One US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have returned home from the ISS

In this still image taken from the video, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei of the International Space Station (ISS) relaxes after landing with the Soyuz MS-19 space capsule in a rural area outside Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on March 30, 2022.Image Credit:  Roscosmos./Reuters.

Reuters: Despite increasing tension between Moscow and Washington over the war in Ukraine, a US astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts successfully landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after leaving the International Space Station aboard the same capsule.

The journey, which returned NASA's Mark Vande Hei and Russians Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov to Earth, was closely monitored to see if increasing tensions had spilled over into long-standing space cooperation between the two former Cold War foes.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, showed footage of the landing from the Kazakh steppe and said a team of technical and medical experts had been despatched to assist the astronauts in exiting the capsule.

"According to rescuers, the crew is doing well after landing," Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said on Telegram.

According to NASA, Vande Hei, who had just finished his second ISS mission, set a new US space endurance record of 355 days in orbit, breaking the previous 340-day mark set by astronaut Scott Kelly in 2016.

Vande Hei, 55, waved and smiled as rescuers pulled him from the capsule and medics examined his vital signs.

In a statement, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated, "Mark's mission is not only record-breaking, but it is also laying the path for future human explorers on the Moon, Mars, and beyond."

In this still image taken from video, International Space Station (ISS) crew member Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov relaxes after landing aboard the Soyuz MS-19 space capsule in a remote area outside Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on March 30, 2022. Image Credit: Reuters

Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the record for the longest single stay in space, having spent more than 14 months onboard the Mir space station before returning to Earth in 1995.

It was Dubrov's first space flight, as he was sent to the ISS with Vande Hei in April from Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome.

According to NASA, Shkaplerov, 50, is a veteran of four missions to the orbiting outpost, with a total of 708 days in space, considerably beating Vande Hei's 523-day career record. Last October, Shkaplerov began his latest mission to the International Space Station.

The Space Relationship was put to the test.

On February 24, US President Joe Biden announced economic sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin's government, including high-tech export restrictions aimed at "breaking down" Russia's aerospace industry, particularly its space program.

In this still image taken from video, International Space Station (ISS) crew member Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov relaxes after landing aboard the Soyuz MS-19 spaceship in a remote area outside Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on March 30, 2022.Image Credit: Reuters

The Russian space agency Roscosmos immediately retaliated with a series of Twitter posts, claiming that the US sanctions will "destroy" ISS teamwork and cause the space station to fall out of orbit.

The following week, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti published a video spoof depicting cosmonauts waving goodbye to Vande Hei before Russia's ISS module detaches from the space station and flies away without him, much to the delight of Russian mission control officials, leaving the rest of the station sinking lower in orbit.

The "comic" video is set to the Russian-language love ballad "Goodbye" by Russian musician Lev Leshchenko, according to RIA Novosti.

Around the same time, Rogozin announced that Russia would no longer manufacture or service Russian-made rocket engines used by two U.S. aerospace NASA suppliers, implying that American astronauts may reach orbit using "broomsticks."

According to NASA, the US and Russian ISS crew members were aware of developments on Earth but were cooperating professionally and without conflict.

Three cosmonauts traveled to orbit on March 18 to replace the three returning ISS crew members, joining Vande Hei's three remaining American colleagues and a German astronaut from the European Space Agency.

In this still image taken from video, the Soyuz MS-19 space capsule carrying International Space Station (ISS) crew members NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov descend beneath a parachute in a remote area outside Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on March 30, 2022. Image Credit: Reuters

Russia's space agency has denied reports in Western media that the freshly arrived Russian cosmonauts wore yellow flight suits with blue trim, the colors of Ukraine's national flag, as a show of support for the country. They were received with warm embraces and handshakes.

On its Telegram channel, Roscosmos' press service stated, "Sometimes yellow is just yellow."

Source: Reuters - Steve Gorman reported from Los Angeles, and Alexandra Hudson and Bernadette Baum edited the article.