COLORADO SPRINGS (USA), Apr 18 American astronaut Victor Glover promised not to forget about Russian colleagues from Roscosmos in orbit of the Moon, where he will go in 2024.
“I will send a message to all space explorers and my fellow astronauts too. When we leave Earth orbit, we are not just Americans and Canadians, we are people who go there for the sake of all mankind, we do something for all space explorers, and my Sergei's friends (Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Ryzhikov — ed.) and the entire cosmonaut corps are part of this,» the astronaut said on the sidelines of the Space Symposium, held annually in Colorado.
«Of course, definitely,» Glover said when asked if he would contact his Russian counterparts during the Artemis 2 mission, which is due to orbit the moon in 2024. It is planned that, in addition to Glover himself, it will include NASA astronauts Christina Cook, Reed Wiseman, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
Remembering the joint stay on the ISS with the Russian crew, Glover calls both Sergeyevs «brothers», speaks warmly of Dmitry Petelin and Sergey Prokopiev, who are currently in orbit.
«They are my best friends and I want our countries to get along the way our counterparts do. We work very well together,» says the astronaut, who has so far completed one 168-day space flight. Glover was part of the Crew-1 mission of the Crew Dragon and was a member of the 64th International Crew of the ISS.
The astronaut said that the ISS crew, in addition to working in orbit, speaks and shares the traditions of their countries. So, Ryzhikov, according to the astronaut, during the joint mission invited the crew to watch the service from the temple in Star City together. «We were able to see many aspects of its culture … we discussed our cultures, holidays and their meaning. And those were my favorite days, the best moments of the expedition,» the source said.