Mark Vande Hei, along with Petr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov, returned to Earth on March 30 aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. A NASA astronaut spent 355 days on the ISS with Dubrov, setting the record for the longest stay in space among Americans.
The task of the Russian-American crew came at a time when relations between Russia and Western countries were sharply deteriorating. The Russian special operation in Ukraine caused the angry reaction of many, which in turn affected cooperation in the space sector. Due to the interruption in air traffic between Russia and the United States, Vande Hay had to return home via Transcaucasia for more than a day from Kazakhstan, where the ship had landed.
The American astronaut is feeling great and happy with his second ISS mission in his life.
“Life on the space station is so different from what we encounter on Earth that after returning it is difficult to perceive the current self and myself on the station as a whole. When I returned to the ISS, I felt like I was reliving childhood memories. What seemed infinitely distant stood before me again in all its details,
He shares his impressions.
Now the astronaut is focused on rehab after a long period in weightlessness. As you know, humans can’t stand on their feet for a while after a long stay in space, but Vande Hay was able to walk again just eight hours after landing, thanks to meticulous adherence to the training regimen in orbit. The astronaut also noted that life on the ISS was difficult psychologically, but meditation and focusing on the inner voice helped him.
Despite the crew’s efforts to stay away from politics, worldly problems were very clearly felt on the ISS. A vivid example of this is the media reaction to the yellow and blue suits of cosmonauts Artemiev, Matveev and Korsakov, when they arrived at the station on March 18. As it turned out later, these colors symbolized the local Bauman University for all three, but some Western media decided that the overalls resembled the Ukrainian flag.
“I think the guys wearing them didn’t know that people would perceive them as something Ukraine-related,” says Vande Hay. “I think it was a blow from an unexpected place for them.”
The crew also discussed the situation in Ukraine, but this did not affect their relationship. Vande Hay was interested in what his Russian colleagues thought about what had happened.
“These discussions didn’t last very long, but I asked them how they felt and sometimes asked sharp questions,” says the NASA astronaut. “But we are mainly focused on our common mission. Especially if we talk about my relations with my Russian colleagues, they were and will remain my close friends. We supported each other in every way and I never doubted the possibility of working with them further.
Vande Hay declined to comment on what the Russians told him.
“I think it would be better if they talked about it themselves, if I didn’t tell them about their feelings”
replied to the reporters.
In March, the issue of further cooperation between Russia and the United States on the ISS was repeatedly raised. In particular, Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos declarationIt cannot turn a blind eye to Washington’s hostile actions. NASA asked its former and current astronauts Stop Discuss with Russian representatives, as this may threaten collaboration on the ISS. Rogozin also retweeted a hilarious video of the American segment leaving the station. in your name Vande Hay’s wife and mother are seriously worried about him staying in orbit. The astronaut himself said he never took the tweets seriously and believed they were aimed at a different audience.
“I didn’t spend a lot of emotion on them and didn’t pay much attention to them. I heard them, laughed and forgot,” said Vande Hai.
The next manned spacecraft will go to the ISS on April 8. It will be Crew Dragon, which will take off on a Falcon 9 rocket and deliver the four crews of private company Axiom Space’s AX-1 mission to the station. Astronauts will do many experiments, especially, will try Prototype of self-assembling robotic structures.