a routine mission to the ISS featuring two U.S. astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut, and a Japanese astronaut. But bad weather pushed the launch to Friday morning, SpaceX said. While U.S.-Russian tensions over the war in Ukraine have limited contact between NASA and Roscosmos, they have continued to share astronaut flights and cooperate on the ISS, a 25-year-old totem of scientific diplomacy crucial to maintaining the two space powers’ storied human spaceflight capabilities.
The International Space Station, even after sanctions, continues to serve as an essential point of contact between the US and Russia. Despite the climate of distrust between the countries, international cooperation continues to exist through shared flights aboard the ISS.
Diplomacy wins over rivalry
Although the meeting between the countries does not represent a broad rapprochement, it does signal that the countries intend to maintain an open channel for space exploration, as this is a mutual interest. Space remains one of the few areas where the US and Russia share goals, and perhaps it could serve as a bridge for future joint initiatives.
GCN.com/Reuters
