Three Russian astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on Friday dressed in yellow and blue in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Clothing selection was seen as a message of solidarity with the occupied country and a public demonstration against the war. However, the Russian space agency Roscosmos denied such a code.
“Sometimes the yellow is yellow. The new team’s aeronautical costumes are made in the colors of the logo of the Baman School of Moscow Technical University where these astronauts studied. It’s crazy to see the Ukrainian flag in everything,” he said. Roscosmos said in a statement made in the Telegram. This is how the Russian space agency justified the selection of Oleg Artemiev, Denis Matviev and Sergei Korsakov, who arrived at the International Space Station in yellow and blue.
According to one of the astronauts, everyone could choose their own dress and color, which fell under the yellow given the “excessive fabric accumulation”.
“Choosing a color is our method, but in reality, we have accumulated a lot of yellow stuff, so we had to use it. (…) That’s why we had to use yellow,” Oleg Artemiev revealed. Conference press release upon arrival at the station.
As Europe and the United States suspend plans with Roscosmos, the tension of the war has reached space.
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Thursday that it would cease sending Rosalind Franklin’s robot to Mars, making it impossible to maintain cooperation with Roskosmos, which was engaged in the mission due to the war in Ukraine. In response, the Russian space agency has promised to send its own robotic mission to Mars, accusing it of subordinating “European friends” to the United States.