If necessary, one member of the Soyuz MS-22 crew will return to Earth on Crew Dragon

If an emergency evacuation of the crew of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is necessary, Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin will return to Earth on it, Francisco Rubio on the Crew Dragon spacecraft, the press service of the Roscosmos state corporation reported.

Roscosmos and the space agencies of the ISS partner countries are planning to take these measures in case of an accident on the ship before the arrival of the Soyuz MS-23, which is due to dock to the station on February 22.

“The descent of two cosmonauts instead of three will be safer, as it will help reduce the temperature and humidity in the Soyuz MS-22,” the report says. The state corporation specified that Rubio’s chair will be temporarily moved to Crew Dragon on January 17-18. If evacuation is not required, then after the Soyuz MS-23 arrives at the ISS, the seats of all three cosmonauts will be transferred to it.

December 15, 2022 Roscosmos informed about damage to the skin of the spacecraft, due to which the pressure in the cooling system dropped on the Soyuz MS-22. Later, the state corporation noted that the damage could have been caused by a micrometeorite entering the radiator. At Roskosmos emphasizedthat the temperature on the ship is within normal limits and is not critical, as indicated by the crew members themselves. Their lives are not in danger, the company said.

January 11 at the state corporation toldthat the Soyuz MS-23 rescue ship will be sent to the ISS in an unmanned mode on February 20, and the Soyuz MS-22 will be lowered to Earth without a crew. He will remain on the ISS and, at the end of the expedition, will return on the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft. On the same day, the head of the ISS program at NASA, Joel Montalbano, emphasized that one of the Soyuz crew members could transfer to the American Crew Dragon if an emergency situation arises before the Soyuz MS-23 arrives at the ISS.