Susan Helms, a former NASA astronaut and a member of the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, has said that the International Space Station's (ISS) partnership with Russia is experiencing some "administrative difficulties" due to Western sanctions imposed on the country over its [military invasion] of Ukraine.
"The geopolitical sanctions that have been levied on Russia that we've seen happen in the last few months have created an environment where there are some administrative difficulties that are becoming apparent," the SpaceNews portal quoted Helms as saying on Friday.
She called the suspension of airpline flights to Russia and the impossibility to use foreign bank cards in the country the examples of such difficulties, adding that some NASA personnel and their families had to "voluntary depart" from Russia.
Microsoft's suspension of support for products in Russia is another example of how sanctions are having a "peripheral impact" on Moscow's contribution to the operations of the ISS, the astronaut said.
Nevertheless, "NASA and Russia are continuing to work cooperatively to determine root cause, risk margins and mitigations," Helms said, adding that "the work, training and preparations in Moscow that is happening and has always happened for our international partnership with Russia on the International Space Station is continuing without any serious interruptions."
Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The United States and other allies of Ukraine have since been imposing sanctions on Russia.
[In mid-April, the European Space Agency ended its cooperation with Russian space agency Roscosmos on three missions to the Moon and the collaboration on Mars mission dubbed ExoMars.]Editor's note: This news report has been edited.
