In a world full of chaos, respect, decency, and comradery still exist on the International Space Station.
While most people are aware of the war that persists between Slavic countries Russia & Ukraine, numerous others aren’t when it comes to the peace and civility on the ISS (international space station). The fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War brought the two rival countries together for one common objective. That objective was space.
In 1994 the nations of America, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Europe collaborated for one of the significant moments in human history; the planned construction of the ISS. With the development of the ISS finishing in 1998, the road to cooperation was paved, and the ISS docked with Russia’s modular space station MIR. For the station to prosper, a collaborative effort was needed as each part of the station controls different functions required to keep everything operational and everyone alive. Russia controlled the navigation, and America delivered the power; this balance was necessary. One cannot exist/function without the other.
The honeymoon period between America and Russia started to dissolve in 2014 when Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea from present-day Ukraine. Sanctions were placed on the economic, energy, and defense hemisphere of Russia, causing a shockwave affecting Russia’s largest bank (Sberbank), oil companies (Gazprom, Lukoil, Rosneft) as well as (Rostec), an arms maker, and deepwater and shale exploration company. Triggering a passive-aggressive response on Twitter from Russian director Dmitry Rogozin (of the Russian Space Agency), quoted as saying, “After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest the US delivers its astronauts to the ISS…”. In 2022 Fake videos of Russia on Twitter releasing their space station, MIR, from the ISS surfaced, claiming to be a consequence of the most recent sanctions currently causing tension between both countries. This, however, was proven to be false as both countries are still working in cooperation and even recently helped an American Astronaut come home.
Closing Statement:
In many cases, human nature can be witnessed as being cruel, relentless, and self-serving; there is still some hope that we can overcome our differences and do what is right for the betterment of ourselves and humankind.
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