NASA Ends Connections with Russia

It was only a matter of time.  NASA has decided to end contact with the Russians on most space ventures with the exception of the International Space Station (ISS), which makes sense since they are our only ride to the station at the moment.  We may want to make a point, but we are not foolish enough to jeopardize a $100 billion station.

According to MSN News, the leaked NASA memo stated:

NASA employees can't travel to Russia or host visitors until further notice. They're also barred from emailing or holding teleconferences with their Russian counterparts because of Russia's actions in Ukraine...

The picture above may be the last American-Russian family photo for awhile.  The current ISSExpedition 39 crew members pictured on the front row are Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata (right), commander; and NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, flight engineer. Pictured from the left (back row) are Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Alexander Skvortsov, Mikhail Tyurin and NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, all flight engineers.

Photo credit: NASA