Both men managed to survive their crash, and are currently in Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, being checked out by medics while eating nuts and crackers, as seen from the photos released by the American Space Agency.
Their next stop is the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, outside Moscow, a move which could mean that a re-launch of the mission is not yet been considered.
Officially it’s too early to say what exactly led to the problems encountered by the two men during their Expedition 57 launch, where they would have stayed for the next six months. Both NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos said they would be setting up teams to look into the matter.
“NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and the NASA team are monitoring the situation carefully,” said the Americans in a statement.
“NASA is working closely with Roscosmos to ensure the safe return of the crew. Safety of the crew is the utmost priority for NASA. A thorough investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted.”
Coincidently, the heads of the two space agencies, Jim Bridenstine and Dmitry Rogozin, were at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan from where the Soyuz rocket took off.
The two were supposed to have a meeting over the now infamous hole on the ISS, which caused a minor oxygen leak and heated debates between the two agencies.
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