The Russian Space Agency Roscosmoshas acknowledgeda wetting ( formally a " depressurization ” ) on the Progress MS-21 cargo ship ( Progress 82 ) , which is presently docked to the International Space Station ( ISS ) . Official statements indicate there is no immediate threat to the Station or crew – but with the essence of a late leak still unresolved , the case arouses concerns over whether the problem may be more systematic than it seemed .
Two months ago , a spacewalk was canceled when aleak was reportedfrom a spacecraft dock to the ISS . The craft in doubt was the Soyuz MS-22 . Far more serious than the missed spacewalk was that MS-22 appear to be unsafe to re - recruit the Earth ’s atmosphere , at least with people on gameboard . MS-22 was intend to bring two Cosmonauts and one Astronaut back to Earth from the ISS in April , and the wetting has sparked a scramble tofind an alternative .
The MS-22 leak wasblamed ona micrometeorite strike , something that is hard to avoid in blank space . However , the Progress 82 wetting also go on in the coolant system ; a 2d collision in such a short amount of time is a strange coincidence . zephyr pressure within the vehicle is untouched , andaccording to NASA ; “ The hatches between the Progress 82 and the post are open , and temperatures and press aboard the station are all normal . ”
Progress 82 was scheduled to pass on the blank stationon Fridayto deliver to Earth . Since the plan was for it to be carrying waste from the station and be deorbited over the Pacific Ocean , it is possible this will go ahead – if a cool down system failure makes affair dangerously hot on the comeback journey , the waste product is unbelievable to plain . That ’s in contrast with MS-22 , which couldprove lethalto anyone on board were it to be used to return mankind as in the first place planned .
progression 82 has been docked to the ISS since October 2022 , and no previous problems had been reported . “ official are monitoring all International Space Station system and are not chase after any other issues , ” NASAreportedin a web log .
Although this effect currently appears not to be serious , amount on top of a series of other malfunction with Russian supply and transfer vehicles , it emphasise how well-situated it is for something to go wrong in outer space . In low Earth orbit , there is normally an chance to send a replenishment vehicle , as is happeningwith MS-22 .
However , crew mission to the Moon leave much less tolerance for misplay , and Mars voyages have effectively none . If you ’re wonder why , 53 year after Neil Armstrong ’s one small step , we ’re still a longsighted way from doing anything similar on another planet , this is your answer .
It is inevitable some people will see a connection to the Ukraine invasion , perhaps blaming the events onsabotageor something to do with theimpending endto Russian involvement with the ISS . However , in 2021 – well before the war ’s beginning – a series of fracture were found in theISS ’s Russian module . Although the leaks from those cracks were a thousand times below the emergency limen , they still indicated a job with timbre control that may underlie the recent more serious depressurization .
None of this creates much confidence in the claim by the Chief Designer of Russia ’s next Orbital Station in aninterview with TASSthat his innovation ; “ Will be practically ‘ eternal . ’ ”
