It has been a little awkward on the International Space Station as of late, due to the fact that several Russian cosmonauts are constantly mingling with NASA astronauts inside some pretty cramped quarters.
Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin didn't help the situation, making several vague threats and suggesting that Russia could pull out of the program.
Mark Vande Hei, who returned with two other cosmonauts from the International Space Station last week, said that everyone just got on with their jobs.
He said during a Tuesday press conference that he and his Russian crewmates were very dear to him.
He said that he never had any concerns about his ability to continue working with them.
At a number of points, Ukraine came up.
Vande Hei told NBC News that they had a job to do.
As far as the cosmonauts were concerned, the NASA astronauts remained vague.
He told NBC that he brought the Ukraine situation up with both of his crewmates.
The situation took a turn when three new Russian crew members, who wore yellow and blue space suits, were wearing the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Vande Hei said that they were trying to recognize the colors of their alma mater, Moscow State Technical University.
He said at yesterday's press conference that all three of them were associated with the same university.
Vande Hei speculated that he never thought that the inflammatory tweets from Rogozin were anything to take seriously.
He told reporters that he didn't pay much attention to it. I laughed it off and moved on.
Despite the mess unfolding hundreds of miles below, life goes on aboard the aging outpost.
Over two decades of peaceful cooperation between Russia and its international partners on board the station are still very much on the line.
The space chief claimed that Russia was preparing concrete proposals to our country's leadership on the possibility of cutting cooperation short.
He requested that the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, and NASA lift sanctions against them.
According to the letters his space agency received, the three agencies have no plans to lift the sanctions.
I believe that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only with the complete and unrestricted lifting of illegal sanctions.
Vande Hei is adjusting to the pull of our planet's surface and enjoying some guacamole for the first time in a long time.
The future of the space station is not certain, but it is not likely to be caused by disagreements among crew members.
The controversy over the arrival of Russian cosmonauts at the International Space Station was blindsided by it.
Guy snapped a photo of the space station so detailed you can see the astronauts.
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