Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Strains International Space Station Partnership

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March 03, 2022

Dear Reader, This week, we're continuing to track how Russia's invasion of Ukraine is proving to be surprisingly disruptive for spaceflight. Our lead story details how the ongoing conflict is creating new tensions around one of the greatest U.S.-Russia partnerships, the International Space Station. But the disruptions don't stop there—the invasion has also all but certainly delayed the launch of the European-Russian "Rosalind Franklin" ExoMars rover from this year to 2024 or beyond, as another story explains. Unfortunately, these troubles may only be the beginning of a new, enduring low for international cooperation in space. Elsewhere, we have articles about a looming lunar rocket impact (it will happen tomorrow!), fresh doubts about the 'cosmic dawn' and much more. Dive in!

Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space & Physics @LeeBillings

Space Exploration Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Strains International Space Station Partnership Life onboard the ISS goes on in the wake of Russia's attack against Ukraine, even as the space project faces an uncertain future By Joanna Thompson

Space Exploration Looming Rocket Impact Forecasts Trouble for Future Lunar Exploration Although the space-junk strike on March 4 will probably be harmless, such events may soon become more common—and dangerous By Robin George Andrews

Space Exploration Russia's Invasion of Ukraine May Delay Europe's ExoMars Rover Launch The Rosalind Franklin rover was set to embark for Mars later this year, but the deteriorating relationship between Europe and Russia now makes that very unlikely By Tereza Pultarova,SPACE.com

Cosmology New Result Casts Doubt on 'Cosmic Dawn' Claim Fresh data suggests instrumental errors may have mimicked a purported signal from the universe's first stars By Davide Castelvecchi,Nature magazine

Mathematics Mathematicians Protest Russia Hosting Major Conference For years, concerned researchers have been calling for a boycott of the 2022 International Congress of Mathematicians By Rachel Crowell

Computing The Staggering Ecological Impacts of Computation and the Cloud The cloud is not only material but also an ecological force By Steven Gonzalez Monserrate,The MIT Press Reader

Particle Physics Why Some Fluids Flow Slower when Pushed Harder A transparent rock experiment shows how stretchy molecules kick up eddies By Rachel Berkowitz

Space Exploration Poem: Other Worlds in Haiku Science in meter and verse By Dava Sobel

FROM THE STORE Special Editions Volume 30, Issue 5s

QUOTE OF THE DAY "If [the U.S.] blocks cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled descent out of orbit and a fall on the United States or Europe?" Dimitry Rogozin, head of Russia's space agency

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FROM THE ARCHIVE A Potentially Game-Changing Message from the Dawn of Time Astronomers may have spotted, albeit indirectly, the very first starlight in the universe—plus some new evidence about the properties of dark matter By Katie Mack | February 2018

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