The political rift between the US and Russia over Crimea has spilled into space 鈥� sort of. Last week, a leaked memo from NASA revealed that the agency was , in the wake of Russia鈥檚 annexation of Crimea. The most important Russian-US space collaboration 鈥� the International Space Station 鈥� is . We look at what the move means for space activities.
If the ISS is safe from the boycott, what else is there?
There are a handful of smaller-scale activities that might be affected, such as NASA鈥檚 aeronautical tests in Russia鈥檚 wind tunnels, and a Russian instrument on NASA鈥檚 Curiosity Rover, says , the director of the Space Policy Institute in Washington DC. This instrument, the , searches for signs of water up to 50 centimetres below the surface. It is not clear what the status of projects like this one are, because an official list of allowed activities has not been released. Only the ISS is clearly exempt from the policy changes. At a press briefing on 3 April, White House press secretary Jay Carney indicated that many activities will be considered on a case by case basis.
Would such a boycott ever be extended to include the ISS?
That is highly unlikely, says , the president of the Space and Technology Policy Group, a policy analysis firm in Arlington, Virginia, because that would effectively spell the end of the effort. The two countries rely on each other to keep the space station going, and NASA doesn鈥檛 have the resources to operate it on its own. 鈥淚f we decided to suspend the ISS activities, I think the facilities would have to be mothballed,鈥� she says.
Advertisement
Has anything similar happened before?
Last week鈥檚 announcement isn鈥檛 the first time that political tensions between the two countries have put space operations on ice. In the early 1980s, the US decided not to renew plans for a joint mission to the Soviet space station Salyut after Poland鈥檚 Soviet-influenced Communist government . And international disagreements have prevented NASA from working with China for several years now.
Why did NASA do this?
It didn鈥檛. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really important to emphasise that it鈥檚 not NASA making this decision. It鈥檚 the government making this decision,鈥� says Smith. The policy shift was part of a larger directive that the White House sent out to other federal agencies, like the State Department. Ultimately, any public interest in NASA鈥檚 shift may say more about how we feel about space than about what will happen there in the coming days, says Pace. 鈥淭he reaction shows space is still symbolically important to people,鈥� he says.
