Outgoing cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov handed over command of the ISS to US astronaut Thomas Marshburn at a ceremony attended by the entire space station crew on Tuesday.
Even as people on Earth have “problems,” the ISS remains a “symbol of cooperation,” Scapler said in a short speech. Marshburn thanked him and added that it was “an honor and a privilege” to become the commander of that space station.
The Russian will return to Earth on Wednesday with the Russian spacecraft Soyuz with cosmonaut Piotr Dubrov and American astronaut Mark Vande Hei.
The two sides have previously rejected claims that Vande Hei may not return by Russian aircraft due to international tensions.
Marshburn arrived at the ISS in November with Americans Ray Chari and Kayla Barron and German Mathias Maurer.