NASA's new chief, Bill Nelson, claimed that there would be a more serious space race if Russia decides to leave ISS (International Space Station). As of the moment, Russia is still included in the countries that are working in the giant space station.
The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus resupply spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A on February 15, 2020 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wattsville, Virginia. Northrop Grumman's 13th contracted cargo resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 7,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.
The United States space agency can benefit a mutually beneficial relationship with Russia for decades. Their relationship with each other has served as a powerful symbol of cooperation between the West and East in the post-Cold War era.
However, some experts claimed that this could change soon once Russia stops working in the ISS and creates its independent space department.
Russia announced that it plans to leave the International Space Station this coming 2024, which is in favor of operating an independent space station.
To give you more idea, here are other details of Russia's future plans and their possible effects.
NASA Worries About Russia Leaving ISS
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently worried about Russia's announcement since the international space agency's chief claims it could lead to a more serious space race.
The NASA logo is displayed at the agency's booth during CES 2018 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 11, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 12 and features about 3,900 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 170,000 attendees.
Nelson said that the presence of Russia is currently important to NASA. Once the country decided to move out, it will be very bad news.
"If Russia starts just depending on China, then, I expect we would have a whole new race to the moon with China and Russia against the US," said Nelson via CNN Business.
"For decades, upwards now of 45 plus years [we've cooperated with] Russians in space, and I want that cooperation to continue," added NASA's chief.
Although this is the case, Nelson said that many Russian government officials are not agreeing with the idea of Russia leaving the ISS.
NASA's Future Plans
New space agencies are now making their efforts to achieve the level of NASA. These include Blue Origin and Elon Musk's independent space agency, SpaceX.
However, NASA continues to prove that it is still the top space agency since various countries are working with it. Astronomy Now reported that the international space group plans to return to Venus with two new probes. But, this would still take around 30 years.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
