Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday evening aboard a Russian spacecraft.
Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft docked with the ISS around three hours after lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The crew of the station's 75th expedition consists of Russian cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina, and American astronaut Anil Menon.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman travelled to Baikonur for the launch, where he watched the mission alongside his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Bakanov.
It marked the first time in eight years that a NASA chief attended the launch of a joint US-Russian space mission at Baikonur.
According to Russian news agency TASS, Isaacman and Bakanov agreed during discussions to extend cooperation between the two countries on space missions until 2030.
Bakanov reportedly said bilateral cooperation would continue through joint crews travelling to the ISS until the end of the station's operational life.
In addition to NASA and Roscosmos, the ISS partnership also includes the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as the space agencies of Canada and Japan.
Although relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated sharply, reaching a low point following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the ISS remains one of the few areas where international cooperation has continued uninterrupted.
Source: CNA
